I heard a line this week that hasn’t left me alone: “You do not have to go all the way down to reach all the way up.” It was from a sermon clip a friend sent my way, and it put words to something God has been teaching me for years.
Scripture says, “In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me” (Psalm 120:1, ESV). I know that verse from the inside. God was my emergency call. I made my decisions on my own — every one of them felt justified at the time — and when the consequences came crashing down, I called on God from the depths. And He answered. Every time. That’s mercy I will never get over.
But grace didn’t just rescue me. It started retraining me. Here’s what changed:
1. God stopped being my last call and became my first. Before the decision — not after the damage — I started asking Him. Should I take this? Should I say yes to that? It felt almost too small to bother Him with. Then I read Proverbs 3:6 again: “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” All your ways. He asked to be bothered.
2. I learned that acknowledging Him is a decision, not a feeling. I don’t always feel His leading clearly. But I can choose, on purpose, to stop, pray, open His Word, and wait before I move. Feelings follow obedience more often than obedience follows feelings.
3. Straight paths are built one surrendered decision at a time. My old life wasn’t wrecked in a day, and my new one wasn’t built in a day either. It’s the daily, unglamorous choices — made with God, not apart from Him — that quietly change where a life ends up.
If you’re reading this from the depths today, hear me: call on Him. He will answer. You don’t have to earn your way up first. But when He lifts you — and He will — don’t go back to making your decisions alone. The God who rescued you wants to guide you. Bring Him into your decisions, and you may be surprised how many distresses never happen.
Father God, I can do nothing of myself. Show me what You are doing, so I can do the same thing. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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