“Ok, I’ve hit rock bottom; I’ve lost everything. What now?” No method even exists for calculating the number of people who have made that statement throughout history. Yet, for everyone who finds themselves at rock bottom, we can make two optimistic deductions. First, you are still breathing. Second, at rock bottom, only one-direction remains and that’s up. This leaves you with the option of choosing between two scenarios; you can either sit there and die, or start climbing up. Scripture illustrates this truth with the account of four lepers sitting at the gate of Samaria.
King Ben-hadad of Aram brought all his military units together and marched up to besiege Samaria (2 Kings 6:24). With the city of Samaria surrounded by troops stopping any supplies from entering the city, a great famine took place. Hunger became so severe mothers were boiling and eating their own children. The head of a donkey, the most inedible part of the animal and unclean by the Law, cost $300. A half a pint of pigeon dung, which people resorted to for food during famine, sold for $20. As horrible as these conditions were, four men found themselves as low as one could go. They had contracted leprosy at some point in their life making them an outcast of society and forcing them to live outside the city. The Law prohibited them from coming closer than 150’ of another person. Wherever they walked, they covered their mouths and cried out, ‘Unclean, unclean’. The Jews declared only a corpse was more unclean than a leper was. We can definitely conclude they were at rock bottom.
They realized they were at the point of two choices. They said to one another, “Why do we sit here until we die?” If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ then the famine is in the city and we will die there; and if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us go over to the camp of the Arameans. If they spare us, we will live; and if they kill us, we will but die” (2 Ki 7:3, 4). The lepers decided they would take a chance and go to the camp of the Arameans. Staying at rock bottom at the gate of Samaria guaranteed death, but at least, getting up and going contained a possibility of life.
When they arrived at the camp, they discovered not a single person was there. Unknown to them, the Lord had caused the army of the Arameans to hear a sound of chariots and a sound of horses, even the sound of a great army. They feared Israel had hired the Hittites and Egyptians to fight with them. Therefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents and their horses and their donkeys, even the camp just as it was, and fled for their life (2Ki 7:6, 7). Imagine the joy the lepers must have felt. They had moved from starving at rock bottom at the gate of Samaria to a feast, and from poverty to riches. They entered one tent and ate and drank, and carried from there silver and gold and clothes, and went and hid them (2Ki 7:8). The Arameans left so quickly they abandoned their tents, horses, donkeys, and even littered their escape route with clothes and equipment.
We can apply several lessons from this account. When the enemy has come against us and brought us to rock bottom, we don’t know what God is doing in the enemy’s camp. Sometimes when we make the choice to climb back up, changes can happen very quickly. Joseph moved from his rock bottom in prison to become prime minister in one day. However, we must take caution because this is not always the case. Our climb back up may be slow, but with every step, we move one-step higher—just keep climbing. Despite the fact, these four men were outcast they remembered their fellow citizens. They had good news and others were also starving. They went back to Samaria and told the servant of the King what had happened. By the end of the day, everyone could buy either six quarts of fine flour or twelve quarts of barley for $4.00.
Rock bottom doesn’t always relate to finances, material possessions, or living conditions. People can be wealthy living in a nice home but fall to the bottom spiritually or mentally. Some marriages and families look like the devastation left by the hurricanes. On and on I could give examples but the same two deductions from the opening paragraph apply. You are still breathing and you can choose to climb back up and up is the only direction remaining. Or you can stay choose to stay where you are which leads to death literally, or figuratively.
After our four year tour in Africa, we returned to the states. Because I had battled malaria with complications for our last two years, I was at rock bottom with my health and emotions. It took a while until I finally realized I had to start climbing up. For each two steps up, the devil would knock me down one. But I kept climbing two up and one down until I rose far above my rock bottom.
Sustaining Word for the Week: If you are at rock bottom, up is the only direction. You have two options; stay where you are and die—physically, emotionally, die to your marriage and family or start climbing.