“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”
Philippians 2:5-7
I’ve sat in hundreds of therapy groups as a counselor and have heard countless people refer to “hitting rock bottom”. Their description of such a place is generally negative. It’s an undesirable place to be because they’ve lost anything and everything of value to them, and their devastation left them on the brink of taking their own life. When considering the phrase rock bottom from God’s view, however, we must get to its root understand what it really means. Webster’s New World Dictionary defines a rock as “anything like or suggesting a rock, as in strength or stability; a firm support, basis, or refuge.” The word bottom is defined as “the lowest or last place or position. The part on which something rests; the base.”
If we take these definitions literally, rock bottom means “to rest on a strong, stable, supportive base, where we are sheltered and protected.” Scripture often refers to Jesus as the rock in our lives. First Corinthians 10:3-4 states, “All ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.”
If we use Webster’s definition in this verse, what is being said is that Christ is our strength, our firm support, our stability and refuge. Jesus’ parable in Matthew 7 is about a man who built his house on the foundation of a rock and another who built his house upon sand. Verses 24-27 state:
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
In this parable Christ is again the rock, the foundation (bottom), our stability, our security, our support, and our strength. The house refers to our lives and our walk with Christ. The rain, the rising streams, and the winds are the trials and temptations that come against us. What are we building our lives on – the sand or the Rock?
This question leads me to the definition of the word bottom. Bottom is seen in two ways. First, it is the lowest or last place or position. We all, as humans, have a natural desire to be first. We are programmed by the world that being last, being at the bottom, means failure. This is a distortion of the truth. We are told in Philippians 2:5-7 that we should follow Christ’s example:
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”
Jesus himself said, “The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:11). Oh, how hard it is to die to self, to be a servant, to not exalt ourselves!
Second, bottom is referred to as the part on which something rests. Resting isn’t easy, particularly if you’re like me and wrestle with the whys and what ifs of everything that occurs. Because most of my youth was out of my control (due to physical and sexual abuse), I was determined as a teenager and adult always to keep control of myself and my circumstances. Resting (not to mention depending) on the Lord, allowing him to have control of my life, has been difficult. But Psalm 37:7 tells us to “rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him”.
Waiting and resting go hand in hand. One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 40:31: “They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Today you have a choice; to allow the Lord to strip you of self so that you can have peace, restoration and healing in your life, or you can continue to live for yourself. It takes me but a moment to recall where my best efforts apart from Christ have led me in the past to turn me back to the Lord. Seek the Lord now through prayer and tell Him you want Him to be your Rock bottom, your place of Refuge, your solid foundation for life, for He is worthy.
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