I Was Brought Low and He Helped Me

"The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and He helped me. Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee." (Psalm 116: 6-7)

What does it mean to be brought low? In simple terms it means that you are in a saddened state. You feel defeated. You feel helpless. You feel weak. It's the popular opinion that this is an awful place to be in, but not necessarily. You see as a Christian we have something, and more importantly Someone to lead us through these dark times, unlike the rest of the world. Have you ever wondered why we go through low "valley's" (trials) in our lives? Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." So, there is a reason for everything, especially the lowest points of our lives. Now I will not say that there is one particular reason for the dark times we all go through, because it is different for every person. We go through this life together and we face similar things, however we all have a different walk with God. God deals with us as individuals. Maybe God is using your low time to humble you. Maybe God is shaping a certain character trait in you. Maybe God is building your faith. Maybe God is simply trying to prove to you that He is more than capable to provide for your needs. It could be a number of things. The reason for my lowly state was God shaking me awake and telling me that it is time to get serious about my relationship with God. All my life I have been up and down with my emotions, in and out with my spiritual walk with God, I was just all over the place. I was emotionally unstable and unhealthy in more ways than one. My trial started in December of 2018 and lasted through April of 2019. So much was going on all at one time and at the same time God brought me to the lowest point of my life. It was at this time that I noticed that I was uncomfortable in my spiritual state (hopefully you will understand). I knew in my heart that something was wrong, but I did not understand what it was. God was dealing with me for several months, but I kept ignoring Him and in the process I started falling apart. I became extremely depressed and started having panic attacks. I stopped eating and lost so much weight that I had to run to a nearby store after work to buy some new clothes that would stay on my body without me holding them up throughout the day. My skin turned a ghostly pale color. I was breaking out in a million zits from all the stress. I was nauseous on a daily basis and vomited often. My hands shook so violently that I could not turn the pages of my Bible while in church. I didn't even want to leave the house because I was scared of everything. I could not handle car rides because I would get nauseated and light headed. This became my everyday life for several months. "I was brought low, and He helped me." God saw me and He heard my cry, "the righteous cry and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of ALL their troubles. The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them ALL." (Psalm 34: 17-19) I did not understand what I was going through and why. God gave me the answers I was looking for. God was making me uncomfortable in my situation in order to get me to move in the direction He wanted me to go. If He did not put me through this trial I would not have gone anywhere, I would have stayed in that situation. It was time to move on from everything that I have ever known. I've grown up in a Pentecostal atmosphere all my life. As most of you know a Pentecostal atmosphere is loud, exciting, and a very high energy church setting. It is very hard to go from a high energy atmosphere to quieting yourself before God and listening rather than making noise. Have you ever quieted yourself before God? The Word says in Psalms 46: 10 to "be still and know that I am God." To know is to recognize or understand. So my lowly state was God bringing me away from the noise and into a quiet place. Quietness with God is humbling, gentle, and precious. It's where the Holy Spirit of God communes with you the most. God is not in the noise, he is in the quietness. To prove this is true read about Elijah the prophet in 1 Kings 19: 11-12,"And he said go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was NOT in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was NOT in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was NOT in the fire: and after the fire a still (a delicate whisper) small voice." That still small voice was the LORD Himself. He was in the quietness. I should also remind you that this was a time when Elijah was depressed and feared for his life. He thought he was the only one left who still served God and God met Him in the stillness not in the noise. It's in the quiet that the Holy Spirit of the LORD Jesus Christ opens my eyes of understanding to His Word. It's in the quietness that He helps me to understand how much I am loved and cherished. He teaches me that my life has value. He teaches me to consider my owns ways instead of pointing my accusing finger at others. He teaches me to be careful with my attitude toward others. He teaches me to appreciate and love others, and so much more. My point is that God used the most terrible and darkest time of my life to bring me low so that all I had to lean on was Him. The only peace, hope, and strength I had was Jesus Christ. I heard this preached one time that, " when God becomes your only option that is when the Word will have preeminence in your life. When you have all these other options you will try this, and this, and this, that's why God pushes you into a place where there is no other option. And that is a good place for the believer. That is when you become prisoner to the Word. When God puts you in a place like that you know that God is fixing to accelerate His promise in your life." Being brought low is probably one of the most beneficial blessings you will have. I am thankful for my trials, because through them God has molded me into more of the person He has created me to be. That is why I love that song "I Owe It All the Jesus." The song says that if there is any good found in me it's all because of Jesus. I often think about who I would still be if I didn't go through low valley's. Knowing how I used to be if I was given the option of staying in that condition versus going through a difficult trial, I would choose the trial every time. To me every moment spent in the fire is worth who you come out to be. You come out to be more like Christ. Any true, genuine believer's desire and goal is to reflect the Word of God (Jesus Christ), be a spitting image of Him. That is the purpose of our trials or our low conditions. Look at them as blessings. It may seem hard now but be encouraged to know that when it's all over, because it will not last forever, you will look back and be grateful for it. I should take this moment to tell you that God healed me completely of depression and anxiety. I am no longer tormented and I have never been healthier than I am now. I AM FREE, PRAISE GOD, I AM FREE! Let me leave you with these two verses, "He hath made every thing beautiful in His time…" (Ecclesiastes 3:11) and "But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." (Job 23:10) It's not hopeless as it may seem it is for your good and it is not eternal, it is only temporary working towards an eternal goal for you. God Bless You, my dear friend.