Reach Up! – 2 Corinthians 1:8

9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
– 2 Corinthians 1:8

Reach Up!
When I was a kid, my brothers and my friends and I would all gather in front of my house and we would sit on the curb on summer evenings and we would play the "cut" game.  We would all take turns "cutting each other down" to see who could come up with the funniest "cut" line.  It was ALWAYS funny when someone else was the target (not so much when it was my turn), so when it was my friend Alex' turn, someone came up with this line in reference to how short he was (and he was VERY short):  Alex is so short - he has to look UP to see DOWN!

For some reason, that line has always stayed with me and it came to my mind again when I was doing my devotion time this morning and I read this scripture.  In order to have to look up to see down, a person would have to be at a real low point – I mean rock bottom – having to look THROUGH themselves in order to see themselves. I picture it as someone who has been slammed down so hard that the force has jammed their top side down past their bottom side, and now they are inverted by the shear power of the slam.

Ever felt that way?  I have.  What did you do when it happened?  Did you wallow around in the muck of your own self pity like I used to do?  I was a champion at it – oh, poor me . . . I might as well not even exist because nobody loves me . . . wah, wah, wah – whine, whine, whine – boo-hoo, boo-hoo!

So what changed for me?  One day, when I was in a particularly low-low-low spot (I had to get a step ladder so that I could climb to a place where I could look up to see down), I noticed that despite my best efforts to convince them otherwise, nobody would climb down to join me in my pity party.  So instead of trying to see down, I decided to look up to see up.  I decided to cry out to Jesus.  You know what?  He reached down and He pulled me out of my despair.  He changed my heart and He changed my mind.  He changed the way I looked at my situations.

Notice that I didn't say He changed my situations.  We are ALWAYS going to have situations.  We are always going to face adversity and we will ALL always have to go through our trials.  He changed my attitude and my outlook when I am facing those situations, and adversities, and trials.  He let me know that when my world comes crashing down around me and I am feeling pressed down to a point where I feel as if I've been handed a death sentence, all I have to do is look up – and reach out – and call on Him.  He raises dead people up, and He can, and will reach down to you, and He will be your portion in time of need.

He is Jesus!  He is the risen King!  He is Lord, and He loves you so very much!  So next time you are feeling your world crashing in around you, look up to see Jesus – HE IS ALL YOU NEED!

Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You for always being there when I call Your name.  Thank You for being the one constant in my life, and for showing me the way to overcome my trials.  I pray for my brothers and sisters who are going through adversity right now.  I ask Lord, that You would put an urgency in their heart to look up.  Compel them to reach out and take hold of Your hand.  Show them that they can move up out of despair, and into the abundance of Your wonderful blessing. 

Have a blessed day everyone!

– Richard