by Hal Steenson
She was crying so hard I could barely make out what was being said over the phone, so I slowly calmed her down by telling her that no matter what had happened, everything would be all right. That was when I finally understood what she had been saying, “I need prayer; I’ve hit rock bottom.”
I really shocked her when I responded with a resounding “Praise God!”
“What did you say?” she asked. “Did I hear you say ‘Praise God’? I tell you that I’ve hit rock bottom, and you say, ‘Praise God’? What do you mean by that?”
I asked her if she understood what hitting rock bottom meant, and she replied it meant she was finished, ruined; it was all over, and her life was not worth living. Then I shared Matthew 7:24–25: “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”
EVERYTHING YOU NEED
The phone was quiet, so I continued. “Everything has been cleared out of the way, and now you have a solid foundation to build upon. If what you say is true, then all you have left is Jesus, and He is all you need to start over again. Allow Him to stand in the middle of all the new construction and be the contractor of every new addition to your new life.”
Then I began to ask her some key questions. “Are you sick, or in good health?”
“I’m very healthy, but I just lost my job.”
“Do you have any children?”
“Yes,” she replied. “I have three lovely teenage boys.”
“Are you married?”
“Yes, I’m married to a wonderful man that I love dearly, but we can’t make it on his salary alone, so we may end up losing our home.”
“Yes ma’am. But do you have food to eat?”
“Of course we do; we have plenty of food. But if I can’t find a job, we’ll have to dip into our savings account before long.”
I asked her if she was a Christian, and she assured me that she and her entire family were living for God. Then she added that this is why she couldn’t understand why this was happening.
“Then let me see if I’ve heard you correctly: You are a healthy woman; you have a husband that loves you, and three wonderful teenage boys who are all serving God? Now that’s a miracle in itself! I also heard you say that you have food to eat, and you still have some money in the bank. Did I hear you right? Is this what you just told me?”
A few seconds of silence passed before I heard her whisper, “Praise God! Yes; yes, I do have all those things—and so much more. I am a blessed child of God!
“So now let me ask you this: When you first called, you said you had hit rock bottom and needed prayer. What is it you need prayer for today, ma’am?”
She responded boldly, “All I need prayer for is a job; everything else is okay.”
We prayed, we praised, and we laughed together. She called me back a couple of weeks later, and guess what? She got a better job, better hours, and more money!
“The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let God be exalted, the Rock of my salvation!” 2 Samuel 22:47.