Forever Forward in HopeSample

God Meets Us at Rock Bottom

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?... I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:18-21 NIV).

After a family conflict as a teenager, I found myself experiencing homelessness—sleeping in my car, a 1981 baby blue box Chevy. My life felt like it was unraveling. I had dropped out of high school with no plan, and I was carrying more pain than I could process. The car was packed with everything I owned, in two trash bags. It was more than transportation—it had become a symbol of everything I had lost.

One night, as I sat in that car overwhelmed and uncertain, I offered a simple, raw prayer: “God, help me.” No fancy words found in church conversations. No eloquent prayers. Just a quiet, desperate cry for something to change.

That prayer didn’t lead to an overnight miracle. But it was the first moment I began to believe that maybe—just maybe—that I had to surrender to God all that I was carrying—the trauma, emotional pain, and brokenness.

Isaiah 43 reminds us that God does new things in forgotten places. He doesn’t need perfect conditions. He moves in valleys, wilderness moments, and when things are at rock bottom. He creates streams in wastelands. That passage became a lifeline for me—not just because it was poetic, but because I was living in a hard struggle similar to a wasteland. It was hard to find hope, and I needed to know God could still bring life from that place.

Looking back, that moment in the car was the beginning of my comeback. Not the end of pain, but the start of transformation. I didn’t pull myself up by willpower. I took small steps—one after another—and God met me in each one. Eventually, those steps led to college, purpose, and a calling I never could have imagined at that time.

If you’re reading this and you feel stuck, overlooked, or ashamed of where you are, I want you to know this: you are not the sum of your circumstances. You are not your failure. God is not afraid of your rock bottom. In fact, it might be where he’s preparing to do something brand new in you.

The wilderness is not your ending. It might just be where your forever forward journey begins.

Reflection: What “new thing” might God be trying to do in the middle of your wilderness?