I remember one time that Susan and I slept on an air mattress. There was a leak in the mattress. By morning, we had sunk down into the middle with the two sides of the mattress enfolding us like a taco.

I kept thinking of the hymn "What wondrous Love Is This": "When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down... Christ laid aside his crown for my soul."

It was hard to get out of the "sunken down" mattress. It is impossible to free ourselves when we are sunken down in sin. Only Christ can lift us out. I also noticed that "down low" there was still a bit of air left in the mattress; I was not sleeping directly on the floor. When I think I have reached rock bottom in my life, I must always remember that the breath of the Holy Spirit still lifts me and sustains me, keeping me from the pit of despair. The sides of that sunken mattress acted like a warm hug, like loving Father, who says, "Don't worry, I've got you. You will not be crushed by sin."

--Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,