And it came to pass…that Moses fell unto the earth. And as he was left unto himself, he fell unto the earth. And he said unto himself: Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing which thing I never had supposed.
~ Moses 1:9-10 ~

What if your rock bottom was Holy and Sacred Grounds? We are taught to fear the moment we lose control – when our strength fails and we are left with nothing. However, when we look to Moses, he is not defeated; he is positioned for power. In Moses 1, a prophet comes face-to-face with God and realizes a terrifying truth: Man is nothing. For those of us in recovery, this is not an insult. It is the first breath of freedom.

Today marks the beginning of our devotional series: Daily Exodus – Discipline of Deliverance as we study through the Old Testament for Come Follow Me. This new devotional series is for Latter-day Saint Christians, and Evangelical Christians seeking the discipline of deliverance from addiction, codependent relationships, and overcoming faith crisis, fear, doubt, and even anxiety or depression. Grounded in scriptural truth, grace of God, and revealing Jesus Christ along the sacred journey and path.

For much of our lives, we pour time and energy into proving we’re enough. We construct walls of reputation, career success, and even religious performance to keep out the unsettling fear that we might fall short. For those wrestling with addiction, codependency, perfectionism, or a crisis of faith, this often comes with waves of doubt, fear, anxiety, and even depression. Our very enslavement to these compulsive natures oftentimes collapses when these levies eventually break. We are left staring at the wreckage of our own will, forced to admit a devastating truth: without God, we are utterly and spiritually bankrupt.

Moses, raised in Pharaoh’s palace and schooled in the greatest wisdom of his time, came face-to-face with the glory of God. In that instant, his royal status meant nothing. He didn’t boast about his achievements; instead, he may have humbly wept, admitting, “Man is nothing.”

To the natural mind, this realization is an insult. However, to the one who is recovering, walking a sacred and covenantal path of sobriety, it is the first gasp of air. this is the gift of disillusionment. God loves us too much to allow us wallowing in our own deception and illusions. He desires for us to no longer rely on our own strength and will. He brings us to the end of our resources – the end of our “supposing” – so that we may finally begin a new path, a new relationship, to become a new creation in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). We come the end of ourselves so that His grace, tender mercies, and love is able to begin healing, restoring, and pouring out blessings of abundance and joy.

The nothingness Moses experienced was not a declaration of worthlessness or hopelessness; it was a declaration of dependence. A cup must become empty before it can be filled. As long as you are full of your own strategies for control, there is no room for the glory of the Lord. The crisis of recovery is often just this: the painful emptying of the self-life so that the Christ-life may enter.

Many of us, at one time or another, fear hitting rock bottom. We do everything in our might, mind, will, and strength to manipulate and prevent it from happening. We despise the very moment – and the only reality and truth: what we truly fear is our inadequacy to overcome the moment we experience the end of ourselves and our world collapses around us. And it is the moment of clarity, a moment when the illusion of control breaks, and the revelation comes flooding in where we no longer resist the inevitable. Realizing we are not able to manage our lives and that we are powerless because of our addiction, our codependent and toxic relationships, and the fears that have us gripping and white knuckling. All to merely cope or deal with life.

It is in the dust of this realization where the voice of God speaks most clearly to you. Not to crush, not to shame, and not even to condemn: To call you a beloved son or daughter (Moses 1:13). We are nothing within ourselves, yes – however, we are a son or daughter of the Most High. The former needs to be accepted so the latter may be embraced.

And the work (Moses 1:60 has for each of us cannot begin until the work of you has come to an end.

~ Prayer for the Day ~

Lord, I thank You for the mercy of my own depletion. I surrender my need to be ‘something’ in my own strength. I accept my nothingness not as a defeat, but as the only place where You can be my All in All. Fill this empty vessel with Your power today.