"Back Then, Back When"

Back then, back when…

All my feelings ran downhill,

I’d lost so much and had my fill,

Of failure, yet was breathing still,

And couldn’t say just why.

Back then, back when…

A-horseback was my best relief,

From sadness, sorrows, all the grief,

Almost gave in to the thief,

I thought I might just die.

Back then, back when…

The grace rushed down and found me there,

When I had no more strength to care,

And said your burden I will bear,

And that’s when I had hope.

Back then, back when…

I thought that I might see the day,

When my worst pain would go away,

And I would saddle up and say,

God’s grace came at a lope.

Back then, back when…

The words I heard they turned to real,

Became a force that I could feel,

What God promised, that’s the deal,

He really filled my cup.

Back then, back when…

A brand-new start,

When healing grace flowed to my heart,

God will always do His part,

And help us cowboy up.

Back then, back when…

“He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and the mire…” (Psalm 40:2, NIV)

Being stuck in a desperate place is a bad place to be. Many are overwhelmed with discouragement, despair, depression and addiction. But Jesus sees us and desires to lift us out of the mud and mire. That experience is different emotionally for different individuals. But without exception there is a great sense of thankfulness that follows. Someone has said that a person with an experience is never at the mercy of a person with a mere argument. How true. Sharing that experience is the most effective way of pointing others to Christ so He can lift them up, too.

Lord, thank You for lifting us from the pit and setting our feet on a rock, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Mary Ross Buchholz, used by permission. Thanks, Mary, and God bless you.