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6 Ways God Transforms Us at Our Lowest Points

6 Ways God Transforms Us at Our Lowest Points

The lowest point I have ever been to was living in the aftermath of all the death I saw in my first year of college. Our family dog had passed away in early February, leaving my family and I with a hole in our heart that has never healed. Some people treat dogs as if they are but animals, yet for many, they become family. Dogs have a way of entering our lives right when we need them, but they leave far too soon. 

In the fall months, my mom had to enter the hospital for congestive heart failure. Shortly after admission to the hospital, she passed away, too. The death of my mom has shattered my world in ways that I cannot fully articulate. To this day, I have still not been able to process all of the pain and sorrow her death has brought into my world. 

Going to therapy and talking out matters with a therapist has helped somewhat, yet the wound has not healed. Before the end of the year had come around, my uncle passed away as well. In this one year, I lost three people who meant the world to me. I didn’t want to get out of bed, I didn’t want to face the day, and I didn’t want to live anymore. Without these vital people in my life, I hit rock bottom.

The good news is that God didn’t leave me in the darkness. He brought me out of the dark depths and placed my feet on level ground (Psalm 40:2). This is true for everyone, including you. God will bring you out of the dark depths and place your feet on level ground—a ground covered in flowers and green pastures. In doing so, He has a way of transforming us more into the image of His Son. 

Here are six ways God transforms us at our lowest points.

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  • 1. A Renewed Mind

    1. A Renewed Mind

    God often uses our lowest points to cause us to develop a renewed mind. After the passing of my mother, something I noticed was that God was renewing my mind in many different ways. As I mentioned, my mom passed away during my first year of college. While I struggled with managing college after her passing, I learned a wealth of information about theology during my days in undergrad. 

    Without this push to learn more about theology and spiritual matters, I may have never fully dedicated my life to serving the Lord. Thankfully, the Lord doesn’t allow our pain to be for nothing. Even on our hardest days and in the most brutal circumstances, God is turning our pain into something beautiful. God is working all things out for our good even if it might be painful at the time (Romans 8:28).

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    2. A Fresh Perspective on Life

    In addition to a renewed mind, God is known to transform us at our lowest points by giving us a fresh perspective on life. Think about the last time you were sick or were recovering from surgery, you most likely thought about all the things you wanted to do when you got better. This is similar to how God transforms us during our lowest points. 

    At my lowest point, I finally saw the desire to want to live. Much of my family passed away, but I wanted to live—and to live for God. I saw how fleeting life is and how fast it can be over. While it is true I spent a lot of time isolating myself, I finally came out of that dark time by God’s help. This was done by Him feeling my heart with a fresh perspective on life and the future. 

    Yes, things are different, but God still has me on this earth for a reason. The same is true for you. At our lowest seems to be when we truly have the desire to get off the ground and walk out into the sunlight. None of us truly want to stay locked in a depressive mindset forever. We want to live and God brings this into our heart when we have hit our lowest point.

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  • Woman looking up at the sky from her home

    3. Trust and Reliance on God

    Through our lowest points and tragic times, God has a way of drawing us closer to Him. Whenever things get hard and depressing, we tend to turn to God more. The deep sadness and sorrow we feel enables us to run to the Father. We know that we can always turn to Him—even at our lowest points. 

    As we run to God more and more, we begin to develop stronger trust and reliance on Him. Rather than doubting Him, we trust Him. Rock bottom is not pleasant, yet it is when we will see the most growth in our Christian walk. This is because we will turn to God, turn our feelings over to Him, go to Him in prayer, and completely rely on Him.

    While God might not fix our struggles right away, He is good and He can be trusted. Our lowest points in life do not have to occur in vain. We can learn much about God during these times, rely on Him, and allow Him to transform us. The Father is always working at transforming us into the image of His Son and most of the time, this is done through the most difficult of circumstances.

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  • Son comforting a father

    4. Encourages Us to Develop Empathy

    Empathy is something that is often overlooked by people. Sometimes it seems as though some people have empathy and others do not. From a young age, I have had empathy yet I have seen how God has increased my empathy over the course of hitting my lowest points. Hitting our lowest points has a way of ensuring we develop empathy for others. Instead of taking an unsympathetic view on things, we will begin to meet others where they are.

    Since we have already hit many of our lowest points, we are able to understand other people’s emotions and feelings. We don’t treat them with a judgmental attitude nor do we invalidate them. Rather, we choose to have an empathetic heart and a nonjudgmental attitude. God transforms us in this way after we have our lowest points.

    Many of our greatest lessons in life come from difficult times. When everything is going smoothly, many of us don’t look to God. However, when things get bad, we start to cry out to Him. Through these darker seasons, God teaches us about Him, His love, and the love we need to have for others. Part of loving others is by developing empathy.

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    5. Bring Light Out of the Darkness

    Our lowest points tend to be our darkest days. While we might feel alone in the darkness, God is our bright light. Through our lowest points, God helps us to see that He is the One who delivers us. The transforming work of God ensures that we become aware of His light and His saving grace. We won’t look to the things of the world to save us—we will look to God.

    As God is bringing light out of darkness during your lowest points, reflect on His goodness. God could have left us in our darkest depths, but He chooses to lift us up. This is because of His love for us. The Bible tells us, “Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals. How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings” (Psalm 36:5-7).

    The love God has for us far extends any love we have ever known. His love cannot be contained and His righteousness also covers the sky. Out of His love for us, He will preserve our souls and our hearts. The darkness will be swallowed up by light. Our lowest points don’t have to destroy us. God will use them to help us transform into the people we are meant to be.

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    6. More Willing to Serve Him

    If we look at our lowest points, oftentimes, we tie them together with a stronger desire to serve God. We are no longer looking at the frivolous things in the world—we are looking at the things that matter. The greatest way we can live our lives is to serve God with our entire heart, mind, body, and soul. As we are serving Him, we will begin to see how much God has transformed our lives.

    Instead of growing angry or bitter toward someone, we extend forgiveness and compassion. When someone wrongs us, we don’t try to get back at them. This is because God is changing us and transforming us. Similarly, at the time of our lowest, we start reflecting on the importance of serving Him rather than our own sinful flesh. We see God face-to-face during these times, and we are transformed. 

    Look at the beauty of serving God with your life. God has been transforming our lives through every action we take. The lowest points are normally when we run to God, yet He can utilize all aspects of our life to ensure our continued growth. God doesn’t cause us to hit rock bottom, yet He can bring good out of the bad situation. Allow Him to meet you where you are and soon, you will be desiring to serve Him with your entire life.

    Related Podcast:  Bonnie explores the emotional and spiritual challenges we face during periods of waiting, especially when the timeline is unknown. Learn to shift your focus and find peace through practical soul care tips and inspiring stories from Bonnie’s own life and the Bible.

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    Vivian Bricker author bio photoVivian Bricker obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Ministry, followed by a Master of Arts with an emphasis in theology. She loves all things theology, mission work, and helping others learn about Jesus. Find more of her content at Cultivate: https://cultivatechristianity.wordpress.com/.