I’m not sure where this story came from, but it’s stayed with me through the years—and especially through my sobriety.
There was a man trapped in a deep hole.
It was pitch black. He couldn’t see his hand in front of his face.
He sat there in despair—alone, afraid, and without hope.
He could hear voices above him, so he began to call out.
“Help! I’m down here!”
Voices answered back:
“I don’t know where you are.”
“I’m not coming down there.”
Again and again, he called out.
Again and again, the same replies.
Until one day, a different voice responded:
“I’m coming down to get you.”
Moments later, that voice was beside him in the darkness.
The man said, “Now we’re both stuck down here.”
The stranger replied, “Yes… but I know the way out.”
That story has always felt like a picture of real service—of love, compassion, and understanding.
Because the truth is, those who have sat in the darkness…
who have felt the weight of despair, addiction, anxiety, and hopelessness…
they’re the ones who can step into it without fear.
Not because they’re stronger—but because they’ve been there.
Scripture calls us to be the light:
“You are the light of the world… let your light shine before others.” (Matthew 5:14–16)
And Jesus reminds us of the heart of God:
“He leaves the ninety-nine to go after the one that is lost until He finds it.” (Luke 15:4)
That’s the call.
Not to shout directions from above…
but to step down into the darkness and walk someone out.
Today, I try to live that out.
To go back into those places—not physically, but spiritually and emotionally—
and sit beside the one who feels stuck.
The one buried in addiction.
The one drowning in anxiety.
The one who has lost hope.
Because I know something now that I didn’t before:
There is a way out.
And someone once came down into the darkness to show me.
Prayer
Lord,
Thank You for not calling to me from a distance, but for meeting me in the darkness. Give me the courage to go where others won’t, the compassion to sit with those who are hurting, and the wisdom to guide them—not by my strength, but by Your light. Use my story to bring hope to someone still searching.
Amen.
