The Man in Black's Second Chance

In 1967, Johnny Cash crawled into Nickajack Cave outside Nashville, Tennessee, intending to die. Years of amphetamine addiction had cost him nearly everything — his first marriage, his health, his self-respect. He crawled deeper into the darkness until his flashlight gave out, and he lay down on the cold stone floor, ready to let the cave swallow him whole.

But lying there in absolute darkness, Cash later said he felt the presence of God — not as judgment, but as love. He described a strange warmth and a clarity he hadn't felt in years. Something told him it wasn't his time. He began crawling back toward the entrance, following a faint breeze until daylight appeared.

Cash walked out of that cave and into a slow, hard-won recovery. He reconnected with his faith, married June Carter, and began a second act that would last decades. His music grew deeper. His voice carried something it hadn't before — the gravity of a man who had been to the bottom and been brought back.

The Apostle Paul wrote, "If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Redemption doesn't erase our past — Cash never pretended his dark years hadn't happened. But redemption means the cave doesn't get the last word. The God who meets us in our deepest darkness is the same God who gives us the breath and the direction to crawl back toward the light.

Whatever cave you've crawled into, the Most High is already there — and He is calling you out.