If you had to choose between being distracted or being desperate, which would you choose?
It may be an unfair question. After all, we live in an age of distraction and who would choose to be desperate?
Desperation is as desirable as driving behind a garbage truck. It thrives in stuck-ness; in situations devoid of choice. It shows up alongside obstacles or difficulties where there are no viable choices. Desperation only exists in situations we wish we could get away from, but we cannot. It leaves us gasping for breath and crying out for help.
The Scriptures are full of desperate people. Moses is desperate for God’s help in leading the Israelites (Ex. 33:12-17). David pours out psalm after psalm as he works his way through life challenges of dealing with his own sin, running from Saul, and grieving wayward sons. Paul is desperate to see Timothy again before his execution in Rome (2 Timothy 4:9-13, 21).
Jesus was constantly meeting and engaging the desperate. From the paralytic lowered from the ceiling (Mark 2:1–12), to the bleeding woman (Mark 5:25–34), to the blind man crying out for Jesus (Mark 10:46–52), to the man whose daughter was dying (Mark 5:21–24, 35–43). Jesus had a soft heart for desperate people. He met them in their desperation and praised the faith that their desperation surfaced.
Jesus not only helped the desperate, but He knew desperation as well. In the Garden of Gethsemane He implored His disciples to pray and felt extreme sorrow and anguish as blood seeped out of his pores. In those moments, He asked the Father if there were any other way. He was desperate when He cried out from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” (Mark 15:34)
The Gift of Desperation
The space of desperation is where faith is found. It’s the space where we call out and where we hope God will burst in. Though, desperation feels like defeat, it’s actually an invitation to greater dependence. Think of a time in your life when you were desperate for God to break in—to intervene and entirely change the situation. In what ways did that impact your posture before Him?
One very desperate time in my life happened when a loved one was dying. It was a surprise for those who loved her, and because of her age, it seemed so unfair. I pleaded before God to do something, to show up, to change the narrative. It was in this space that I sought His face, struggled with His silence, and ultimately, surrendered the outcome to Him. The desperation was a door not only to His throne, but it also led me to brokenness in which He reformed me more in His image.
The Other Side of Desperation
Much like a glacier marks the earth with grooves as it recedes, desperation shapes us at a soul-level, giving way to a new normal. The transformation that comes brings with it a strength and texture to our faith that is felt. There’s no pride left behind, simply a sense of having struggled and survived. Sometimes we call out to God to move and He doesn’t. Other times, we plead for protection and He thwarts all who are against us. Either way, on the other side of desperation is a sense of knowing God more and trusting in comfort and safety less.
Those who persevere through desperation carry a quality that others don’t. They know God. They can feel His Presence. They trust His pruning. And they live with a strength that accepts what His hand gives. They no longer demand; they’ve turned away from whatever once pulled them away from Him. And ironically, they often live out a faith that is desperate for more of Him in their life—apart from circumstances.
That desperation is a quiet pursuit that life events, struggle, and suffering cannot snuff out. Desperation is a door to more of Him.
Conclusion
Do you find yourself desperate today? If so, you stand in a sacred space. Be confident that God is near you. As David writes in Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”
Stand firm in desperation. Call out to God. Wait on the Lord to lead you. Allow Him to shepherd you through desperation and humbly trust the plan He has for you on the other side.
So if you find yourself desperate, take heart. You are standing on holy ground. Don’t run from it. Bring your fear, your confusion, your ache, and your longing before Him. Let your desperation do its work.
May your need lead you to His nearness, your emptiness to His fullness, and your desperation to a deeper dependence than you’ve ever known.