Our desperation is God’s opportunity

"The Lord is good. When trouble comes, He is the place to go! And He knows everyone who trusts in Him!" – Nahum 1:7 (The Living Bible)

Dear Dr. Sala, I was so grateful that you invited me to write to you. I was at a point of absolute desperation." As I read the letter of a young woman deserted by her husband, in poor health, and with the responsibility of a family without any means of support, I got to thinking about the volume of letters sent to us by desperate people.

Then I thought about the people who came to Jesus at a similar point in their lives–the ostracized woman who confronted Jesus at the well of Sychar, the politician Zacchaeus who was despised and hated by his peers, the sisters Mary and Martha whose brother was dying. When you begin to catalog the situations of those who came to Jesus, you realize that most of the people who came to Him were driven by their desperation.

Desperation has a way of stripping us of our pride, taking away our resources and forcing us to reach for the help that only God can give. Is that wrong? Is it cowardice to turn to God in time of need?

When people turned to Jesus in desperation, He never rebuked them for coming to Him. He never said, "Why bother coming to Me now when everything else has failed?" No, on the contrary, in compassion and kindness He reached out to them and said, "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:28, 29).

None was ever turned away empty-handed. Moreover, those who turned to Jesus in desperation went home saying to themselves, "I wonder why I waited so long to come to the Lord for help!"

Why is it that we wait until we are desperate before we reach out for God’s help? Ask the two-year-old who refuses his mother’s help saying, "I do it myself." Our fierce drive for independence becomes a stumbling block that keeps us from reaching out to Him who alone can change some things.

Are you at a point of desperation in your life? Why not close your door, and humbly get on your knees before God to tell Him exactly where you are and what bothers you. Then you will make the great discovery of your life–the discovery that God is alive and will meet you as He has met men and women down through the centuries. Our desperation is God’s opportunity.

Resource Reading: 2 Chronicles 32