Am I Desperate Enough?
Lately a word keeps popping up everywhere I turn; it churns my stomach whenever I hear it. It’s desperation. We often associate desperation with a negative image. Desperate conjures up images of addiction, homelessness, and depression. Why is that? What emotions pushed Shaquem Griffin (Sorry, I watched football awards last night!) to become the first one handed professional football player? Desire, courage, and I’m sure a healthy amount of desperation had to be present to continue pushing past barriers on a continual basis. In fact in order to have any success we usually need at least a small amount of desperation. So why do I seem to think and act like I don’t need it in my relationship with God?
When Jesus was ministering, the people who came to Him were desperate. They were willing to make themselves and their illnesses/deformities known. In a society that viewed such things as God’s punishment for sin, simply being visible required a certain amount of desperation. In Luke 6, Jesus used a man with a shriveled hand as the object of a sermon lesson! He had this man stand there in front everybody, displaying his deformity and with no certainty of being healed, while He debated with the religious leaders. What desperation drove this man to stand there in front of the very people and leaders who condemned him, mocked him, and called him a worthless sinner. Yet he did it, because he was desperate enough to trust Jesus, a man he knew only by reputation. But it worked, he was healed.
What about the woman with the blood issue (Luke 8:40-48)? She had been ill for 12 years; doctors, healers, even religious leaders could not heal her. She was deemed a hopeless case. She had no reason to hope her life would ever get better until she heard of a man who loved the sick and healed them. Even still she was a woman in a world where women were only as useful as the children they could bear. Why should she expect Him to heal her? But she refused to let that stop her. Her desperation drove her to shove her way through a mob of people; to fight her way to where women weren’t allowed. It’s simply a guess of mine, but I bet even the disciples tried to push her away, women traditionally shouldn’t have been allowed that close to a great teacher and healer. But she had a death sentence that she was desperate to get rid of! Jesus was actually on His way to heal a sick little girl, yet that didn’t stop this woman. She still fought refusing to stop until she could just touch Him. Desperation pushed her out of her “place” and she was healed.
Do I have this level of desperation? Am I desperate enough to be willing to be God’s object lesson or to fight my way through crowds, to abandon my “place” in order to get to Jesus? I might not need that level of physical healing but my heart and mind do! We are called to pray and intercede for others, for their salvation, healing, and restoration. Am I desperate enough to do this for them? Does desperation drive my desire to see God’s honor and glory fill the earth? If not, then what needs to change in order to make this happen? My desperation is not only for me but for those still in bondage. May I be desperate enough to make a path to You for them! This is what churns my stomach, what makes my spirit weep; my desperation level needs to be turned up! God, make this my hearts cry; “I was desperate to touch you, Jesus!” Luke 8:47 (TPT).
When Jesus was ministering, the people who came to Him were desperate. They were willing to make themselves and their illnesses/deformities known. In a society that viewed such things as God’s punishment for sin, simply being visible required a certain amount of desperation. In Luke 6, Jesus used a man with a shriveled hand as the object of a sermon lesson! He had this man stand there in front everybody, displaying his deformity and with no certainty of being healed, while He debated with the religious leaders. What desperation drove this man to stand there in front of the very people and leaders who condemned him, mocked him, and called him a worthless sinner. Yet he did it, because he was desperate enough to trust Jesus, a man he knew only by reputation. But it worked, he was healed.
What about the woman with the blood issue (Luke 8:40-48)? She had been ill for 12 years; doctors, healers, even religious leaders could not heal her. She was deemed a hopeless case. She had no reason to hope her life would ever get better until she heard of a man who loved the sick and healed them. Even still she was a woman in a world where women were only as useful as the children they could bear. Why should she expect Him to heal her? But she refused to let that stop her. Her desperation drove her to shove her way through a mob of people; to fight her way to where women weren’t allowed. It’s simply a guess of mine, but I bet even the disciples tried to push her away, women traditionally shouldn’t have been allowed that close to a great teacher and healer. But she had a death sentence that she was desperate to get rid of! Jesus was actually on His way to heal a sick little girl, yet that didn’t stop this woman. She still fought refusing to stop until she could just touch Him. Desperation pushed her out of her “place” and she was healed.
Do I have this level of desperation? Am I desperate enough to be willing to be God’s object lesson or to fight my way through crowds, to abandon my “place” in order to get to Jesus? I might not need that level of physical healing but my heart and mind do! We are called to pray and intercede for others, for their salvation, healing, and restoration. Am I desperate enough to do this for them? Does desperation drive my desire to see God’s honor and glory fill the earth? If not, then what needs to change in order to make this happen? My desperation is not only for me but for those still in bondage. May I be desperate enough to make a path to You for them! This is what churns my stomach, what makes my spirit weep; my desperation level needs to be turned up! God, make this my hearts cry; “I was desperate to touch you, Jesus!” Luke 8:47 (TPT).
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