Is there a situation in your life in which you are desperate? An urgent need or desire with little or no hope of fulfillment? A situation in which you feel totally helpless and hopeless? Don’t despair, my friend. I have good news for you! There is hope in desperation.
A few years ago I sat in a choir rehearsal and sang that very phrase, “There is hope in desperation.” As the words came out of my mouth, the truth in that statement was made clear to me by the Holy Spirit. He brought to my mind the times in my life when I was in desperate situations; situations that seemed hopeless; situations that were hopeless apart from the intervention of my Heavenly Father; situations that, in fact, brought me to my Heavenly Father. Sometimes desperation leads people to be reckless and dangerous as they furiously struggle against circumstances with utter disregard of consequences. But when desperation causes us to abandon all hope in self and others, and impels us toward the arms of a loving Father, there is hope! Hope is not just offered in the midst of desperation, hope lies in the very act of being desperate. Nothing seems to drive us or cause us to run towards Him like circumstances that are too much for us to cope with. What a paradox: hope springs from hopelessness. Perhaps this is the truth of Romans 4:18 “Against hope, with hope he believed…”
Often desperation is what God uses to teach us to depend on Him for every step. The third day of our choir tour this year, I managed to secure top honors for the “Klutz of the Year” award by tripping over a bag in the hotel parking lot amidst the chaos of unloading bags and handing out room keys all while trying to remain quiet so as not to disturb the other guests. In the process of trying to free my foot from the bag while I was in the motion of falling, I managed to twist my knee. The bag won and I fell. Behind my knee it hurt…bad. Simple tasks like putting on socks and shoes, even sitting down and standing up were painful. As I laid in bed that night trying to sleep resting my leg on a Zip-lock bag filled with ice, I became desperate. I worried about what to do. “Am I going to be able to walk? Am I going to slow everyone down? Should I see a doctor?” After battling back and forth in my mind, “Do I need to go to the ER…do I not need to go?” the answer became clear. No, there was no time scheduled in the tourbook for that. I said, “OK, Lord, what are you telling me through this? Am I too old to go on these choir trips? (I mean, in 5 or 6 years I’ll have grandkids old enough to go.) Is it time for someone else to do this? Do I need to go home?” I knew we had a capable sponsor on the trip who could play, so I told Him I would go home and let someone else do it if that’s what He wanted. I just needed to know from Him what I should do. The answer was immediate. The Holy Spirit brought to my mind a phrase in a song we sang at church that evening: “Though there’s pain in the offering.” For the first time in my life I realized that phrase wasn’t just talking about the initial pain of surrender to God, but the pain that comes from taking every step. It takes a conscience decision to not abandon the offering just because it is painful. When I went to bed that night, I was desperate. But when I awakened in the morning I was determined; determined to trust Him once again in the face of difficulty; determined to offer myself to serve Him; determined to fulfill my calling even if… Oh, by the way, God gave me strength to walk all over Washington D.C. and this “Grammy” didn’t slow anyone down. He even provided opportunities for rest along the way. Yes, there is hope in desperation. My knee? It’s still in the process of healing, but I’m content knowing I have a Father who answers when I call and brings hope out of despair.
“Yet the Lord was pleased to crush Him,…He will see light out of His anguish, and He will be satisfied with His knowledge. (Isaiah 53: 10, 11 HCSB)
Dear friends,