Desperately Determined

She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” (Mark 5:27-28)

There is something 'desperate' about this woman's faith, isn't there? She wasn't afraid of the crowds - even though she would have been deemed 'unclean' because of her disease. She wasn't concerned that her need was too great for the healing touch of her God. She wasn't going to allow her 'weakness' to impact her drive to obtain her healing. She was 'desperately determined'. Some of us need to get this desperate and determined in our pursuit of the things we need God to do in our lives - to 'drive toward' our healing instead of wallowing in our weakness.

If I can but touch his robe...

She didn't even need to talk with Jesus, have him stop and acknowledge her. Her desperation led to her to believe that even though it would be better to behold his face, hear his voice, and 'feel' his touch, she would do whatever it took to get 'just close enough' to receive from him. Sometimes we approach God this way, don't we? We get 'just close enough' to receive, but not 'near enough' to really relish his presence. The thing about God is that he understands this type of faith, but he takes it one step further! Just like Jesus did that day, he turns toward us, asks the pointed questions, and then waits on our response.

Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” (Mark 5:30)

Who touched me? As much as we might want to just be 'healed', Jesus is more concerned that we share in his presence. The woman's desperate faith gave her the drive to press through the crowds, but would it be enough to drive her toward 'come forward' with her need in the midst of what seemed like a humbling situation? Some of us need to be humble enough to acknowledge our need. We could just continue to 'creep up on Jesus' whenever we have a need, but he is much more delighted with our face-to-face encounter with us. If we approach with desperation, driven by hope, why is it so hard for us to just openly acknowledge our need? When we do, miracles happen! Just sayin!

Are you a little too desperate?

I often re-read passages of scripture, sometimes seeing a 'new truth'. It isn't really a 'new truth' because the truth was there all along - I just wasn't seeing it before! My circumstances change and the 'new truth' I need changes with them. I need encouragement one moment, and maybe I need conviction the next. How is it possible one passage could deliver one such truth at one time and a completely different one the next? I think it is both the condition and readiness of our heart that makes the difference. All of us has called out for help at a moment when things are getting a little too harried for us to endure. As soon as things 'settle down' a bit, we lose that intensity, don't we? To be transparent here, I would have to admit there is no other acknowledgement that God needs more than the simple admittance that we "need his help". I honestly believe that those very words set in motion countless things way beyond our comprehension - things meant to protect us, provide for us, and powerfully intervene in the turmoil of our life experiences. Desperation moves the heart of God.

Listen, God! Please, pay attention! Can you make sense of these ramblings, my groans and cries? King-God, I need your help. Every morning you'll hear me at it again. Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on your altar and watch for fire to descend. (Psalm 5:1-3)

A bold cry from a desperate heart - Listen! Pay attention! Why? I need your help! Think about it - if you had two kids sitting side by side on the couch, each making a plea for your attention, which one would you be most inclined to turn to? One is sitting passively there, holding up a sign with crudely written words, "Will honor you for food for my body, housing for my shelter, and clothing for my body". The other is bouncing up and down, waving his arms, crying out, tears flowing down his face, crying out, "Please, please, I need you! No one and nothing else will do! I need YOU!" You may not know the need of the one, but do you really know the need of the other who defines it for you? Maybe not - because we all know we are guilty of saying one thing, but desperately needing something quite different!

It is true that in serving God, there is no room for complacency on our part. The characteristics of a complacent heart are simply to be so self-satisfied with the present situation that we don't see or acknowledge any need for change. We are completely unaware of the potential dangers that lurk just around the corner if we continue in that place of complacency. In our spiritual walk, we could say we are quite certain that nothing is as EXPECTED as change! I think David realized that change was inevitable - and perhaps that it was fast approaching the boiling point for him. He had patterned his life after the ways of God - he knew full-well that yesterday's "constants" would be today's "traps" if he allowed himself to "settle in" and just enjoy the ride. David admits his need - he even goes so far as to tell God that he could expect to hear about that need over and over again until that need was met by God. Not met in his own power or ability - but in the power and purpose of God himself.

Desperation is marked by a sense of urgency - there is an awareness of the circumstances of the heart, mind and soul that leads to an admission of the urgency of one's need. There might even be the ultimate effort to give it all - in surrender to the one who can take the little we surrender and make it significant in his hands. David says he did that every morning - offering his "all" to God on the altar, hoping for God's fire to descend and to consume his total offering. Nothing was as vivid to the Hebrew people as the sense of an offering totally consumed by the fire of God. Think about it - a life offered totally consumed by the fire of the Spirit of God! That was David's plea. I'd have to be the first to admit that we have lost the concept of 'offering' in the terms the Hebrew people understood - for we barely think of bringing an offering, giving an offering, or being the offering, do we? We put a little in the offering plate and call that an offering! We give an hour at the food bank and call that service. Do we realize the cost of an offering - of service as it was intended to be offered? Likely some do, but the vast majority of us do not.

Urgency compels us - it moves us forward (or gets us bouncing up and down on the couch, so to speak). It creates an internal motivation to "do something". The danger comes in us trying to "do something" in our own efforts - not seeking God's "something" to create the exact answer that we need. We see the need for "food", just like the first boy on the couch. God sees something quite different - the need for "spiritual sustenance" - just like the second boy on the couch. Yes, he meets our physical needs for shelter and food, but he desires to meet much more than those basic needs of our lives. He desires to meet the needs of our stripped-bare hearts, our hurting emotions, and our ripped apart relationships. He wants to repair damaged beliefs, tainted perceptions, and unrealistic fears. Those are the pleas he hears the quickest - that turn his ear, direct his attention, and fill his heart with compassion toward us. Nothing moves the heart of God quicker than the one who realizes that the need for change is present, not future. His response to that realization is to send consuming fire! Just sayin!

On Empty

I call out at the top of my lungs, "God! Answer! I'll do whatever you say." 
   I called to you, "Save me so I can carry out all your instructions." 
   I was up before sunrise, crying for help, hoping for a word from you. 
   I stayed awake all night, prayerfully pondering your promise. 
   In your love, listen to me; in your justice, God, keep me alive. 

(Psalm 119:145-149 The Message)

Desperation is condition in which hope has faded - - there is a sense of hopelessness, a sense of just wanting to give up.  These are the times when we are often heard just crying out to God, "Hey, are you listening here???"  It is our "God! Answer!"  There are times I think God has allowed me to get to the place of "God! Answer! I am pretty desperate here!"  Yep, you read that right - - he allowed it!  He put me in a place where I came smack-dab face-to-face with the inability of my own talent, inadequacy of my own strength, or insufficiency of my own resources in order that he might become my all-in-all.

Up before sunrise, awake into the wee hours of the night, crying for God to listen to our plight.  A "plight" is often viewed as anything we interpret as an "unfavorable" state.  It could be a relationship that has tanked, financial situation revealing a negative balance more frequently than a positive, or some emotional struggle within which we find ourselves more often than not.

Did you realize that there is a secondary meaning to "plight"?  It is an old world term used to describe the pledging of oneself with the intention of the pledge being as binding as a contract.  When we are calling out to God with our "God! Answer!" cries, we are often referring to the "bond" we have with him without even knowing it!  We are relying on the "contract"!  Not a literal piece of paper that binds two parties, but the bond that exists because God first loved us, sought us out as his own, and then entered into a relationship of "permanence" with us.

The relationship may become a little "devoid" of all the "spark" once in a while, but nonetheless, his commitment to us is as permanent as his Word.  Nothing can sever us from his constant care.  If a "void" exists, it is our doing, not his.  Empty spaces create a sense of emptiness - - emptiness is the basis of a lack of hope (desperation).  Whenever we create a "culture" within our relationships which allows for "empty spaces", we are open to the feelings of hopelessness that follow.

God's desire for us in our relationship with him is a lack of empty spaces!  He wants to fill us to overflowing - - leaving no space for any sense of doubt, frustration, worry, or fear to enter in.  His desire for us in our "human" relationships is this same lack of empty spaces!  We need to be attentive to those things we allow to create emptiness within our lives.  It takes only one moved pebble in a rainstorm to begin to cut the course for a raging river!

If you find yourself feeling a little "empty" today - - it is likely you are sensing it in the one relationship which will sustain you the most - - the one you have with Jesus.  In your emptiness, don't cry out for deliverance!  Cry out for filling.  It is in the filling of the empty spaces that our despair will be dealt its  final blow!

Consuming fire is a byproduct of a desperate heart

^1-3 Listen, God! Please, pay attention! Can you make sense of these ramblings, my groans and cries? King-God, I need your help. Every morning you'll hear me at it again. Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on your altar and watch for fire to descend. (Psalm 5:1-3)

A bold cry from a desperate heart - Listen!  Pay attention!  Why?  I need your help!  There is no other acknowledgement that God needs more than the simple admittance that we "need his help".  I honestly believe that those very words set in motion countless things way beyond our comprehension - things meant to protect us, provide for us, and powerfully intervene in the turmoil of our life experiences.  David was desperate - desperation moves the heart of God.  

Think about it - if you had two kids sitting side by side on the couch, each making a plea for your attention, which one would you be most inclined to turn to?  One is sitting passively there, holding up a sign with crudely written words, "Will honor you for food".  The other is bouncing up and down, waving his arms, crying out, tears flowing down his face, crying out, "Please, please, I need you!  No one and nothing else will do!  I need YOU!"  

In serving God, there is no room for complacency.  The characteristics of a complacent heart are simply to be so self-satisfied with the present situation that you don't see or acknowledge any need for change.  You are completely unaware of the potential dangers that lurk just around the corner if you continue in that place of complacency.  In healthcare today, we understand very well the concept that "nothing is as certain or as constant as change".  In our spiritual walk, we should be just as certain that nothing is as EXPECTED as change!

I think David realized that change was inevitable - but also that it was expected.  He had patterned his life after the ways of God - he knew full-well that yesterday's "constants" would be today's "traps" if he allowed himself to "settle in" and just enjoy the ride.  David admits his need - he even goes so far as to tell God that he could expect to hear about that need over and over again until that need was met.  Not met in his own power or ability - but in the power and purpose of God himself.

Desperation is marked by a sense of urgency - there is an awareness of the circumstances of the heart, mind and soul that leads to an admission of the urgency of the need.  There is an ultimate effort to give it all - in surrender to the one who can take the little we surrender and make it significant in his hands.  David says he did that every morning - offering his "all" to God on the altar, hoping for God's fire to descend and to consume his total offering.  Nothing was as vivid to the Hebrew people as the sense of an offering totally consumed by the fire of God.  Think about it - a life offered totally consumed by the fire of the Spirit of God!  That was David's plea.

Urgency compels us - it moves us forward (or gets us bouncing up and down on the couch, so to speak). It creates an internal motivation to "do something".  The danger comes in us trying to "do something" in our own efforts - not seeking God's "something" to create the exact answer that we need.  We see the need for "food", just like the first boy on the couch.  He sees the need for "spiritual sustenance", just like the second boy on the couch.  Yes, he meets our physical needs for shelter and food, but he desires to meet much more than those.  He desires to meet the needs of our stripped-bare hearts, our hurting emotions, and our ripped apart relationships.  He wants to repair damaged beliefs, tainted perceptions, and unrealistic fears.  Those are the pleas he hears the quickest - that turn his ear, direct his attention, and fill his heart with compassion toward us. 

Nothing moves the heart of God quicker than the one who realizes that the need for change is present, not future.  His response to that realization is to send consuming fire!