“I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘may you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.” Mark 11:23 (NLT)

Hey beloved! I don’t know about you, but I have experienced several moments of desperation in my life. There have been times where I have desperately asked God to get me over an ex, or a hangover, and then going back to both a few months after I’ve gotten over the pain, or the hurt that was brought on by the unpleasant experience. One thing I have learned about desperation is that it resides within the boundaries of our emotions. Desperation stems from worry and anxiety; both of which God speaks against in the Bible (see Phillippians 4:6-7). It’s easy to confuse faith with desperation as they both look similar in the beginning, but there is a clear distinction between the two. As a matter of fact, the only similar comparison between faith and desperation is that the will of God always prevails in the end. There are two biblical characters that come to mind when I think of faith and desperation, one being Hannah and the other being Saul. First lets talk about Hannah!

Hannah

While some might view Hanna’s plea for a child as desperation, I beg to differ. As I previously mentioned, faith and desperation are identical at face value. We don’t see the difference until we see the fruit. After Hanna’s tearful plea for a child, she wiped her eyes, gave thanks, and went on about her life. The Bible tells us that “she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad.” 1st Samuel 1:18. See, faith produces trust, patience, and an understanding that God will do what he says he will do.

Saul

In 1st Samuel chapter 13, God instructed Saul to wait for Samuel at Gilgal for seven days, and after seven days Samuel would offer a sacrifices to God (for successful battle over the Phillistine army). After seven days Saul became desperate, Samuel didn’t come through. Saul became anxious and afraid, his men were dying. Out of desperation Saul performed the sacrifice himself, and then lo and behold, “just as Saul was finishing with the burnt offering, Samuel arrived” 1st Samuel 13:10. Yikes! you see, desperation produces anxiety, worry, and impatience. We take matters into our own hands when we are desperate, and in turn we suffer the consequences of being disobedient.

From my own personal experience, and the experience of others; desperation creates animosity between man and God. We become upset and belligerent when He doesn’t come through when he said he would, we become discouraged when he doesn’t immediately adhere to our dire needs. I see this mostly during times of sickness, and emotional distress. We want God to take away our anger, frustration, diseases, depression, ect. . because these things cause us great pain, and what kind of God will allow his children to go threw such pain? My limited understanding is God is good, and everything he does is good. In him there is no darkness or evil. We (his people) on the other hand, live in a fallen world. The world we live in has been tainted with darkness and evil of every kind. So yes, there will be sickness, disease, death, depression, anxiety, and so much more, but we must always hold on to the promises of God with faith. We should develop the attitude of “God let your will be done,” and then stand by His word.

Lastly, God’s promises for us is YES and Amen! you don’t have to beg for what is already yours!

yours truly,

Hisbeloved