The Gift of Desperation

I grew up being taught about Jesus but I never really knew or followed Jesus, until much later in life. When I have opportunities to share my story, I often tell people that God gave me the gift of desperation, I had nowhere else to go but to Him. That was the beginning of my adventure filled love affair with God, much more beautiful than I could ever have dreamed my life would be.

Since then, there have been many more God desperate moments in my life, but the difference is, now I know Him, and I know He is with me even when I don't see or feel Him. It's in those desperate times that God often does His best work in me and through me. 

I remember walking through what seemed like a long season of spiritual warfare and trials. I felt confident that I was being obedient in what God had asked me to do, but it seemed as if all hell had broken loose around me. God seemed silent and far removed.  I was desperate to meet with and to hear from Him.

It's in these times that we stand still, cry out to God and move forward in faith not knowing what's to come. "Follow in the dark what you knew to be true in the light", was my mentors word of encouragement to me during that season, and it was great advice. In our darkest hours, in our moments of desperation just when we are ready to throw in the towel, God draws us nearer, He brings light and shows us deep and hidden things about Himself and He presses us forward with a renewed and deeper faith in Him.

 

Oh, how wealthy are the people who need God desperately; whose treasure in the darkness is a deeper knowledge of him.

He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him. --Daniel 2:22

Letting His light shine through the cracks...

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:6-7

We are all cracked pots. We all fall short of the glory of God, and yet we are God's plan for bringing His Good News to all the world. This is totally amazing news to me. We are entrusted with His message and yet we are broken people. This is no surprise to God. He knows each crack, each weakness, every single flaw. Yet if we allow Him access to our brokenness, our cracks if you will, these are the very places in which others will encounter Jesus. His light shines through our cracks. Has the Lord ever redeemed your own brokenness and used it to point someone far away closer to Jesus? Did they see His redemption at work in your life? Did they find a hope as you let His light shine into their darkness?