Monday, January 3, 2022

Our Need for Desperation

The Book of Psalms is full of praises to God, but the thing I noticed most after reading it this time was the desperation of some of the words. Psalm 88 is a typical example.

"Day and night I cry out before You. For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol (the place of the dead). 4I am counted among those descending to the Pit  (Hell). I am like a man without strength. 5I am forsaken among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You remember no more, who are cut off from Your care." - Psalm 88:1-5

That guy was desperate in his prayer! Yet he is calling out to God for help.

When things go bad in our lives, do we turn to God for help? Or do we try to press on our own?
Pretty much the entire Book of Psalms is an example of what we SHOULD be doing in our desperation. Seeking God in prayer!

The prayers of desperation in Psalms are often followed by words and songs of praise to God. Why is that? Was it because God answered David's prayer of desperation? I think it was!

Do we pray desperately? Are we on our knees, praying to God, because we have exhausted everything else we could think of? Or is it the FIRST thing we do?

Our prayers should not be filled with desperate words, yet they often are. Why? Could it be because we tried doing something on our own, without God?

In the Old Testament kings often "inquired of the Lord" before they went off to battle. If the Lord wasn't with them they either failed miserably or they didn't even go.

Do we 'inquire of the Lord' before we make our decisions? Or do we make our choices, hoping that they are what God wants us to do?

These are desperate times that we live in right now. And things are going to get worse. God wants us to turn to Him, not only in our desperation, but He also wants us to turn to Him in times of plenty.

The key word in that thought is 'turn'. There is a word, often used in the Bible, which literally means 'to turn around'. That word is 'repent'. We will never have to repent if we always make God-honoring choices in life and let Him guide us through every decision we make.

Seek Him, trust Him, rely on Him, love Him, and obey Him.

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