090917

September 09, 2007

The Gift of Desperation

by Shana Schutte

We can only see desperation as a blessing when we recognize that we can gain Christ in greater measure in exchange for it, and receive abundant love from Him while our heads are bowed and tears fall.

Pride, the opposite of humble desperation, keeps God at a distance. It makes me think that I have it all together and, by the world’s standards, it may look like I do. But in God’s economy, what looks right is really wrong. That’s why Jesus says that those who are poor in spirit (desperate) are the real winners.

In his book, The Ragamuffin Gospel, Brennan Manning writes,

“…we never lay hold of our nothingness before God, and consequently, we never enter into the deepest reality of our relationship with Him. But when we accept ownership of our powerlessness and helplessness, when we acknowledge that we are paupers at the door of God’s mercy, then God can make something beautiful out of us.”

So if you feel desperate, rejoice! Your longing is a gift; your inadequacy a treasure and your need a blessing that can draw you into a deeper relationship with God.

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