Have you ever wondered where some of our everyday things have come from? The problem with urban living is that we have become really disconnected with how our food is made and produced. Luckily, I grew up in farm country. This led to lots of “peeks behind the curtain”. It led to a lot of “what the heck”?! For example, who decided that a burnt tree pod made amazing bean juice (aka coffee). Who looked at an oyster (raw no less) and decided “that looks delicious!”. What led to someone drinking the runoff from hops mixed with the by products from making flour that had been burned and doused and left to rot, only to find out that they had beer? The only answer that I have ever been able to come up with is desperation. I can only think that complete and profound desperation is what led to these discoveries. Extreme and severe starvation and thirst, imminent death, a last-ditch effort to meet the most basic of needs is what likely led to the discovery of some of the foods and drinks that now permeate so much of our everyday lives.
But that is how God designed us. He made us to seek out and try the unthinkable when we believe we have no more options left to us. He designed us that way, so that He could also use it to teach and guide. How often have our leaps of faith, our growth in Him come about because of the same desperation? How many times have we turned to Him, not because of desire and a heart for God, but desperation? Because every option that we know of to fix it ourselves is gone, and all we have left is Him?
Thank the Lord that He made us that way. Proverbs 3:5 tells us to “lean not on your own understanding”. I wish I could say that I find that an easy command to follow. The truth is, I am stubborn, head strong and fiercely independent. I believe that things should follow order, and that there should be a solution to most any issue if we understood enough and tried hard enough. I like having control and believe in being the captain of my own ship. To be honest, it is a wonder that God continues to pursue me and bring me back to Him. He has delivered me from many situations with solutions that were beyond understanding or comprehension. To be frank, I have been the recipient of miracles. But I also know that I am far from unique. The Scripture is filled with examples of others who were left beyond their own abilities, left desperate with nothing but their voices to cry out to God. Moses, David, Daniel, Sampson, Joseph and Jacob just to name a few. Followers who were accustomed to doing things on their own, who were independent and head strong, and who had everything taken away and were left with nothing but their desperation and their voice and a heart that loved God. And He answered them, time and again. So thank you Lord for our desperation, thank you Lord for continuing to call us back to you.