DESPERATE CONDITION

 desperate (adj): having lost hope; suffering extreme need 

condition (noun): a state of being 

“Then in your desperate condition, you called out to God. He got you out in the nick of time…” Psalm 107:6 

My sister was panicked. She had just parked at the mall when her two-year-old son started experiencing his third seizure that week. She ran across the parking lot toward the nearest entrance carrying his convulsing body and trying to call 911.

It was terrifying. The seizure lasted over thirty minutes; and even the paramedics looked worried as they transported him to the hospital. Thankfully, my sweet nephew recovered and hasn’t had a seizure for almost 10 years.

Desperate is a heart-squeezing, hope-slipping way to feel.

It can crash into a normal day as an emergency or it can gradually become apparent that we really, really need help in this life.   

In Psalm 107, King David describes some “desperate conditions” we might relate to.

Desperate Condition #1  WANDERING IN THE DESERT

Are you looking but never really finding peace, rest, home? Are you starving, beyond thirsty, exhausted by your search, your restlessness, your dissatisfaction with where you are?

Then you called out to God in your desperate condition; he got you out in the nick of time. He put your feet on a wonderful road that took you straight to a good place to live.

Desperate Condition #2  LOCKED IN A DARK CELL

Are you cruelly confined, feeling punished and heavy-hearted, trapped and lonely and ashamed?

Then you called out to God in your desperate condition; he got you out in the nick of time. He led you out of your dark, dark cell, broke open the jail and let you out.

Desperate Condition #3  SICK AND TIRED

Are you weak and worn out? So miserable that you sometimes think you’d be better off dead?

Then you called out to God in your desperate condition; he got you out in the nick of time. He spoke the word that healed you, that pulled you back from the brink of death.

Desperate Condition #4  CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF A STORM

Are you dealing with one hard thing after another? Are things coming at you that you didn’t expect? Parenting teens, loving someone difficult, dealing with illness or pain, moving to a new place, overwhelmed with the demands of work, not sleeping? Your life seemed to be sailing along, and then the “bottom dropped out?”

Then you called out to God in your desperate condition; he got you out in the nick of time. He quieted the wind down to a whisper, put a muzzle on all the big waves. And you were so glad when the storm died down, and he led you safely back to harbor.

Every desperate situation points to this hope-reviving verse:

“You called out to God…he got you out in the nick of time.”

And then this one:

“Oh thank God for his marvelous love, for his miracle mercy to the children he loves.”

Invite Him in: Call out to Jesus from whatever situation you find yourself in today. Thank him for the real-life miracle mercy that he is showing to you right at this moment. He sees you in every situation, he cares about what you are going through, and he is right there ready to rescue you. In the nick of time. With his marvelous love. Let him be your loving father, your prince of peace, and your closest friend.