This summer, She Reads Truth is offering a study called Women in the Word, where we’ll be learning about 40 different women in the Bible both in the Old and New Testaments. I’m very excited about this study because I feel there is so much wisdom to be gained from these women, both from the good as well as the bad.

Last Friday, we read about Hagar. Talk about finding yourself in the most desperate of situations. She is homeless, sent away to the wilderness with her young child, whom she leaves to die when she has run out of all options known to her. She just sits there and she weeps. Just as God had found her in the wilderness once before when she ran away from Sarah, He finds her again and meets her where she is, He comforts her, and provides for her. We’re reminded that “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)

…when life is good, our human nature takes over,…

We say, “I’m all set now, God,” turn our backs 

and head the other way.

Do you know what it’s like to be desperate for God? What it’s like to realize that He’s your one and only hope? From my experiences in short-term missions in Kenya, the one thing that I always remember of the people I met there is the way they prayed. They prayed with such urgency and fervor. They desperately prayed for God to meet their physical needs as if they knew that God alone was the provider. Their livelihood literally depended on God.

Most of us live our lives doing everything that we can to avoid finding ourselves in those desperate situations. Even our prayers seek to make our lives easier and more comfortable. The problem is that when life is good, our human nature takes over, and we forget the source of our blessings. We say, “I’m all set now, God,” turn our backs and head the other way.

As hard as it was when I was going thru it, 

at my lowest point is where I was able to experience

the depth of God’s mercy and love for me.

No one, in their right minds, wishes for suffering in their lives, but as the author in She Reads Truth states, we should find ourselves desperate for God every day of our lives. We should live knowing that He is our source of life, truth and salvation. And we should desperately seek His will daily. As human nature goes, that sense of desperation only comes when we’re in dire straits. This is why we all need time in the wilderness, so we can gain back that sense of urgency in seeking God. In doing so, we can remember Paul’s words in Romans 5:3-4, “…but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

I don’t think I’ve ever been physically desperate for God as were Hagar or the people I met in Kenya, but I certainly have gone thru times of emotional desperation. As hard as it was when I was going thru it, at my lowest point is where I was able to experience the depth of God’s mercy and love for me. There is no valley that God’s love cannot reach as it says in Deuteronomy 33:27, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”

Have a blessed rest of the week!

Linking up with these lovelies: Unite | Titus 2 Tuesday | Word Filled Wednesday | A Little R & R | Coffee and Conversation | Thursday Favorite Things | SHINE | Thought Provoking Thursday | Cozy Reading Spot | Fellowship Fridays | Faith Filled Friday | Faith & Fellowship | Grace & Truth