When desperation creeps in

by Rev Daniel Mwathe
(Nairobi

THE HOUR OF DESPERATION
REV DANIEL MWATHE
Kenya Assemblies of God-Saika Nairobi

Theme: Hearing the voice of God in the hour of your desperation

Definition –State of despair, hopelessness, torment and discouragement
This is a time when your situation becomes impossible to deal with and you have no strength left to hold on

Introduction:
Every person in this life experiences moments when situations become unbearable.
1. May be the loss of a close family member
2. Losing a job
3. Facing family break ups and the like, all situations may not be the same to every person.
Sermonic explanation: In the same way, every Christian can hear the voice of God in the hour of desperation.
Let’s turn to the word of God and see certain examples of people who walked with God in time of desperation and see what God spoke to them.

1. Desperation makes us doubt God's intended plan and purpose for our lives.
Genesis 15:1-6
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Genesis 17:17-18 God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”
Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!”
Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.

Abraham had already written himself off and it seemed that nothing would be forth coming in his life even with God insisting on blessing him. This is the pick of desperation. His situation seemed impossible to deal with.
What Abraham needed at this moment of desperation was the voice of God, but not listening to what the situation was speaking to him.
He heard the voice of God concerning his question, God said, Yes your wife Sarah will bear you a son.
What situation is too hard for God in your life today? What you need is just God's voice to speak to your situation no matter how great it seems.

2. Desperation makes us not want to face the reality of our lives but run away from it.
Genesis 21:14-19
Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba.
When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she began to sob.
God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation. ”
Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
As Hagar ran away from the situation she faced, God heard the cry of the boy and called Hagar from heaven.
What situations are you running away from in your life?
What is that hard thing that is troubling you today and you feel like quitting?
God is the only voice you need to hear, His voice is assurance of victory and giving of life to that lifeless situation in your life.
Do not run away, stay on and wait and seek for a voice from God.

3. Desperation drains our lives of all hope of experiencing a breakthrough.
1 kings 17: 7-13,
Sometime later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the LORD came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”
“As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”
Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain on the land.’”
She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.
Acts 27:20-21 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.
After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”
The woman of Zarephath was preparing her last meal. Desperation that her food was getting finished had drained her hope of seeing tomorrow.
God is never late, she heard the voice of God from Elijah her life was prolonged, her oil never run out and neither was the jar of floor used up until the drought was over.
Your situation may have drained all your strength and all hope of getting over your situation that you only see death and defeat.
You need a voice from god to speak to your situation and give you hope to prolong your life.
Though you may be at the verge of death, it’s not yet over, God can speak and has a word for you.

4. Desperation inflicts fear in us and makes us forget our past victories in the hands of God
1kings 19: 1-5 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”
Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.
All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night
Elijah was a great man of God who God had used to do mighty deeds in Israel but fear made her run away forgetting all the Lord had done through him.
May be your situation has brought fear and you are running away, you have forgotten your past victories in the Lord because fear has gripped you.
You just need a word, a voice from God that Elijah heard, you will be strengthened and your fear will turn to victory.