Desperate seems to be a negative word. How could being desperate be anything to which anyone aspires? Lately, I’ve discovered that desperation is an important state of spiritual being.

I had one of those Aha! moments as I was watching the aftermath of the Hurricane Katrina. Growing up in Florida I have weathered many a hurricane. We always lived inland and I only remember boarding up our windows one time. Hurricanes are a part of life. I had little understanding of how much this hurricane would help me understand the world more profoundly.

As the pictures from the Superdome—where twenty thousand people sought shelter for days—were shown on television, I realized how desperate those conditions were. I could sense that those people were trapped in a dark hell. Reports of rape and murder and death grieved my soul. These realities suddenly helped me see how desperate I am as a human. I could see myself in that Superdome, at the mercy of the neighbors who shared my world, unable to continue living without water and supplies. I could comprehend that had I been there, I could have died there. I understood for the first time what it means that we are dust (Psalms 103:14)! I grasped the fact that being human means being desperate.

Why didn't I know this sooner, you may wonder? It’s because I don't like to face the fact that I'm desperate. Make that, I didn't like to face the fact that I am desperate. Now that I truly see how desperate I am, I find it joyful. As a human I may be desperate, but I'm also prideful. I think I’ve got it all figured out. I think I can make my life work if I just follow the rules and work hard enough. These thoughts blind me to the fact that I am desperate. It worked for a long, long time. But, I'm grateful to God that He treats me like I'm desperate before I even know that I am.

I'm not the only one who is desperate. Even if you don't realize it, you are desperate too. Every human is desperate and whether they know it or not, God does. He has cast a rescue object to every one on earth. It is the cross of Christ. He throws it out to anyone with the sense enough to know he is desperate and to grab on to His offer of salvation.

But there’s more to desperation on our spiritual journey. I’ve discovered the delight of being desperate. God has invited me to become desperate for the power of the Holy Spirit in my life. He asks me to admit I am desperate and unable to live for Him without His help through the Holy Spirit. Philippians 2:13 says it this way: For it is God who works within you to will and to act according to his good purpose. I remember reading that very Scripture and realizing I was desperate when I was seventeen years old. I remember sharing how disturbing that thought was to me to with my youth worker. I remember realizing that it was the truth. But somehow I forgot the lesson. In the almost three decades that have passed, I’ve been denying that I'm desperate. No longer; this time I'm going embrace the fact that I'm desperate. It’s easy to do when you know that the One Who made you has known all along that you are desperate and is there to give you everything you need.