Not too long ago I was talking with this guy about his need for Christ and was listening to him list off excuse after excuse upon being confronted with his sin. When confronted with the 9th commandment, he made sure I understood that lawyers make their living by mishandling truth. When I asked if he had ever taken anything that didn’t belong to him, he gave me this “desperate times call for desperate measures” story. He said that if he had no food, he would rather steal it than work for it. “I’m not certain that laziness qualifies for desperate time or desperate measures,” I told him. He laughed. I couldn’t.
There was a time in my life when I had that same attitude. I had dropped out of college in late fall of 1985 and winter approached. I felt like I didn’t need to go home as I spent more time drinking than going to class and did not want to face the shame and guilt of my “poor choices.” I had to find a place to stay. A friend told me of a mobile home he was going to rent and somehow I talked him out of it and letting me have it. I lived in that trailer through the cold New Mexico winter, paying no rent and having no water or electricity. I did not want to work because I was too stoned to go. I got food stamps (somehow) and when those ran out, hung around the convenience stores trying to talk the clerk into giving me the food they were going to throw out. I went around town writing checks from a bank account that had no money, literally stealing from the stores I went in, buying lamps, oil, rolling paper, food.
I started seeing a judge, who made a standing appointment with me. I had to go out every day and find a job. At the beginning of each day I had to report to him and tell him where I had been the day before, who I interviewed with, and what the result was. I was also to tell him where I was going that day.
And it all caught up to me. And I paid the penalty justice demanded, and after coming within an inch of losing my life, I repented and was saved.
Desperate measures? Hardly. But when you wake up from tripping in house with no heat and it is sub-zero temperature outside, just about anything feels like desperate measures. God gave me this lovely young lady who fed me, I think perhaps did some laundry and made sure I washed—she was greatly used by God and still is. I married her, and am going to celebrate 19 years with her this August.
If I had it to do all over again, I wouldn’t. That’s the way I think about it. But you know what? It’s hard to imagine what life would be like had I not made all those decisions, if I had not taken “desperate measures.” Desperate times can be self-inflicted. The importance lies in that we be able to recognize what is bringing desperate times about. Face it, there is a consequence for every action, every decision. We are good at kicking our own butts.
1 Samuel 4 records an incident worth investigation. The Philistines and the Israelites were at war. Verses 1-2 shows the Israelites going out and losing 4000 men in the battle. Here was a group of people that were going to determined to win! After all, they are God’s people, right? But they were defeated. Their response? Verse 3. “Why have we lost? Oh, yeah, we forgot about God! Go get the ark of the covenant, the symbol of God’s presence among us!” So they take the ark, go to battle . . . and lose. And lose the ark too.
Here is a group of people trying to deal with their self-inflicted desperate situation by desperate measures. When they finally realize they have not tried all the options, they latch onto symbols and not God Himself. They wanted to be victorious as the people of God, but failed to make any changes that would allow God to bring the victory. The grabbed the symbol of His presence and sought after a symbolic victory that was self-serving, a quick-fix to get the Philistines off their backs.
You know what the difference between Eli and Samuel is? Eli sat by and watched the sinfulness of the people pile up around him. Samuel, on the other hand, stood up and told the people what needed to be said, “If you return to the LORD with all your hearts, [then] put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” (1 Sam. 7:3).
Here is a leader that told people what they did not want to hear. Samuel was the kind of guy who would stand up and say, “The problem is not here, in such and such a place. It is back there.” In other words, the problem was not that the Philistine could fight like real men or that the ark of the covenant was taken. The problem was that the people were not in a position for the LORD to be victorious! The Philistines knew this was the same God who delivered His people from Egypt by judging the gods of the Egyptians. They were ready to be put to flight! But what they did not know is that the people they were fighting were (in effect) taking the Lord’s name in vain. They were not representing God accurately by hanging on to idols. They were using God. I suppose that means they were breaking the second commandment also. Samuel stepped up to remind them of their need to return to the Lord.
Hebrews 12:5-11 reminds us of the necessary aspects of the discipline and chastening of the Lord toward disobedient children. The Lord disciplines those He loves. When God disciplines, He deals with those who belong to Him as sons. God deserves the respect and discipline may remind us that respect has been lost. When He disciplines, His children are not telling Him how to do it (as a child would try to bargain with his parent about how many swats he gets or how long his grounding should be), but as He sees as best for the child.
What should the response to discipline be? We should not despise Him for what He is doing because we know we deserve the discipline we receive. We are not to be discouraged, but encouraged. The fact that He is doing this tells us He is paying attention and knows the details of our lives. We should rest assured that we are loved and received, as a father to son. How do you know that you are the Lord’s? By the fact that discipline comes. If you are looking for a quick-fix for desperate times, you will not find it. If you are not disciplined, perhaps you should consider whether or not you are really of the family of God.
Bottom line:
God’s people are not excused from high-handed sin. God’s people are not excused from God’s displeasure over sin, either. While we may be caught in the full brunt of our consequences, and we are seeking a remedy for our situation, that is the time God will discipline His children—during the desperate situation itself.
The consequence of idolatry are:
- The creation of a god suitable to one’s own tastes and desires;
- Placing the false god in the face of the true and living God;
- Damaging the relationship to the true and living;
- Misrepresentation of the true and living God, taking His name in vain;
- Discipline through desperate situations.
Look at the specific steps involved in Israel’s repentance--and it takes a godly leader to speak these words of truth into the ears of God’s children (1 Sam 7:3). A fluffy fru-fru Ms. America type could not do what Samuel did. Samuel did not get up and draw the people with a talent, or speak in a deep eloquent way, directing his head this way and that, holding his chest “like so” or use his hands appropriately with any poise or grace. He stood up and spoke the words of the Lord, instructing Israel to:
- Return to the Lord whole-heartedly;
- Remove the false gods;
- Prepare the heart for the Lord;
- Serve Him only;
- Be delivered.
Look what Israel did (1 Sam 7:4ff):
- They removed their false gods;
- They served God only;
- They gathered and participated in prayer;
- They gave an offering, remembering what God did for them in the past;
- They confessed their sin;
- They struck fear in the hearts of their enemies;
- They sought for constant intervention before the Lord;
- They marked what the Lord accomplished.
There are many instances where people need godly leadership to point them the right direction. Too many in churches today see aspects of Christianity as religious symbols to be used only by those trained to do so. Here’s an example: “Pastor, pray for me. I’m going through a tough time and really need you to pray.”
Folks, prayer is not an object to be handled by someone who has been through Bible College or Seminary. Prayer is not magic. If you are a Christian, you have open access to the throne of God. If you are going through a tough time and are being directed to pray, then by all means, PRAY! I’ll pray with you, but not for you so you don’t have to.
And what about the Bible? I hear so often of people who are experiencing a tough time, but after spending 5 minutes reading Psalm 23 feel much better. Scripture ain’t Band-Aids! You want some relief? I’ll direct you to two tablets and call you in the morning and we will work from there. I want you to meet the balm in Gilead that makes the wounded whole—His name is Jesus! Beware of treating primitively those things that serve as reminders of what God has done for us. Idols are not to be made of crosses, baptisms, communion, etc. When we are in desperate measures those things do nothing but remind us to get on our knees and make certain we allow God to be God and we have not put up anything in His path.
This is where desperate measures need to take another turn.
We need to take desperate measures to make certain we are in the right mind about God.
We need to take desperate measures to make certain our heart is right and there are no idols.
We need to take desperate measures to make certain it is God’s glory we are seeking and not our own.
We need to take desperate measures to make certain we accept His discipline with the love it is given.
We need to take desperate measures to make certain others who wear the name of Christ are representing Him correctly and are living in the victory that only He can give—freedom from desperate measures!
