DESPERATE FOR EVERYTHING ELSE BUT JESUS?

 

Like most, if not all of you, I happened to travel home for the Easter holiday.(Never mind that Easter weekend was last month. This article was set to be posted the week after Easter, that was my plan. But here we are,  a fortnight later. Despite the fact that it came late, I believe it's still as valuable as it would have been then. ) I had a good time with family, had time to reflect on the sufferings, death and resurrection of Jesus and what it means to me as an individual.
He, who was with no sin, bore the sins of the human race,
He who was blameless, suffered shame and ridicule, that you and I may be accepted before our Heavenly Father,
He paid our debts that we may enjoy freedom,
He took away what was EVIL in us that we may LIVE,

So, while I was home, on this fine Saturday morning, my mum and I got ourselves ready. She was attending a wedding while I was going to have my hair done. Once we were in town, I escorted mummy to the bus-stop (well let's say I acted like a Gentleman right at that moment, ha-ha). See, when the Psalmist wrote that Children born in one's youth are like arrows in the hands of a warrior, he knew exactly what that means. And blessed is the man/woman whose quiver is full of them (my mummy's and daddy's quiver has 4 arrows and it's full. Lol )
Back to my story, after making sure mummy had boarded a vehicle I proceeded to this cosmetic shop, but I didn’t get the type of braid I wanted. It’s at that moment in the cosmetic shop when I realized that I didn’t have my brooch on!!!    
I had lost it, maybe it fell off or someone stole it. For about a minute or so, I stood there, kinda confused, shocked and feeling sad. I remember the lady who had attended to me asking if I had changed my mind and wanted to pick a different type of braid. I looked at her, I suppose with a grumpy face, shook my head, said “Thank you” in a feeble voice and left the shop.
As I walked back, I kept my head down, my eyes scrutinizing every shiny item I spotted on the ground; my eyes’ resolution power at that moment must have been way higher than that of the incredibly famous Infinix mobile phones. (Ha-ha, on a light note, just the other day I heard someone say that Infinix phones ni kama Probox, kila mtu ako nayo.)  Am not being a hater here, I also own one he-he.
I never found my brooch, all I saw were shattered pieces of glass. But I didn’t give up. I was determined to find it, to be re-united with it (like how Nimo’s parents were so desperate to find their little princess and in the end they are re-united as in Finding Nimo.)
The vehicle hadn’t left the bus stop yet, so I went to the window where mummy was seated, told her that I didn’t find the braid I wanted, but I'd check in a different shop. She quickly interposed and asked if there was something wrong. With my mum, it’s only a few times I’ve managed to conceal the truth about how am feeling. So I pointed to my blazer, right where my brooch was. What was left was a safety pin (y'all know how unsightly safety pins look, right? ) So mummy looks at me and goes like:
'What happened to the shiny thing you had on your blazer?'
'I lost it,  I didn't realize it until when I was almost leaving the cosmetic shop.'
'It made you look sophisticated (she didn't use this exact word). Now you have a plain look without it. '
That almost triggered my tears. It remained little (ilibakia kidogo.)
'But don't worry, I'll get you another one' , said Mom. My face lit up and I felt comforted. One challenge however, melancholics are known for their unique trait of sense of attachment. So there I was, expecting a new brooch but contemplating on the fact that it won't be like the one I had before.
Anyway, I smiled, waved goodbye to Mom and headed to the second cosmetic shop.  Luckily, I found the braid I wanted. I then went to the salon and had my hair done. Having met my agenda for the day, I went home.  Mummy came later in the evening and as we picked clothes from the lines,  I told mummy that I hadn't gotten over the fact that my brooch was lost.
Mum : How much did it cost you?
Me : Not more than Sh 150
Mum : From your reaction someone would think you've lost something more valuable.
Me : But Mom, I loved my brooch.
Mum : The thing is, you can always get another brooch.
Me : That's right.
Mum : So now don't worry about it anymore. After all,  it's not something that was alive and your life won't end coz you lost it.
Me : (In my head) Ooookay. Though getting over it seems like an uphill task.
By the time I was going to bed that night,  I really thought about the whole scenario. A brooch is not something that has breath, it doesn't add value to who I am (it only adds value to how I look), my life does not depend on its presence, at all.. So why the desperation to find it?
If I was as desperate to seek God and His will for my life as I was to find the brooch, wouldn't my life be exemplary?
How many times do we desperately go chasing after the things we want for ourselves ?
How many times do we go against our values, beliefs just to gratify our immediate wants or even lusts?
Given that we are human, we are all prone to being desperate at one point or another. I don't know what it is that you are so desperate for at the moment. It could be a job,  a husband , a wife, a child,  a breakthrough, finances, etc. While there is nothing wrong with wanting all that,  there's something wrong with idolizing our needs/wants. In idolizing them,  we exempt God from the position He deserves in our lives...He should be the centre of everything.
I'll tell you this, firsthand,  if you find yourself so worried or desperate for something, your relationship with God is amiss.  See, when you trust God, it doesn't mean that you will have a smooth, bread and butter, out of trouble kind of life. There will be tough times, times when you feel like giving up but even through those tough times, you'll be at peace because you know Him who you have believed in. And because He has promised to never leave you alone for He sticks closer than a brother.
Have you ever realized that desperation is like a grave?  It can never be satisfied. When you get that job you were desperate for, it's only a matter of time and wife-desperation comes knocking on your door.
Being desperate for Jesus is the only kind of desperation that can be fully satisfied.
From the Beatitudes Jesus taught that, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for Righteousness, for they will be filled." Matthew 5:6
Again, at Jacob's well with the Samaritan woman, He says this to her,
"But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14
Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink John 7: 37b
From the above scriptures, the first requirement is thirst. Everyone has spiritual thirst (or desperation, in our context), for it is part of the human condition. Our need, our thirst, is what we bring to our relationship with God. What do we hunger for? What do we thirst for? What do we really desire? Sin is our seeking relief from this thirst in something other than God. That could be through a job,  spouse, child, money etc.
Jesus invites those who know their need, those who are poor in spirit , to take the initiative and come to him and drink.  Drinking here refers to believing, which means aligning oneself with him, trusting him, receiving his teaching and obeying his commands. Such faith will enable one to receive the Spirit and enter an abiding relationship with Christ after his glorification. All of this is based on who God is and what he has done for us. When we believe we open our hands to receive what his grace offers--we come and drink.
You realize that when you seek God and His will for your life,  every little thing that you desire in life will come to you. 
Matthew 6:33 -  But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.
The need to be in control of our lives is the very anchor of desperation. As long as we keep wanting to have things go our way, we will remain heavily chained in this quagmire of desperation. The only way out is to let God take the lead while we play the background coz we know sometimes we get in the way (y'all Lecrae fans, I know you feel me on this one.)

Remember to cast all your cares unto Him; worries, anxieties, concerns - because He affectionately cares for you and watchfully cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7