Desperado

God provides for His chosen ones during their time of desperation.   ~~~   I had to be in 7th grade when I first discovered the band, The Eagles. The transition from cassette tapes to compact discs was underway at that time, so I had some Eagles tapes, and then some Eagles CD’s. I wore those tapes out, listening to them over and over again. I love the simple melodies, the harmonies, the Randy Misner voice, the Don Henley and Glen Fry lyrics, the Joe Walsh guitar solos. I love the southern rock sound. But there was one song that I listened to probably more than any other—Desperado. The ache that is in that song; the way the verses paint a clear picture in your mind of a lonely cowboy out riding fences, weathered, hardened; the stubbornness and pride of being on your own, not needing anyone. Maybe I identified with the song because as a young teenager I was searching for more and more independence in my life. We have a desperado among us today, in our text. Someone who is out on their own, secluded. The difference is that this desperado doesn’t want to be alone. This life of being a desperado was not of his own choosing. He was forced into this. And it wasn’t even a result of his own bad choices. He had done everything right. He was a man after God’s own heart. He had was walking the path of righteousness and faithfulness, and yet, became a desperado—a desperate person, in despair, in distress. Can you identify with that person at all? Have you ever felt like you were all alone, or that no one really understood your life context and situation? Have you grown tired or desperate? Has walking with the LORD been what brought you to the desperation, because it very well can lead to that? We say this all the time around here, that walking with the LORD oftentimes leads you into the valley of the shadow of death; it makes the enemy become more concerned about you and concentrate his sights on you more intently. And it can lead to isolation. Living with Jesus, walking with Jesus very much will lead to losses and crosses (Thomas Brooks). And when you are in the thick of it, it can be suffocating. It can feel like you can’t catch your breath. It can feel like you will never return to normal. But we learn something about our God in this story of this desperado in our text. We learn that God provides for His chosen ones during their times of desperation.