Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. Luke 19:1-4 NIV
Desperation. That’s a word that is normally filled with negative connotations. People in a financial crisis are desperate to find some monetary relief. Those whose receive a devastating medical diagnosis desperately look for a cure. Even athletes can find themselves feeling desperate for a winning play to turn the tide of a game. Let’s face it. Being desperate is always thought of as being a bad thing.
However, in spiritual matters being desperate is quite different. It’s actually a gift. You may need to let that sink in for a moment. Everything in us wants to recoil from such a thought, but the truth is that spiritual desperation is the very thing that propels us to turn to God when nothing else will.
The story of Zacchaeus is a case in point. As a tax collector, he worked for the Romans in collecting taxes for them. Since there were no tax tables such as we have with the IRS, tax collectors could adjust the amount they charged based on what they thought they could extort from their fellow Jewish citizens. They would then give the Roman government what they expected and pocket the rest.
It’s no wonder they were rich. It’s even less wonder why they were despised. They not only worked for the hated Romans, but they were also corrupt. Zacchaeus had worked in this system long enough to become a chief tax collector which made him scandalously wealthy. But as well-stationed in life as he was, he was unsettled within. We aren’t told everything that Zacchaeus felt inside, but we know enough to surmise that he was guilt ridden, and he was desperate for relief.
How else do you explain his actions? He learns that Jesus was passing through Jericho. He no doubt had heard enough about Jesus to know that He and He alone could meet the desperate longings in soul. So he goes to meet Jesus, but there’s a crowd. Crowds were dangerous for tax collectors. It would not have been unthinkable for someone to try to stab him in anger. He was also short. He simply could not see above the crowd, and there was no way that they would make room for him.
But he’s desperate. So he improvises by climbing a nearby tree so that he can see Jesus. And that’s when it happens. Jesus sees him in the tree. But instead of ignoring him as would have been expected, He calls out to him by name. And from that moment on, Zacchaeus’ life would never be the same again. Upon his confession, Jesus announces that Zacchaeus was a son of Abraham who had experienced the miracle of salvation.
That’s what I mean by desperation being a gift. Sometimes we have to get to the point that we simply cannot stay as we are anymore. We must find an answer to the deepest yearnings in our soul, and eventually we realize that only God can do that. When we reach that point, God is able to do His transforming work within. That’s the power of desperation. When you are desperate, nothing is more important to you than to get the new life that only God can give.
But desperation takes time to do its work. Often we think that what we really need is more money, more recognition, more approval, more success, more something. So we pursue it over and over again only to find that it doesn’t satisfy us even if we get what we thought we wanted. At some point we have to come to ourselves like the boy in the story of the Prodigal son. We have to become weary of our unmet longings, desperate if you will for something better.
That desperation leads us to God. He’s the One who sees us in the tree as we strain to see Him. And when He sees us, we have the opportunity to give up the fruitless pursuits that have consumed us so that we can embrace the life that He has for us. A life that we always wanted. What a gift desperation is.