Beyond Desolation: What to Do When You Have Nothing LeftSample

You are not who you were.

This is both good and bad. Hopefully, you’ve outgrown your younger self in how you approach relationships, faith, finances, etc.. You’ve learned lessons that made you wiser…. Or maybe you haven’t.

Some of us are living outdated versions of ourselves and don’t realize it.

Find an older person who expects to have the same body, ease of living, or uncomplicated relationships they did BEFORE a career, a health scare, or children and you’ll probably find someone who’s struggling with low-grade depression (often dubbed as being “just tired,” or “in a rut”) or numbing from reality in an unhealthy way.

Remember the story of David killing Goliath, a giant, with some stones and his slingshot? Did you know he faced a second giant years later? It didn’t go as well (2 Samuel 21:15-17).

Basically, David’s been king for a long time. He’s fought, ruled, and successfully conquered much since his teenage debut with Goliath. Now exhausted, he’s facing another one-on-one match with a different giant .

Instead of unparalleled victory, he’s cornered. His servant sees his impending death and steps in. His servant defeats the giant. His men plead with him to accept his age-induced limits and stay in his lane as ruler, not warrior. (This story never made it into Sunday School.)

David still carried a mindset of an invincible teen with God on his side, though his body no longer matched his reality. His outdated mindset almost killed him.

Are you desolate because you’re hanging onto an outdated mindset regarding what you think you can do, should do, or be?

When we continually deny our reality and capacity, we burn out. Perpetually exceeding our limits depletes our soul. We eventually become desolate.

Ask yourself:

• What’s a “second giant” God wants me to notice?
• What’s no longer true that I need to accept (e.g. “I used to…but the reality is….”).
• What’s the cost of not accepting my limitations?

Fully accepting “what is” versus “what was,” often creates an inner shift toward renewal (Psalm 139:23,24).

Pray this now:

Dear God, I admit I don’t know enough to work myself out of desolation. Thank you that all you ask is my surrender so your Spirit can move afresh in me. What do you want me to further accept about myself so that I live more honestly in reality? I am desolate. I am desperate. I am humbly listening…. Amen.

**Tomorrow we’ll meet four people in the Bible who experienced desolation and found their way through. Which one will speak to you?