When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!”

We must have this desperation in us. It is, “Give me children, or else I die!” It is no small matter; it is life and death.

This is how we bear fruit unto God. We must be holy, must be forgiven, and we must have him in the power of the Spirit. We cannot do with formal religion that is dry and lifeless. We must have the anointing of the gospel fresh in our heart. We must have assurance, joy, and peace. The presence of the Lord is our DESPERATION!

If this is your mind, then come the right way. Come by the blood and the Spirit. Come by the way of grace. God will give you himself.

First, “When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children.” It’s after we see that we’re lifeless and fruitless. It’s after the defeat of sin, after we have squandered our lives, and after we’ve seen the uselessness of our ministries. Then, we wake up and say, “I need God.”

Before, we tried in our own strength. We relied on charm and beauty. We thought it didn’t need prayer. We were content with our efforts. We thought it would come eventually. We were not dependent on the miraculous.

Now, however, we can do nothing, and we know it. Now, we know the misery and bitterness of failure. Now, we are at our wits end.

Therefore, do not despise this humbling or give up. This is a good time. We had to learn the hard way, but God hears the helpless. Deuteronomy 32:36, "The Lord will indeed vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants when He sees that their strength is gone and no one is left—slave or free." After our strength is gone, then we get God’s strength. After we have failed, then we see that God works with failures. After we have been defeated, then God gives us victory, so that he may be praised always.

Secondly, “she envied her sister.” There are people who don’t care. They give up! They no longer want fruitfulness. They have been defeated by unbelief, and don’t think it can happen. They no longer cry out, but go back to the world. They say, “I tried, and it never happened, so it isn’t for me.” They may become atheists… or they may pervert the gospel, so that good works are not needed. They go back, like dogs to their vomit, and become slaves of sin.2 Peter 2:22 It has happened to them according to the true proverb: A dog returns to its own vomit, and, “a sow, after washing itself, wallows in the mud.”

God, however, gives us conviction. “I want to be delivered. This deceitful porn loving drunkard is not who I am. This fornicator controlled by lusts, who knows the gospel, must be delivered. I can’t live against my convictions. I must come out of this pit! I fear God. He may send me to hell. I can’t live in open rebellion, because the Scriptures warn me. I can’t get God out of my mind. What good is it to gain the world, and lose my soul? There is a Judgment, and hell is eternal.”

These thoughts and many more consume us. We are ashamed with conviction, which leads to repentance, and then we cry to God, and he hears us. Let this conviction have its perfect work. Do not stamp it out!

Thirdly, “Give me children, or I shall die!” This is the talk of desperation. We go to God in prayer. We humble ourselves, upon our knees, and ask him believingly, “For the Lord Jesus’ sake, bless me. Give me grace because of his blood. Give me the Holy Spirit.”

We see there is help in God. Jacob told Rachel, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” We, however, do not go to man. We use the preacher, saying, “Have you seen Jesus.” Externals do not satisfy us. Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and the praise of men means nothing: we must have God in our souls with power. We can’t be satisfied with songs and sermons, until God is in the heart, and sin is conquered. Ours is not a formal religion of empty routines. We are not satisfied with eye service. We must have worship and peace. We must obtain the promise!

Therefore, pray, my brothers and sisters. Luke 11:10, "For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." Go to God in your helpless desperation. Go believing the blood is enough and the Spirit will come. Go believing that God is gracious, and you will behold his glory. Believe his goodness far suprasses your sin, and your unworthiness glorifies his grace. Believe that he can overcome your filth, as easily as a fly can flutter or an ant can crawl. Believe that he delights in mercy and keeps his covenant. Believe that he’s faithful to people who’ve spit in his face. Believe the Prodigals story - the music and the dancing. Believe that he’ll receive the UNWORTHY, and he will!