I've talked to several people in the last few months that are in tough situations. Problems with their finances, their children, their marriages, addictions, you name it. What has shocked me in every instance is their lack of desperation. They're complaining, crying, and even asking for help…but they really don't want to make a change. So much so that I wonder if they've grown attached to their pain. It has tagged along for so long that it's become their pet.

They feed it, water it, and complain because it's not house-trained yet, but they've come to see it as their new reality. Seriously, it's scary.

So the next time I hear, "I just don't know what to do anymore, I can't continue living like this…" I'm going to ask this question:

"What are you going to do about it?"

It's the same question I would pose to you.

Zacchaeus was a tax collector. The Bible says that he was "chief among publicans." He was high ranking and very rich. Jesus was passing through Jericho, and this very rich tax collector was desperate to see him. There was just one small problem. He was short. Too short to see above the heads of the masses of people that had crowded the streets for the "event." So he ran ahead and climbed a tree. He was desperate to get a glimpse of this Jesus.

I don't know what he had heard about Jesus, but I'm sure that stories of His miracles and powerful teaching had reached Zacchaeus' ears. When Jesus saw him in the tree, He called him down and invited Himself over to his house for lunch! Ignored the masses and invited Himself into the life of one very wealthy, very short, and probably dishonest, tax collector.

The crowd was furious- why would He spend time with a cheat and a thief? Tax collectors were the arch enemies of the people! But Zacchaeus promised in that moment to pay back four times anything that he had previously gained dishonestly, and give half of his wealth to the poor. Jesus promises him that he and his household will be saved. I can't help but think that those were the very words that Zacchaeus had been praying to hear.

That's all we know about Zacchaeus. You can find the story in Luke 19:1-10. What drove him out to the streets that day to look for Jesus? I don't know. What kind of deep desire sent him up that tree? I can't tell you. And where did his outrageous promise come from? Pay people back four times over and give half of his money away? That's crazy. This outrageous promise probably turned him into a pauper. But he was desperate.

Another person who made a rash promise in a moment of desperation is Hannah. Her story begins in I Samuel. She couldn't have children. She had a wonderful husband that loved her and longed to make her happy…but her desire couldn't be satiated by his love and devotion.

Crushed in soul, Hannah prayed to God and cried and cried - inconsolably. Then she made a vow:

Oh, God-of-the-Angel-Armies,

If you'll take a good, hard look at my pain,

If you'll quit neglecting me and go into action for me

By giving me a son,

I'll give him completely, unreservedly to you.

I'll set him apart for a life of holy discipline.

It so happened that as she continued in prayer before God, Eli was watching her closely. Hannah was praying in her heart, silently. Her lips moved, but no sound was heard. Eli jumped to the conclusion that she was drunk. He approached her and said, "You're drunk! How long do you plan to keep this up? Sober up, woman!"

Hannah said, "Oh no, sir - please! I'm a woman hard used. I haven't been drinking. Not a drop of wine or beer. The only thing I've been pouring out is my heart, pouring it out to God. Don't for a minute think I'm a bad woman. It's because I'm so desperately unhappy and in such pain that I've stayed here so long."

Eli answered her, "Go in peace. And may the God of Israel give you what you have asked of him."

"Think well of me - and pray for me!" she said, and went her way. Then she ate heartily, her face radiant.

I Samuel 1:10-18, MSG

Hannah so longed for a son that she...