Desperate For You

Someone once asked me, "How do you know when you've found the love of your life?" My answer has always been, "When you know, you'll know." That is very true. But that love, and the sheer depth of it, goes WAY beyond any earthly constraints.

I had a wonderful hour of worship the other night. Unfortunately, it took place between the hours of 2:00 and 3:00 AM! Ah well. It was actually very nice. Quiet. Peaceful. Humble and submissive.

The song at the end of this story was playing in my head. I encourage you to give it a listen. When you get to the words "Your holy presence, living in me" push pause and think about that for a moment. God's Holy Spirit LIVES in the heart of every believer. That should be VERY humbling for the Christian.

Then this . . .

"And I, I'm desperate for you."

Are we DESPERATE for God?  I don't think we are as "desperate" for Him as we should be. How about you? What does desperation look like in the heart of the believer?

We recently had a lot of extreme weather here in Central Wisconsin. Two feet of snow, a major ice storm, and 8" of rain. The result was what they are calling a 100-year flood. Would you be desperate for God if that happened to you?

I drove by one of the flooded towns yesterday. The water covers the main street that runs through town. Further upstream it's just as bad. The picture above looks like sharks swimming in the ocean. Nope. It's sturgeon spawning . . .  in the boat landing parking lot.

Please pray for the people affected by the flooding in New London, Fremont, Shiocton, and all places in between. And that's just in Waupaca County.

And then thank God that no one has perished. May our prayers be desperate for God's protective hand to be over us as we ALL deal with the events of this world. Thank you!

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10

"Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him." - Job 13:15

Breathe - Michael W. Smith

Our Need for Desperation

The Book of Psalms is full of praises to God, but the thing I noticed most after reading it this time was the desperation of some of the words. Psalm 88 is a typical example.

"Day and night I cry out before You. For my soul is full of troubles,

and my life draws near to Sheol (the place of the dead). 4I am counted among those descending to the Pit  (Hell). I am like a man without strength. 5I am forsaken among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You remember no more, who are cut off from Your care." - Psalm 88:1-5

That guy was desperate in his prayer! Yet he is calling out to God for help.

When things go bad in our lives, do we turn to God for help? Or do we try to press on our own?
Pretty much the entire Book of Psalms is an example of what we SHOULD be doing in our desperation. Seeking God in prayer!

The prayers of desperation in Psalms are often followed by words and songs of praise to God. Why is that? Was it because God answered David's prayer of desperation? I think it was!

Do we pray desperately? Are we on our knees, praying to God, because we have exhausted everything else we could think of? Or is it the FIRST thing we do?

Our prayers should not be filled with desperate words, yet they often are. Why? Could it be because we tried doing something on our own, without God?

In the Old Testament kings often "inquired of the Lord" before they went off to battle. If the Lord wasn't with them they either failed miserably or they didn't even go.

Do we 'inquire of the Lord' before we make our decisions? Or do we make our choices, hoping that they are what God wants us to do?

These are desperate times that we live in right now. And things are going to get worse. God wants us to turn to Him, not only in our desperation, but He also wants us to turn to Him in times of plenty.

The key word in that thought is 'turn'. There is a word, often used in the Bible, which literally means 'to turn around'. That word is 'repent'. We will never have to repent if we always make God-honoring choices in life and let Him guide us through every decision we make.

Seek Him, trust Him, rely on Him, love Him, and obey Him.