No one likes feeling or appearing "desperate." It means we're in a place of weakness and vulnerability. Yet, it is a consistent theme throughout the scriptures, that God is "desperate" for a close relationship with us...
That's right, I said God is "desperate." What else would you call it when a father would send His only son to be tortured to death in order to adopt more children into His family? Why would He command Abraham to brutally murder his own promised son, Isaac, then rescue him only a moment before the knife plunged into his heart; or why command His prophet, Hosea, to marry a prostitute who would constantly break his heart and humiliate him with her promiscuous unfaithfulness? Why, if not to communicate and demonstrate the profound dilemma of His desperate love for us?
Here lies the paradox.
God, Jehovah, The Eternal and All-Powerful "I AM" - who spoke the universe into existence and upholds all things by the power of His word - appears to need us more than we appear to need Him, even though common sense and Biblical revelation shout the exact opposite. Our life on earth is essentially meaningless without Him; and our life beyond earth is utterly hopeless without Him. Yet the vast majority of the inhabitants of earth seem to have little or no concern for this desperate God.
Even those who claim to believe in Him (i.e. most Americans) and those who claim to love and follow him (the Church), would rarely describe themselves as "desperate" for that relationship. Most of the time we act like we can take or leave Him. And if someone secretly observed our day-to-day lives, I believe it would often prove to be the latter.
Not that desperation is a foreign concept to us. We know the feeling... When we should have prepared for that test or completed that work assignment but didn't; when the money runs out with important bills unpaid - and then the car breaks down; or when a close relationship disintegrates, or a friend betrays us; when the news from the doctor is devastating. We understand desperation.
It's odd that most of us never think to use the word, "desperate" in our relationship with God when, for example, we have neglected prayer or Bible reading, or fellowship with other Christians, or when we are harboring a secret sin that separates us from God. "Oops, no biggie, it can wait till tomorrow," we say.
King David was no stranger to desperate times. This "man-after-God's-heart"; worship leader; giant-slayer; and Warrior-King, knew personal suffering on many levels. When he was at his lowest moment - spiritually and emotionally broken by the consequences of his own sin and the resulting separation from God - he wrote a poem that became the lyrics for one of Israel's dearest worship songs. We know it as Psalm 51.
10 "Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me....
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise."
As it turns out - the God who is Desperate for us, is especially sensitive to us in our times of desperation. He is kind and compassionate to the soul burdened with sin, or pain, or personal struggles. When we reach out to Him in our pain - He is always ready and willing to forgive and rescue.
The best worship is offered by desperate people. People who are painfully aware of their needs and weakness, but who also trust in God's power to heal, restore, and rescue. Those who have suffered the most are in the unique position to experience the greatest joy from seeking God passionately.
That's right, I said God is "desperate." What else would you call it when a father would send His only son to be tortured to death in order to adopt more children into His family? Why would He command Abraham to brutally murder his own promised son, Isaac, then rescue him only a moment before the knife plunged into his heart; or why command His prophet, Hosea, to marry a prostitute who would constantly break his heart and humiliate him with her promiscuous unfaithfulness? Why, if not to communicate and demonstrate the profound dilemma of His desperate love for us?
Here lies the paradox.
God, Jehovah, The Eternal and All-Powerful "I AM" - who spoke the universe into existence and upholds all things by the power of His word - appears to need us more than we appear to need Him, even though common sense and Biblical revelation shout the exact opposite. Our life on earth is essentially meaningless without Him; and our life beyond earth is utterly hopeless without Him. Yet the vast majority of the inhabitants of earth seem to have little or no concern for this desperate God.
Even those who claim to believe in Him (i.e. most Americans) and those who claim to love and follow him (the Church), would rarely describe themselves as "desperate" for that relationship. Most of the time we act like we can take or leave Him. And if someone secretly observed our day-to-day lives, I believe it would often prove to be the latter.
Not that desperation is a foreign concept to us. We know the feeling... When we should have prepared for that test or completed that work assignment but didn't; when the money runs out with important bills unpaid - and then the car breaks down; or when a close relationship disintegrates, or a friend betrays us; when the news from the doctor is devastating. We understand desperation.
It's odd that most of us never think to use the word, "desperate" in our relationship with God when, for example, we have neglected prayer or Bible reading, or fellowship with other Christians, or when we are harboring a secret sin that separates us from God. "Oops, no biggie, it can wait till tomorrow," we say.
King David was no stranger to desperate times. This "man-after-God's-heart"; worship leader; giant-slayer; and Warrior-King, knew personal suffering on many levels. When he was at his lowest moment - spiritually and emotionally broken by the consequences of his own sin and the resulting separation from God - he wrote a poem that became the lyrics for one of Israel's dearest worship songs. We know it as Psalm 51.
10 "Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me....
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise."
As it turns out - the God who is Desperate for us, is especially sensitive to us in our times of desperation. He is kind and compassionate to the soul burdened with sin, or pain, or personal struggles. When we reach out to Him in our pain - He is always ready and willing to forgive and rescue.
The best worship is offered by desperate people. People who are painfully aware of their needs and weakness, but who also trust in God's power to heal, restore, and rescue. Those who have suffered the most are in the unique position to experience the greatest joy from seeking God passionately.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
I pray our church is becoming a haven for Desperate Worshipers.
Desperate for His Glory,
Dave Swanson
Worship Leader