Desperate

 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.  Matthew 5:6.....

...Would we simply like to experience Him, or are we desperate for Him? Chris Tiegreen....The tragedy is that the situation is desperate but the church is not.  Vance Havner

Have you ever read the accounts of those who sought the Lord in desperation? We see this in the lives of many of our Bible heroes, but it seems easy for us to casually dismiss them because we can be so familiar with them, but how about those brothers and sisters down through history? John Wesley, Hudson Taylor, Charles Spurgeon, A.W. Tozer, and Francis Chan, to name just a few. Many of them would write that their desire for Him was so intense that they felt they would die if they did not receive Him in all of His fullness. Have we ever hungered for Him in such a way, or have we just told ourselves such men and women were a special class. We shouldn't expect or think God expects us to be like them. What if we were to discover that He does indeed expect it? What do we do with that?

Thinking of Tiegreen's quote; when we enter into any encounter with Him, be it in our prayer, our reading of Scripture, in anything that we think of as "worship," do we just hope to experience Him, or do we seek Him in desperation? In any of the ways we may seek Him, do we seek Him with a passion that will not be denied, or do our attentions wander after a few "fervent" minutes? 

Think now on Havner's statement. The world situation has always been desperate, from the fall of humankind on through the resurrection of Christ. At various times the church, and we are the church, has been desperate to see Christ enter fully into that need. The church prayed and sought for Him to do so. It interceded with a passion that would not be denied. The church sought for a move of His Holy Spirit upon a world lost in sin and darkness, and would not leave off until He answered with His awesome power and presence. Contrast that with today. Many churches are praying for revival. How desperate are our prayers, how desperate is our intercession. How deeply do we feel the need that He Himself feels more deeply than we ever could? The need is desperate. Are we, His church?

This writing is addressed to myself as much as anyone. How desperate am I to see all the darkness and need moved upon by the power of His risen life? How easily am I put off in my seeking? The situation of our world and nation will only become more desperate. How desperate will our prayers and actions be in response to that? 

I once saw a painting of a large crowd of people on a platform, eating, drinking, conversing, enjoying life and enjoying each other. All around the platform were swirling waters filled with drowning people, but the ones on the platform didn't see or care for them. The artist meant for those on the platform to represent the church, and those drowning in the waters to be the world that was without Christ. When it comes down to the very base of it all, how closely does your church, my church, His church, look just like those on the platform?

Blessings,
Pastor O