Be Desperate
Several years ago, Michael W. Smith released a song that I love…Breathe. The lyrics are unique:
this is the air I breathe
Your holy presence living in me
this is my daily bread
Your very word spoken to me
And I, I'm desperate for you
And I, I'm lost without you
And I, I'm desperate for you
Over the last several years, I’ve met people from China. Some of these friends are students at the University of Alabama and some I met while visiting China. Many of these people have yet to become Christ-followers. Many have never heard the gospel, the Good News.
But of those dear Chinese friends who have heard the saving news of Jesus and have chosen to follow Him, they live their lives full out, following Jesus….they will never be the same! They remember how very desperate they were to hear the news of a Saviour. Perhaps it is because these people have come from a place lacking hope. Throughout the world, people live in societies with no knowledge of God or hope of a future in eternity or of a God-love.
So when these people hear, learn and meet Jesus they are forever changed. Their lives of desperation become lives of hope. Every day is a new day of eternal life. They have known and lived in great need and they do not forget the state of their hearts before they met Jesus. They’ve heard the Good News and it has become the Fantastic News, the Overwhelming News, The Life-Changing-Tell-Others-News.
These Christ-followers from China and other places in the world are different from me and perhaps, you. Do you see? They came to end of themselves. They had been to the place of death, darkness, and hopelessness and found their Saviour.
Over the past months of blogging, I’ve received emails with these words:
“Don’t be so hard on yourself”
“You judge yourself too harshly”
“Be gentle with yourself”
I’m not being too hard on myself. I’m trying to remember my state, my desperation before Jesus came into my being. Yes, my Saviour has redeemed me. Through Him, I have been made anew. But, lest I never forget that I am broken, I live in a culture where there is no hope….I want to stay desperate for Jesus. I want my life to be lived out with the Fantastic News, the Overwhelming News, The Life-Changing-Tell-Others-News of hope and redemption.
For if I’m NOT desperate for Him…what am I desperate for? Am I relying on myself, on my ability, on my achievements, on my education, on my career, on my children, on my smarts?
It’s only in recognition of my great need that I fully see Him. I see how desperate I am for a Saviour…
this is the air I breathe
Your holy presence living in me
And I, I'm lost without you
And I, I'm desperate for you
