Desperate

Oh, how many times I've heard the word "Desperate" and cringed. Most of the time it's used to describe a situation where girl meets boy, boy doesn't know girl exists, girl meets another boy, another boy doesn't care... and the story goes on and on. Ok so what does it mean to be really desperate? I could give you a ton of different scenarios and stories where someone say's they were desperate... but in the end you would feel sorry for someone, or think they were lame, and that would be missing the point.

When I looked up desperate in Miriam Webster's Dictionary I found this:

1 a : having lost hope b : giving no ground for hope
2 a : moved by despair b : involving or employing extreme measures in an attempt to escape defeat or frustration
3 : suffering extreme need or anxiety money>
4 : involving extreme danger or possible disaster
5 : of extreme intensity

It's not any different than I expected... In fact I think almost everyone thinks of all that. The thing we don't think about is the fact that without faith in God we are always going to be desperate. That longing feel for something else, something more, something. What if we replaced that longing with God? Would the feeling go away or would it just become greater?

There are so many people who claim to be "Christians" or "saved". They live their lives going to church on Sundays, saying their prayers, and owning their Bibles. Even a pagan goes to church, says prayers, and even owns a Bible. The difference is that a true saved person is desperate to fall more and more into love with the one who saved them.

I loved these little guys in Toy Story! In the second one Mr. & Mrs. Potato save them and their response is "You have saved our lives! We are eternally Grateful!" Why is it that we are saved from despair and yet our response is "Ok God so what is the bare minimum?" Instead shouldn't we be desperate to know our Savior more, and fall in love with him as much as we possibly can?

The next question I have is this: Do we even realize what we've been saved from? Most people just think that when you're saved its a matter just not going to hell (which is part of it). Heaven's terrific and all, but I don't want to go there just for the housing arrangements, I want to go there to be with the one who invited me in. I want him to know how grateful I am for Him saving me. From what you might ask? From loneliness, hopelessness, being incapable to feel and know what real love is, and yes from eternal damnation from everything that is good and perfect... God.

Now is the time to wake up, and become desperate to know God, nothing in our lives should trump that. Sadly instead, we replace the new life that God gives us with the one we already had and then try to make it work. That way we don't have to do anything to extreme and we blend in with the rest of the world.

Ok so back to Miriam. Her definition was right on, but lets see how it really ties into all of this.

Definition #1

a) having lost hope

Most people hope in the wrong things. They put faith and hope in their finances, or worse, just

self. That type of hope is lost immediately when we realize what true hope is made of.

b) giving no ground for hope

How much ground do you think there is in hell for hope? I think Hell's kinda like the mafia, once you're in you're in.

Definition #2

a) moved by despair

God can use despair to move us toward's Him through real hope.

b) involving or employing extreme measures in attempt to escape defeat or frustration

I love how it say's extreme measures because when you are desperate for something

you do anything to get it. Shouldn't it be that way with knowing God?

Definition #3

a) suffering extreme need or anxiety

There it is again people extreme, If you're really saved you realize how much you need God, and you become anxious to know everything about Him.

Definition #4

a) involving extreme danger or possible disaster

And again extreme. You don't need a Savior if there is nothing you need saved from, but we know that there is extreme danger and disaster.

Definition #5

a) of extreme intensity

You go to the extreme, pushing all the limits, holding nothing back, giving all you've got to thank Him for all He's done, and get to know Him more.

It seems to me like being saved should throw us into this new mindset where nothing else matter's except Christ. Insert 2 Corinthians 5:17. When you've been saved from extreme danger, you tell everyone you know about it!

We live in such an extreme world where everything is acceptable. Since everything is acceptable people don't know right from wrong. The only thing that's wrong is hurting someone else, and most of the time that's only wrong when it's done physically. Since the only thing that's accepted as wrong is hurting, people despise Christians because they speak against other things. They "hurt" people with their words, and because of what they say it causes people to commit suicide. They are horrible people. Christians have this horrible reputation they cant avoid because they have a different definition of wrong.

Accepting things doesn't make them right. A true Christian should know that. Instead accepting triggers a change in people's lives. How do we insure that is a good change? By living out what we believe. Staying strong in our faith. Consistently growing and pursing God in desperation to know Him. That's what will catch on. Strong faith is contagious and has no cure... pass it on!