LEGACYouth: Desperation

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LEGACYouth Message Notes: Wednesday, November 9
This morning, as I was considering what the Lord would have me share tonight, the first thing he told me was, ‘Why is it more people are desperate for change than they are for me?’

In other words, why are so many people more desperate for what I can give than they are what I am yesterday, today, and tomorrow?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized the problem is not a lack of desperation in our hearts (after all, we were hardwired with this from the beginning); rather, it’s the misplacement of desperation that is the real hindrance.

For most, when we misplace something valuable, we're like woman with the lost coin (Luke 15:8-10) in the sense we tear up the house until we find what we’re looking for. Unfortunately, when it comes to desperation, we’re far too content in it being there or not. Is it just me or do you find this ironic? The idea we’re not desperate to be desperate…the notion that we’ll continue with our own coping mechanisms, wishful thinking, and thought patterns to get us through the times when we’re the ones who are lost.

So having received this download on the morning commute, I was pleasantly amused when I sat down at my work desk, pulled up John Piper’s ‘Desperation D’, and noted something similar:

Desperation: Whatever it takes, Lord, decrease my proneness to wander from you by keeping me desperate for you.

“Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.” (Psalm 119:67)
Note how with this D, we have a ‘decrease’, not an increase. I suppose it could have been written, ‘Lord, increase my desire to be close to you’; however, when you consider God is always near (we’re technically always close to him in some way), it makes sense to specifically ask the Lord to decrease our wandering tendencies.

The questions then are: Why do we wander? And how do we overcome?

When you wander, do you find its predominantly distraction-based? Is it because you’re so easily dissatisfied, enough to the point you inadvertently carry that over into your walk with God?

Personally, when I wander, it’s because I’m trying to find something I feel God can’t provide. It’s like I want God to be who he says he is, but when I start to doubt he’ll come through for me, I preserve my idea of him by not giving a chance to come through for me.  

I believe when we talk about overcoming, it goes back to what we were talking about a few Sunday’s ago. When we wander in search of 'self-something', it’s at that point we must fall back on God even if we’re unsure if he’ll catch us or not.

‘Cause truth is: not only will he catch us, but he’ll fuel our desperation for him; we just got to let him.

As far as other ways we overcome, I suggest embracing the following trifecta as mentioned earlier in Psalm 119:14-16…
  • Rejoice in following God's statutes (joy in obedience)
  • Meditate on God's precepts and consider His ways (joy in understanding)
  • Delight in God's decrees and hold tight to His word (joy in trusting)

Of course, this is just an outline. How we do these things is something I want to circle back to at some point. But for now, I want to emphasize the fact we must decrease in our wandering if we want to increase in our desperation for God, to be like Christ, and to be greater filled with the Holy Spirit.
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Content inspired by John Piper; Photo Creds: Highland Park Presbyterian Church
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