Desperation

Desperation: that's not a word that many people would like to have attributed to them is it? However, it's an essential ingredient in the Christian faith. Recently I was reading some in Exodus & came to chapter 33. The picture of Moses in this chapter is one of a desperate man. He desperately wants the presence of God to go with Him. In fact, he begs God to not send him & the people away into the Promised Land unless God's presence goes with them. Moses realized that the only thing that set Israel apart from the rest of the world was God, not the people, not Moses, but God.

And it's after this desperate plea that God allows Moses to see a brief glimpse of His glory. It seems to me the lesson here is that desperation for God's presence opens our eyes to see God's glory. The reason why so many of us haven't seen a radical move of God is because we haven't run out of options yet. When you're desperate for God, you've run out of all your "plan B's". You have to have Him or you'll have nothing.

If we want to see God's glory in our churches & ministries, then we have to remain desperate for His presence. Our plans & strategies are great, but they have to be built on a sense of our desperate need for God to act on our behalf.