If I ever needed You, I need You now. A cry from the depths – most of us have been there at some level. The need is glaring. But is that plea one we should reserve for those harshest times?
It seems like the last few months have brought waves of horribly difficult news crashing down with tsunami force over so many of those I love. Maybe it's been the same for you.
– Unspeakable losses. An infant taken from their passionately praying parents. Loving moms and dads taken from their very young children, devastated spouses, and heartbroken families. A miscarriage of a desperately wanted child.
– Dreaded cancer. Nothing easy about it.
– Betrayal and divorce. Spouses turning their backs on each other and God – some even in the name of God. Ignoring truth and falling for lies.
I could go on and on with other stories of lost jobs, medical struggles, relational conflicts – WHERE DOES IT END?
Not here. Not now. Sadly.
I love Matt Redman’s powerful worship song, I Need You Now. The main line in the chorus is “If I ever needed You, I need You now.” It’s hard not to listen to this song without tears rolling down my cheeks as I consider the current heartache of so many close to me. Their need for God is beyond palpable. It’s overwhelming. Lord Jesus, may Your presence be powerfully real and embracing to my family and friends!
At the same time – as I sing, “If I ever needed You, I need You now,” I firmly believe that I need to believe and embrace that truth regardless of the place life finds me. Because, while there are times that my need for God is definitely more glaring, I don’t need Him any less right now.
Do I believe that? Do you?
I remember hearing a worship leader years ago say that he struggled to sing the lyrics, “I’m desperate for You,” in Michael W. Smith’s worship song “Breathe.” “I don’t feel desperate for God.” And my first thought was how very sad.
Understanding and embracing our desperate need for our Savior – our utter dependence on Him in our everyday life – is foundational. It’s crucial.
It’s embracing the extremes of “apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5), and “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). It’s wanting to live out each day empowered by His purpose and infused with His strength – and not wanting anything less. It’s feeling desperate to be “filled up to all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19) and wanting to live powerfully out of that place. There is so very much waiting for us in that place! I need all of Him all of the time!
It’s that place – that realization – that gives us a passion to become His worshipers, too. As we grow to know and love and embrace all that God is and longs to be for us right where we are, we can’t help but respond to Him by pouring out all we are in worship.
He gives → we offer it back. He lifts us up → we bow down. He exposes His glory → we reflect it back in response.
And when those horrific times strike? Those times that expose our desperation? There is so much power to be found in truly knowing our Savior – our Healer, our Comforter, our Deliverer, our Hope. (Yes, very real hope!) There is peace to be found when you cry out, “God, if I ever needed You, I need You now, “ intimately knowing the God you cry to – who sees, hears, and responds to that cry.
That intimacy only comes from regularly seeking the presence of our Savior on a regular basis. It’s how the psalmist was able to confidently say,
“Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence” (Psalm 42:5).
My God, if I ever needed You, I need You now. Help me to know and embrace that truth. I’m desperate for You.
Take a few minutes to soak in Matt Redman’s song, I Need You Now.
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