Dear God...

There is a relatively new website project out on the web that I bumped into the other day. It's Dear-God.net. Their premise is simple. "Dear God is a global project for people around the world to share their innermost hopes - and fears - through prayer." They aren't saying who that God is exactly, but are encouraging people to reach out to Him (Her, It) in whatever form works for them.

It really messed me up for a few days to read the cries of so many people screaming out for a God they just can't seem to find. The experience of sifting through these prayers actually inspired a message I gave to our youth 2 weeks ago, and will be giving again on June 8 (version 2.0) to our church. The theme of the message is desperation. What does it mean to be desperate? I examine the legitimacy of desperation, citing the lives of David (in the desert), Jonah (in the fish), and Job (the whole deal), and comparing them to the modern cries of Dear-God.net and our own experiences as well. Taking a look at what it feels like when we really believe that God isn't coming to save us.

I'm trying to find a new ending to the message though. I'm heading towards focusing on the reason we know we're desperate; that we were made for something better...and our minds, bodies and souls scream that out to us everyday of our existence.

Would love to hear any thoughts, ideas I might use on June 8. May even post the sermon link later. We'll see.