“Desperate” was the word that kept rolling off the lips of the people sitting in my living room. We were an odd bunch—a former Methodist minister and president of several colleges, a former executive television producer turned academic, a leadership professor, a dance teacher, a housewife, a licensed therapist, a business owner, a speech therapist, many of whom had formerly led or been involved in a worship team at former churches. And yet here we were, still going to church but feeling a desperation for more of God. Something was missing in our corporate church attendance that we longed for—a focus on who God is, quiet and reverence for the awesomeness of God, a sense of His corporate presence in which brokenness is transformed to healing.

As we talked and tried to put words to why we gathered, it was soon apparent that all of us were desperate for more of God, more of His presence—the eminent and transcendent God whom we long to adore not only in our personal times of worship but also in corporate expression. We knew God was calling us to begin something, which is why we met on that summer’s night in July.

We talked about the larger culture luring us into complacency–About giving up on any corporate expression of authentic worship giving our experiences over the past few years. Then we repented—sorry for thinking it wasn’t important, sorry for losing our first love, sorry for thinking our time was over and God was doing a new thing and leaving us boomers behind, sorry for self-sufficiency. Confess, repent, God what do you want to do with us.

We conclude. God wants us to be satisfied in Him. Yes, we have times when our emotions are flat, when we feel grief and even broken hearted due to sin. As John Piper reminds us, being satisfied in God is not just an emotional state. Rather, it is seeing God’s glory in Christ as we worship, sing and live our lives.

Desperate? We ask God to restore the joy of our salvation.

Psalm 40 says, “I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.”

Worship isn’t about the type of songs we sing, the volume of the music or the way the auditorium is lit. It is about admiration of the most-high God. It is our pleasure to worship God.  Enjoyment of Him flows into praise.  Praise and worship complete the joy we have in God.

So as a desperate group of people, we needed  a renewed focus on the God who is worthy of our praise. It is our response to Him based on what He has done and who He is. Our worship includes our words, attitudes and our actions. It is our response of thankfulness that leads to joy. Our desperation for God is a good thing. It keeps us seeking, admiring, and worshiping the one true God who satisfies our souls.