Starting Right
Starting Right is a 5 minute Day Starter to help keep you motivated, encouraged, and focused throughout your day. DannyMac is a pastor, teacher, motivational speaker, husband, and father. His years of leading and training people have given him vast experience in helping individuals to accomplish change in their lives and meet their goals. He can help you set the course for your day by offering practical advice from God's Word in a positive and fun way. There is no better way to begin your day than by Starting Right with DannyMac.
Starting Right
Desperate Faith
Have you ever found yourself on your knees, completely out of options, crying out to heaven? Today's episode explores the raw power of desperate prayer through Jamie McDonald's moving song "Desperate."
The lyrics of "Desperate" emerged from another valley in Jamie's life—returning to Nashville after caring for her sick father, carrying immense grief and heartache. "Oh God, I'm desperate, down on my knees. Send help from heaven, because that's what I need," she sings, capturing the universal experience of reaching the end of ourselves. Jamie's powerful testimony reminds us that we can approach God boldly with our needs, not just interceding for others but honestly expressing our own desperate situations.
Listen to the full episode for a clip of Jamie's powerful song "Desperate" and discover why the most honest prayers often come when we have nowhere else to turn. Check the show notes for a YouTube link to experience the entire song that's helping so many find hope in their darkest hours.
Here is the YOUTUBE link for Desperate
https://youtu.be/G2zI1GbWqeg?si=DQiz1kIUOTAKm6Li
Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mac. I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day. So grab your cup of coffee, sit back, relax and let me help you start your day right.
Speaker 2:Hey, good morning everyone and welcome to Music Monday here on Starting Right. Today we're going to look at a song that was released a few months ago now, called Desperate, from Jimmy McDonald. I have found a very personal connection with this song because of what I've been through for the past few months, recovering from my stroke and dealing with some of the other really difficult challenges we've had along the way. There were many times when I cried out to God saying Lord, you are my only hope. You're the only answer I could possibly hang on to here. Please help, Please heal, Please guide, Please provide. Lord, I'm desperate and then I wait. There are times when that waiting can be very, very difficult, and I found that the longer we wait, the more desperate we can become, and Jamie's lyrics spoke to me very, very powerfully.
Speaker 2:I was able to find out a little bit of Jamie's background and realize that she had a very difficult time during her teens. At 16, she dropped out of high school and she had nowhere to go. She lived what she calls a very messed up life for a number of years, but then in her early 20s, she recalled seeing her friends overdose, going to jail and some even losing their lives. She says I got tired of the way I was living and I said, God, I remember when you spoke to me at camp and I want to live for you. And from that moment on, her life took a dramatic turn. She began reading her Bible, attending church and growing in her faith, and God opened doors for her to join a worship team, to go on a missions trip and to ultimately step into a music career that she thought was out of reach. What once had seemed like an impossible dream became a reality as God healed her heart and gave her a voice to share her story. She went on to say that she had spent many years looking after her very sick dad, and when she came back to Nashville, she was carrying a lot of grief and a lot of heartache from that time, and you can hear those emotions in her lyrics. Here are just a few words from the song oh God, I'm desperate, Down on my knees. Send help from heaven, because that's what I need. Redeem this wreckage, Restore my peace. I'm not asking, I'm begging. Lord, come through for me. I need heaven and I'm desperate, Desperate. She went on to say there are so many moments where I have felt desperate. So, coming back to Nashville. I was carrying a lot of grief and a lot of heartache for that season, but I found hope and solace in writing music to God about what he has done for me and how he works in my life. And ultimately, I just want people to know that they can come boldly to God's throne and ask for what they need.
Speaker 2:A lot of times we pray fervently for other people, but when it comes to what we need for ourselves, sometimes we shy away from really passionately asking. Sometimes it's really hard when we put our trust in God and we don't see the answers coming. We don't see things happening the way that we expect and want them to. That can be really, really difficult, and what that really is is a test of our faith. Do we truly believe that God's going to be and do what he says he's going to be and do for us in our lives?
Speaker 2:There's a portion of scripture that has come to mean a lot for me at those times. It's found in the 14th chapter of Matthew. The disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee and Jesus came out to them walking on the water. Peter called out to Jesus and said Lord, if that is really you have me, come and join you on the water. And Jesus said come to me. Peter got out of the boat and began to walk. His faith was strong, he was doing great, but then he looked around and he saw all the troubles happening around him, the wind and the waves, and he began to sink in full of fear. He cried out to Jesus Lord, save me. And Jesus walked up to him, took him by the hand and lifted him up and said to him what little faith you have.
Speaker 2:Why would you let doubt win? It's okay for us to go through times where we are feeling desperate, where we really need God's answers more than anything else. Quite honestly, being desperate for God is not a bad thing at all. My wife and I have been there and are there a lot of the time. We need God's answers because there are no other answers that can help us. So we're desperate for Him to do what he needs to do, but we can never, ever, ever let doubt win. We always know that God has got the answers and that we can and will always trust him. That's the important part for our lives.
Speaker 2:I'm going to leave you with just a clip of Desperate with Jamie MacDonald and in your show notes. Today there will be a YouTube link that you could click on and go and listen to the entire song. It's wonderful, it's a cry of our heart. The key is never to allow ourselves to stay in that place of doubt and of fear. We need to recognize that God is faithful and he will help us. It would have been when Peter cried out to Jesus help me. Jesus came over, took him by the hand and lifted him up and said why would you let doubt win? I am here, I will hold you and I will take you to safety. That's what God wants to do in our lives too. No matter how desperate you are, God is there to help you. Just don't let doubt win. Here's Jamie McDonald with Desperate. You can move a mountain. You can call my soul. I know you can't cause. I've seen it before down on my knees.
