Hasten To Me, O God!

Reading through the Psalms today...I hit on Psalm 70 and its 5 short verses.

"O God, hasten to deliver me; O Lord, hasten to my help!" (verse 1)

"But I am afflicted and needy; Hasten to me, O God! Thou art my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay." (verse 5)

David's Psalm begins and ends with Him crying out to God to "hasten to..." .

Have you ever cried out to God with those thoughts--if not those words? I myself can't think of the last time I used the word "hasten" in a sentence. "Hasten to the table, my little ones, lunch is ready!" Nope...around here they'd think I'd gone loopy...again! :)

All kidding aside, this is important.

David is asking God to hasten--or accelerate--the speed in which He is coming to meet David's need. I pray like that often. "Hurry God...I need you now!"

Sometimes, like David, I want speedy delivery, quick assistance, expediated relief from my affliction and prompt meeting of my needs.

God's time table is not mine. His delays are part of my character-building process. The stripping away of myself so that more of His Son, Jesus Christ, can shine through me.

Typically, I want relief soon after the process has just begun. "Okay God, that's good enough, I've learned something, you can come help me now...I mean now...yeah, RIGHT NOW would be great!"

"O Lord, I call upon Thee; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to Thee!" Psalm 141:1

We already learned from Psalm 18:6 that when we call upon the Lord "He hear(s) my voice...my cry for help before Him came into His ears." So He doesn't ignore us or, like a child not wanting to take out the trash, pretend He didn't hear us. He hears every prayer... each cry goes straight to His ears! I love that promise, don't you! No selective hearing, no selective memory, no eeny, meeny, miney, mo... "do I choose to listen to that girl crying out to me once again?"

God is always listening to me and working for me!

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

He knows when to "hasten" and how to "help" me. He waits for the right time to reveal His victories.

I am so grateful that He doesn't always rescue me in the moment that I have called out to Him! When I look back, I see all the growth that I would have missed out on had He come sooner. I can see the ripple effects that His time schedule has on the lives of those around me. And yet, the waiting on Him when I am hurting, needy, afflicted, concerned, or just plain tired, is not easy. But it is, I believe, part of the growing process.

What should I do when my time table doe not coincide with God's? Let's look at verse 4...

"Let all who seek Thee rejoice and be glad in Thee; and let those who love Thy salvation say continually, 'Let God be magnified.'"

While I wait--I keep seeking Him, I keep rejoicing and being glad in Him, I keep loving the saving grace that I have in Christ and I boldly, confidently, determinedly, continually say--"Let God be magnified" in me, in this situation, in the bumpy terrain of my journey.

"I will praise the name of God with song, and shall magnify Him with thanksgiving." Psalm 69:30

Oh Father God, that is my prayer to you today! To always cling to the promise that you hear my every word that I cry out to you. That each one goes straight to your ear. And when I don't see you coming as quickly as I feel that you should, because I so desperately need you, to trust that your timing is ALWAYS perfect. Your ways are not my ways. Your timing is not my timing. And I really don't want my timing. I don't trust me when it comes to this growth process. I have no idea what the journey ahead looks like. I have no idea where you are going with me. I want to be on your path for my life and traveling at the pace that you have set for me. While I wait for you to respond to my "hasten to" call, I will choose to trust you enough to keep seeking hard after you, aligning my heart with yours according to your word. I will praise, worship and rejoice in you. I will remember all the times you have saved me in the past--how you have "hastened to" according to your time-table that was perfect for me, my life and those around me. I will cling to the fulfilled promises that I see in the Bible. Be magnified in my life today, O God! Amen!


Have you heard of the Bible study method for reading through the book of Psalms each month? Start with the Psalm that matches the day of the week then read each 30th Psalm following--i.e. today is the 10th, so I read Psalm 10, 40, 70, 100, and 130. On the 31st, read the long and rich 119th Psalm. (If you would like more information, please click here!)