Hurry Up God

TITLE: HURRY UP, GOD!

SCRIPTURE: PSALM 70

Over the course of my life I have always heard the saints say – “YOU CAN’T HURRY GOD.” The Chicago Mass Choir made that saying a hit song. I’ve sometimes wondered, when faced with this prayer on the page, if it isn’t a little presumptuous to be telling God to hurry up, to get a move on. After all, God’s God and I’m not and who am I to imply that the creator of the universe is moving too slowly?

Yet, here we find the writer of this Psalm attempting to Hurry God. It’s right there in the Bible. So let’s wrestle with it this morning. Let me state for the record, I like this Psalm --

• It’s short

• It’s to the point

• It’s honest

Can I tell you that I have recently experienced this dilemma in my own life just a few weeks ago. There’s a profound difference between a scheduled meeting and an emergency phone call.

• A meeting is on the calendar - We can prepare for it

• But an emergency call shatters the schedule

• It interrupts everything

• Your heart pounds

• Your mind races

• Everything narrows to that one critical moment

Life is full of these unscheduled emergencies. It’s not always a dramatic accident.

• Sometimes it’s a sudden wave of panic that washes over you in traffic

• It’s an email with bad news that lands in your inbox

• It’s a moment of sharp, unexpected temptation

• It’s a sudden, gut-wrenching fear for your children’s safety

In those moments, there is no time for Long - Eloquent - Beautifully Structured Prayers. You need help, and you need it now. Anybody ever been there. When you needed God –

• Not tomorrow

• Not next week

• Not by payday

• You needed God right now

The Bible, in its perfect wisdom, gives us a prayer for exactly these moments. PSALM 70 IS THE 911 CALL OF THE PRAYER BOOK. It is short – urgent - stripped of all formality. It is so essential that it was extracted from the end of Psalm 40 to stand on its own as a go-to prayer for acute distress. This psalm gives us a powerful, three-part model for what to do in a crisis -

• An honest upward cry for help

• A surprising outward look toward others

• A solid inward trust in God’s character

The writer is waiting on God, a common theme in the Psalms, and a common experience for the people of God. He needs “Deliverance” and “Help.” He is waiting on God for this, but he wants God to respond in a hurry. Notice the phrase “MAKE HASTE” in the second sentence. Also, notice in VS. 5, “HASTEN TO ME,” and “DO NOT DELAY.” No doubt the urgency of the request is connected to his particular circumstances.

He is being attacked by enemies.

• He feels his life is threatened

• His enemies are trying to hurt him

• They say, “AHA” which is a taunt, and perhaps connected to unjustly accusing him of wrong

Why do we sometimes hesitate to be this urgent with God?

• Perhaps we feel like we are bothering Him

• As if the God who holds the universe together is too busy for our panic

• Or perhaps we feel it’s not “Spiritual” to be so frantic

• If that were the case, I would have lost my spirituality a long time ago

I believe over the years and perhaps most of us were taught in Sunday School when we were just children how to address God. To make sure we address Him with reverence and respect. This is true. We have been taught to begin our prayers and calling out to God by addressing Him –

• God of All Creation

• Almighty God

• Most High God

• Everlasting God

• Lord of Hosts

• Savior

• Redeemer

• God of our Peace

• Alpha and Omega

• Master

• Lord

But this Psalm, and all of scripture, gives us divine permission to be urgent. When PETER was sinking beneath the waves, he didn't compose a long pretty sounding prayer - he cried, "LORD, SAVE ME!" Look Lord I know MARY and MARTHA waited for you when their brother LAZARUS died. He was in the grave 4-days. That worked out for him. But Lord, I am about to sink and drown. I need you right now. God is not a bureaucrat who requires you to fill out a form in triplicate. He is a Father who is tuned to the desperate cry of His child.

• Your urgency does not offend Him

• It honors His role as your ever-present Rescuer