Read Psalm 70. It's short!
David’s been on the run before. Literally ducking and diving to stay alive and out in front of his pursuers. He has felt the intensity of his life not in his own control. He has felt the desperation for rescue and the moments of a peace that passes all understanding. He knows the life he wants, and he has known the hunger of wanting it when all seemed to be opposed to allowing him to have it. Reflecting on those emotions he writes Psalm 70.
You probably have not been pursued quiet as literally and maliciously as David. I know I have not. But, I, and willing to bet you as well, have felt similar pressures of life stalking us as if there were some person or thing looking to devour us--at least our hopes and expectations anyway.
Who is seeking to take your life? You know, life as you envision it for yourself? Perhaps a boss who is hindering you advancement? Maybe a spouse who wants something different than you? Or a parent whose expectations you do not share? Could it even be a friend who gets everything you want? Or maybe its not “who” but what”. Debt that binds you? A feeling of shame because of who you are or from not knowing who you are? A wound that won’t heal? A loss that seems insurmountable? Or even the unexpected daily difficulties of simple survival?
No, we have not been chased by kings across deserts, but we have been dogged by evil of this world. Do you feel it today? I mean really feel it? Feel it like you are about to be crushed by it, by life?
David certainly felt it. And the weight of the pursuit which David feels is matched by the intensity of his cry out to God, “Make haste, O God, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me!...hasten to me, O God!...O LORD do not delay!”
Modern translation: “Hurry up God! Seriously get me out of this! Don’t let this be my life! Don’t wait another second to deliver me from life! Rescue me NOW!”
David knows where his help comes from, what God has promised to those who seek him and who love and long for his salvation. Which is why he cries out with such intense emotion! He is poor and needy; which allows him to ready for rescue. He knows what he is up against and he also knows who is for him.
Do you? Is the pressure from that which pursues your life outweighed by the intensity of your confidence in God’s help and deliverance? Is your anxiety over matched by your hope—even if it sounds a bit desperate when you cry out?
May the desperation of your need for rescue that is sure to come drown-out the cries for the destruction of that which causes your desperation. And, may God speedily do what he does!
-- Jeremy Pace