Holy Hurry

“He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.  And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature.  So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.  And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.’  So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.  And when they saw it, they all grumbled, ‘He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.’  And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.’  And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.'” Luke 19:1-10

Zaccheus was a man of action with money and manner. He wasted no time in taking advantage of opportunities before him, and had success to show for it. When the Spirit prompted him to seek Jesus, he hastened to get the best vantage point of the traveling teacher. The Lord Jesus then compelled him to redirect his hurry with holy motivation, and he promptly changed the course of his life.

There is much zip and zing for many in the flurry of living today. Pressures of responsibility and needs push us to hurry toward and through the next thing, often stripping us of presence and joy in the midst. Media bombards us with notifications of the urgent that incessantly distract us from concentration. Even if we are determined to spend some quiet with the Lord, we can hurry through without focus on His majesty or nourishing truth. An unchecked harried pace quickly becomes horrid hurry and causes us to miss the sweetness God intends for us to savor and learn from in each moment.

When we are all rush and run, we miss out on compassion, meaningful conversation, delighting in God’s creation and character. But when under the Holy Spirit’s compulsion, holy hurry is a gift. It moves us from self-absorption to Christ-seeking and servant-mindedness, from meaninglessness to significance. It jostles complacency and inaction into gear to learn about the Christ and what He should mean in our everyday. (Luke 2:15-16)

What self-imposed pressures and schedules mandate our pace of life? Where does hurry define us? What is the end stop of our to and fro? What will it take for us to be thoughtful, to ask at the start of each day, how can I best see Jesus?

Then, how quickly will we obey when He speaks? What need we set aside to hasten to do His will? Whom will we introduce to our Savior without delay?

Lord and Potentate of time, please set my life pace as You see best, and cause me to learn and move and love at Your bidding, that You be known and praised.