They Came With Haste

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, 

and the baby lying in a manger. 

Luke 2:16

Haste: 1. to haste, make haste, hurry

              2. to desire earnestly

It seems like the only time we desire earnestly to spend time with Jesus is when our hearts hurt.  When we really need Him to step up and do something.

The shepherds couldn't wait to see Him.  They couldn't wait to be in the presence of the King.

I can pretty well guarantee that every single day I get in a hurry for something.  Whether it be to cook supper, clean house, get to a meeting, or get to the bathroom.  Smiley face.  While I'm working on one thing, my brain is already two or three steps ahead on the "to-do" list.

That really hit home to me the other day as I was pulling out of Sonic and tossed my straw paper toward the trash can, only to have it land back into my lap.  I had already rolled up my window.  

I mean.

If only I would channel all that hurry into an earnest desire to be in the Presence.  Just to be there because I can, not because I need something or the ache is just too much.  Just to listen and just to talk.  Maybe even to doze a little because I am just so darn comfortable being there.  

To hurry up and get there to slow down. 

To breathe deep.  Or maybe not deep - but just to breathe at all.

Why wouldn't I want to be in the presence of so much peace?  So much comfort?  Why wouldn't I want to get there as quickly as I could every morning when the sun is peeking up behind the barn?

I heard it from lips this week that all she wanted was to be home in the Word.  To be writing down notes from the Word.  That was where her only peace came from.

Back when the girls were little and the big kids were busy and we were going through an average of 15 gallons of milk a week, there would be times when other students would come to talk.  It had been one of those days where the stress level was high and a young lady showed up at my door. Her life was so full of insecurity that she would poke a finger in her throat to try to find significance.  We talked, we cried and we prayed.  As I closed the door behind her that day, I pressed my forehead on the back of the door.  It was just too much.  I could not carry another. single. thing. 

I ran for my Bible and then ran to the girls' play room and jumped up on the bed and started fanning.  Fanning the open Book like I was getting a whiff of a pot of spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove.  I could have been reading in Numbers for all I know.  

I had to have Word.  

I had to get to Peace and to Comfort.  I had to get there fast.

Just like those shepherds.  They had to get to the King.  It didn't matter that they may not have a job when they got back.  They had to get there.

I pray that today the only hurrying we do is to be in the Presence.  Not out of desperation or of need, but of longing.   

Hurry.  Go there quickly so you can slow down.