When I first started writing on this topic in the spring of 2019, I had no idea that a year later we would be forced into a season of slowness. The last few months have dragged by and yet I can’t quite believe it’s fall already. The days are long but the months are short. I think 2020 is going to be both the longest and the shortest year on record. It went on forever, nothing really happened and yet, the world was forever changed.
Do you feel like you are always in a hurry?
Do you sometimes feel if you can just get through the necessary bits of life a little faster you’d have a moment to breathe and rest but it never seems to happen?
Do you find yourself even rushing through prayer and worship believing God understands that you just don’t have enough time to give him?
The act of deliberate slowing can be a wonderful tool for spiritual growth. It’s not so much about how much time we have but how we live with the time we’re given.
“For many of us the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. We will just skim our lives instead of actually living them.”
John Ortberg, The Life You’ve Always Wanted
In the 1960’s, experts on the subject of time management testified before a Senate subcommittee. Experts were seriously concerned that because of rapidly advancing technology, within twenty years people would have to begin working fewer hours. The primary concern was what would people do with all of that free time.
Ironically, I don’t think any of us would say our biggest challenge is that we have more time than we know what to do with.
We have entire industries devoted to making us work faster, more efficiently, and do multiple things at the same time.
In his book, Ortberg references a very telling quote from Alice in Wonderland, where the Red Queen says
“Here, you see, it takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that.” Click To TweetSound familiar?
Our culture suffers from hurry sickness. No matter what new app, new appliance, or new workflow method we apply, the result seems to be the opposite of our desire.
I think all of us want to experience what Ortberg calls, “timefulness, a sense of having enough time.”
Jesus was not immune to this when he lived here on earth. He is often found taking his disciples away from the crowds to rest and rejuvenate themselves.
In Mark 6: 30-32 the Bible says
“The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. 31 And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) 32 They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.”
There is a writer and blogger I love, named Lisa Jo Baker who said this verse was so encouraging to her because she realized in that moment that Jesus knew what it was like to be a mom. They were so busy caring for all of these people and their needs, that Jesus and the disciples hadn’t even had a moment to sit down and eat.
I should also note that the chapter immediately after this, is the recording of the feeding of the 5000. They got into the boat to rest and by the time they reached the opposite shore, the people had seen them coming and had already gathered. After the feeding of the 5000 in Mark’s account, it says
“Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away. 46 After bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray.”
After this is the moving story of Jesus walking on water.
We forget that these passages all occur in such short succession. When we look at the larger picture we realize how truly harried Jesus ministry on earth had the potential to be.
Yet he maintained even in his human form the timefulness of heaven. He would not allow himself to be rushed or hurried, and make sure to take time for rest, both for himself and his followers.
We must eliminate hurry from our lives. This does not mean that we aren’t busy. If we look at the New Testament, it’s quite clear that Jesus years of ministry, while relatively short were jam-packed. He had a very finite amount of time on this earth and yet he conducted himself as though he had all the time in the world.
Ortberg says
Hurry is not just a disordered schedule. Hurry is a disordered heart. Click To Tweet“Jesus often had much to do, but he never did it in a way that severed the life-giving connection between him and his Father. He never did it in a way that interfered with his ability to give love when love was called for. Jesus was often busy, but never hurried.”
Next: Busy or Hurried: How Can We Tell?
I hope you enjoyed this first post in my new series on living an unhurried life. I actually wrote this over a year ago as a teacher for our church’s Wednesday night adult class. Bear with me as I figure out how to best share this important area for growth that the majority of us need in our spiritual lives.
