TAKE IT SLOW
Greetings church family!
“Hurry is not of the devil; hurry IS the devil.”
Carl Jung
In his book The Life You’ve Always Wanted, John Ortberg spoke to a mentor about the routine and the circumstances taking place in his life as a pastor. He asked the mentor what he needed to do to be spiritually healthy.
The mentor replied, “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life. Ortberg replied, “Oooh, that’s a good one. What else?”
The mentor responded, “There is nothing else.”
Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life. Actually, it can be the great enemy of our physical health too. How often do you find your schedule so packed that you don’t take time to eat? How often is your list of tasks and responsibilities so long that you don’t fit enough sleep into your schedule? We can ask the same in regards to hydration and exercise. If hurry can damage our physical health, it definitely hinders our spiritual health.
Our addiction to hurry and busyness has weakened our ability to wait. How many Scripture passages are there that call on God’s people to wait. Psalm 31:24 says, “Be strong, and He will strengthen your heart, all you who wait for the Lord.” Isaiah 40:31 says, “but those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.” Spiritual strength is found in waiting on God’s power while in His presence. All of this is missed when we become too busy due to hurry.
Our addiction to hurry lessens our ability to love. Loving God and loving our neighbor are the central values of followers of Jesus. Love, however, is based on time spent together, attention given, listening, connecting, encouraging, etc. All of those elements are much less effective when they are bulldozed over by hurry.
Jesus invites us to slow down. “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” [Matthew 11:28]. Jesus himself avoided the snare of hurry by taking time to slow down and be in the presence of his Father. If Jesus did this, how much more important is it for us to accept his invitation to eliminate hurry and embrace slowing down and spending quality time with him? You will find your strength and your ability to love to be divinely renewed!
And in your time with God, I’m sure that He will remind you of the following truths: God is for you, God is with you, and God loves you!
Pastor Chris
