Ever heard of it? I bet you’ve felt it. It’s a real thing and it turns out that most of us have it. How many times do you find yourself speeding through traffic or evaluating which line at the store is the shortest to save time? We are living in a hurried world and we’re slowly deteriorating because of it. As John Mark Comer, author of Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, puts it, “Hurry is violence to our souls.”
A few years back I was in a familiar scene of hurry. I was late getting kids to an appointment. If you have ever tried to get kids in the car in a hurry it’s the equivalent of nailing jello to a wall. It’s virtually impossible. So you can see my peril. One mom, four kids, running late… I lost it. Full on psycho mom, complete with yelling and arms flailing all while blaming the kids for being late.
Not my finest moment. As I got in the car, I knew I messed up. Everyone was silent and likely traumatized. I felt horrible. The only thing I knew to do at that moment was pray. Lord, I messed up. Show me how to make this right.
It wasn’t a second later that I remembered the Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, & Self-control
What I had just shown my kids was the complete opposite. I had been frustrated, angry, impatient, rude, destructive, unpredictable, and completely lacking any self-control.
But why?
It was how I started my day, how I had been starting my days for too long, and how I was spending my weeks. In Romans 8:5, it says when we live by the flesh, our minds are on focused on the flesh and when we live by the Spirit, our minds are on the Spirit. I was totally living by my flesh. Instead of renewing my mind each morning by showing up for my Chair Time, I allowed myself to sleep in. Instead of taking the time pause in my day to breathe and silence the chaos around me, I was pushing harder to achieve what I thought needed to be done.
I wasn’t allowing any space for God to work on and in me before I encountered other people.
Looking back, the day I completely lost it was monumental. God took what was a huge mess up, grabbed my attention, and reminded me what His Word says about rest. I began intentionally designing my week to have space for Sabbath. I used my six days to get it all done, so come Saturday night our family could kick off our Sabbath and truly rest on a regular basis. This has rejuvenated our family and given us the peace we were trying to achieve on our own.
I also began a consistent Chair Time. For a long time this had been hit or miss. Now, it’s a non-negotiable. Some days, I have 10 minutes and other days I have an hour or more. The point is having the space to pause and submit myself to the One who knows me better than I know myself. That precious time realigns my thoughts, which shapes my actions, which eliminates the constant need for hurry.
It’s not about finding perfection in the Sabbath or your Chair Time. It’s all about the submission. It eliminates my constant need to achieve and puts Hurry Sickness to bed. These two small exchanges have allowed my family to walk in the freedom Christ offers us. What one step can you take this week to elevate rest over hurry?
– Amanda Torres
Going Deeper blogs are all about helping you take scripture and apply it to your life. Read more here.
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