Addressing Hurry
As you may have noticed, I haven’t posted on my blog in awhile, about a month. My usual goal is a post every Friday, but I’ve just been really busy. This last month has made me start thinking about hurry in my life. So, I am starting this series called PACE, which is going to be entirely spirit led, meaning it may get messy and unorganized, however, I want to extend an invitation to you to join me on this adventure as I continue to lean into what exactly hurry is, how to address it, and how removing it from my life will affect me.
The talk all started in Vancouver B.C with my small group where we talked about John Mark Comer’s book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, and listened to the first episode of a podcast, Fight Hustle, End Hurry, where him and Jefferson Bethke talk more on the subject. I haven’t gotten into them yet beyond what we listened to and talked about yet, because I wanted to explore this topic for myself first. I can honestly say that I am beginning to really realizing the truth about hurry; It deprives us of life. Think about how we treat people when we are in a hurry; rude, closed off, and selfish. It’s not necessarily our fault either. Society demands us to hustle, rewards us for not resting, and encourages us to hurry hurry hurry! But that’s not the life God intended us to live. Even if you don’t have a relationship with Christ, taking time to rest and slow down will help you get the most out of this beautiful life and fill you in new ways. But for the purpose of this post I want to look at how Jesus lived. What was Jesus’ pace?
I believe that there are three ways in which a person can hurry; Physically, Mentally, and Spiritually. Physically hurry looks like actually moving your body, fatiguing your muscles, an action that will eventually lead to exhaustion. Mentally hurry is when your mind is too focused on the past or present, your thoughts are unclear and scattered, you aren’t giving attention to what you are doing in the moment. Spiritual hurry looks like focusing on your own wants, being caught up in the daily routine, not prioritizing the Lord. I would like to disclose with you some of the factors that contribute to a quickened pace in any, or all, of these.
- Selfishness
- Prioritizing our own agenda makes anything that presents itself a nuisance to us. It’s okay to have our plans but if we let them lead our life, with no room for interruption, then we will constantly be in a hurry.
- Conforming
- Rushing to be who others want us to be. Feeling like if we don’t have that job, look a certain way, have certain possessions, know specific things, that we are inadequate. Feeling like we have to get to a certain place before we can really start enjoying life. We are in a hurry to fit in.
- Procrastination
- Not dealing with things that are important. When we put off the things that really do need our attention it can lead to anxiety. It can become taxing mentally, mulling over these things, and cause us to feel rushed.
- Over stretching
- On the surface level, this can be just trying to do too much. However, on a deeper level I think that this can look like living in the future, or trying to reach far beyond the community and atmosphere that you are presently in. Your mind and spirit are thinking about things beyond your control, beyond your environment.
- Worry
- We don’t have peace about the future. We feel like something is wrong, so we extrapolate what might happen, what might be done or said, and we hustle through the moment so that we can get to and over whatever has us worried. I think procrastination can lead to this very easily.
- Technology
- I listed technology here because I think that it has the ability to contribute to all of these other factors. It’s very easy with social media to fall into conformity and procrastination. Through technology we can live in the future, over stretching ourselves and taking away from the present.
Looking to Jesus’ life you can begin to find the remedy to all these factors that cause hurry. One thing that I find through scripture is that Jesus embraces interruptions. When people and opportunities present themselves, Christ uses them to build people up, speak truth, and spread love. I think a really good example of this is right before Jesus feeds the five thousand. Things are getting crazy; Jesus and the twelve disciples have been going from village to village teaching, Jesus has been performing miracles, and John the Baptist has just been beheaded. Things are chaotic! But look how Jesus responds.
Mark 6:31-34 (NIV)
31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
The first big takeaway from this verse is that in the middle of all this chaos, Jesus recognizes that rest is needed, and addresses it. In fact, Jesus can be seen at multiple points in the bible taking time away in nature, to rest, which looks like drawing near to God (Luke 6:12). The Lord takes time to seek out solitude and repose, yet we often say that we don’t have time to do the same. We postpone it, say we will rest later, and keep pushing ourselves. What would our lives look like if we approached rest the same way that Jesus did?
Through this verse we also see the ultimate answer to ending hurry in our life: Be present. Jesus is always in the moment, aware of the beautiful environment and people that God has surrounded Him with. I believe that Jesus has addressed hurry very well in the sermon on the mount, specifically in the section Do Not Worry (Matthew 6:25-34). I highly recommend reading the entirety of this section, as it addresses hurry on many levels and is at its core, a call to be more present. There is a lot to unpack in these verses, and I want to leave them for the next part of this series, but put them here so you can reflect over them.
Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV)
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
The enemy wants us to run through life, to sprint to the finish line. I have often heard Christians say that life is like a race, that you are running to get to Jesus as fast as possible. But, sprinting to Jesus is like sprinting to the present; You’re already here so stop running, stop hurrying! Instead, enjoy His company, in His beautiful creation, unwrapping His beautiful gift called life, every… single… day. When we live each moment walking and holding hands with Jesus, days are long and full. I want to savor every single second while the Lord has me here on Earth. I am in no rush to get to the finish line because Jesus has already made it to me.
I pray that you embrace the interruptions that come your way, seeing them as an opportunity to spread joy and bring peace. I pray that you take the time to rest, to draw near to God. I pray that you leave here aware of the dangers of hurry, and what might be causing them. Most importantly, I pray that you leave knowing that the key is Jesus… it is always Jesus. By giving our attention to Him we begin to become present. I believe that being present looks like first turning inward to Jesus in you, to the name He has called you, to the life He has placed in your heart, to the characteristics that He fills you with, and letting that become your identity, your mindset, and your viewpoint. Then,(This is the really cool part!) take that and spread it to everyone and everything that is in your surroundings. Pour it out into the strangers you pass, the friends and family that walk with you. See it in the gorgeous gift of nature, in the trees, the sky, in the fields. But first, see it in yourself. Through being present in this way, each day, each moment, will be deeply filling, and you will begin to tap into the rich depth of life that God has intended for you.
I look forward to exploring PACE more in the next post with you all. I am learning a lot and hope that you can find something of value here as well. I want to leave you with a few questions that are on my heart, ones hopefully I will be able to address in the next post, along with the verse Matthew 6: 25-34.
Questions
- How would Jesus handle technology? Is using technology ever living in the present? For example, when I call someone is that being present?
- Is presence a scale? Are there things that would be considered more present than others? For instance, is a letter to someone more present than a phone call, but less present than a conversation in person? Or, is presence dictated by your hearts intentions? As long as you are connected to God, is anything considered being in the present?
- Lastly, what is the relationship between spontaneity and living in the present?
Thank you so much for your time. Please, let’s continue this conversation! If you have any questions please send them my way. If you are really looking forward to more on this topic let me know, it means a lot. If you feel like this post has impacted you then I encourage you to share it. Once again, I am really excited to lean more into this conversation with you guys! As always, much love!
John Mark Comer’s book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: https://www.amazon.com/Ruthless-Elimination-Hurry-Emotionally-Spiritually/dp/0525653090
The Podcast, Fight Hustle, End Hurry: https://open.spotify.com/show/4RVAv8IK4vWARCmRP18f8D
Here’s a link to my Small Group Retreat Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6IGQ9Tdkrw&t=1s
Chad Campbell Blog 