Why am I always in such a hurry?
I don’t know about you, but I have a frantic soul. I am easily torn in multiple directions with varying priorities. I tend to overthink and overanalyze, wondering if I’m currently doing what I should be doing. In its hurried state, my soul can’t distinguish between good, better, and best.
For me, the cars in front of me cannot move fast enough. Restaurants cannot serve me soon enough. Fed Ex, UPS, and Amazon cannot be delivered quickly enough. Wi-Fi cannot be speedy enough. Worse, people cannot make their point soon enough.
The “why” behind living an overcrowded life isn’t easy to understand. The reasons I jam-pack my schedule are complicated. Having the right planner or time management strategy isn’t the answer either. As I look deep into my own heart and life, I honestly have believed my value, worth, and significance is linked to a full schedule.
The faster we live our lives the less we become like Jesus, because hurry drains the soul.
Busy vs Hurry. There is a world of difference between being busy and being hurried. Being busy is an outward condition, a condition of the body. It happens when we have many things to do. Busyness is inevitable in our fast-paced, modern culture.
Being hurried is an inner condition, a condition of the soul. It means to be so preoccupied with myself and my life that I am unable to be fully present with God, myself, and with other people. I am unable to engage in the present moment. Busyness moves to hurry when we let it squeeze God out of our lives.
Joy, peace, and clarity of purpose are all casualties of outward busyness and inward hurriedness.
Three ways hurry and busyness wage war against our peace:
1. Hurry disturbs intimacy with God. Intimacy with God requires stillness, attentiveness, quiet, and silence. We have to get off the “treadmill” of busyness to grow closer to God. Jesus frequently removed himself from the world. He spent time alone in prayer and solitude. And in these moments, Jesus received the strength to fulfill His mission, the confidence to continue His mission, and the wisdom to discern the ways of God from the ways of the world. Anxiety, unrest, and discontentment will hover over your life and disturb your intimacy with God.
2. Hurry decreases the ability to love others well. You cannot hurry and love well. The more you increase the speed of your life, the ability and capacity to love others will be compromised. Considering the two greatest commandments are to love God and love others, you need to consider whether your hurried life is costing you more than you realize. When we live frantically, we miss the needs of those around us. A hurried life makes relationships shallow. One of life’s greatest tragedies is to miss your Kingdom assignment because you are so caught up in your own personal kingdom itself.
3. Hurry distracts and divides us. We become anxious, nervous, and overactive people that we rarely give our full attention to anyone or anything. We are always thinking ahead to the next thing, the next person we must talk to and check off our list.
Scripture says, “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 3:13,14
It’s impossible to keep our eyes on two things at the same time. We’ll never win a race looking or running in two directions. To run well, we must be focused on ONE thing, going in ONE direction, and having ONE purpose.
As I look at the life of Jesus, I am in constant awe of the fact that He never rushed. He didn’t cater to the world’s demands. Even though He had a huge mission to complete in a short period, He was never overwhelmed, anxious, or in a hurry. He always took the time that was needed. If we compare our pace to the pace of Jesus’ life, there are not many similarities. Jesus moved at God’s pace. Hurry is not from God. Hurry is the world’s pace.
Through the prophet Isaiah, God told the Israelites:
For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”- Isaiah 30:15
As the great rapper of the 90’s Vanilla Ice says, “Stop, collaborate, and listen.”
Your life’s pace matters. Unless you move at God’s speed, you won’t see the world from God’s perspective. It’s time to slow down. I don’t believe God is impressed with exhaustion. He isn’t glorified when we take on so many responsibilities that our heart fills with unrest and discontentment. Feeling burnt out isn’t a badge of faithfulness. Slow down. Your pace matters because the pace of your life reveals who leads and shepherds your soul.
-MH
