The Practice Of Slowing Series

We are trying to fit too much into our lives and our families schedules, and it’s killing us spiritually, we see no change in our life as a result. Sometimes we may even be busy doing good things thinking we are doing God’s work. We may be serving the Lord or helping other people, at church, in the school, coaching a sports team. These are good things, but are we finding time to be still before God? Remember the sisters Mary and Martha? Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, while Martha ran around like a chicken with her head cut off trying to serve Jesus, getting frustrated all the while. Serving Jesus had lost its joy for Martha. What did Jesus say to Martha? He said, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset over many things, but only one things is necessary and Mary has chosen the better.” Why had Mary chosen the better? Because she realized the one thing necessary, her relationship with Jesus. She chose not to hurry around and worry. She took time to be at the feet of Jesus. Doing good things like serving Jesus and his followers, can quench our relationship with God and therefore our spiritual growth. God is more interested in our relationship with him than in what we think we need to do for Him.

Hurry isn’t just about doing too much, it is an attitude of the heart. The feeling that I am not doing enough. The hurried person feels guilty when they are not doing something. Even being still before the Lord, listening, praying, seems like a waste of time because nothing gets done. The practice of slowing down our hurried life and being still before God forces us to trust God, that even though I am not getting everything done that I think needs to get done, I am trusting God will take care of it. This isn’t an excuse for laziness, but a realization that I need to find time to be still before God.

You might be suffering from a hurried life if you find yourself at the grocery store checking out and you look for the shortest lane, and then you keep track of where you would have been had you been in the other lane. And then you get happy if you come out ahead of where you would have been, or you brood if you come out behind that other person thinking, “I knew I should have chosen the other lane.” If you find yourself talking on the cell phone, putting on make up (ladies) or shaving (for the guys), all while driving down the road you might be living a hurried life. If you watch TV, talk with someone on the phone, and check your email at the same time you might be living a hurried life.

Living an Unhurried Life

Jesus was busy, but he was never in a hurry, there’s a difference. Jesus was never too busy to lose his focus on what his heavenly Father was doing around him. He was always attentive to God and what God was revealing to him. On several occasions Jesus was busy doing one thing, but noticed the distractions he faced weren’t annoyances but God’s work and he took a short detour. For example Jesus was walking with a crowd to the home of a synagogue leader whose daughter was sick and dying. While he was walking a woman who had suffered with a hemorrhage for twelve years came up through the crowd and touched his robe believing that if she did that she would be healed (Mk. 5:24-34). Jesus stopped dead in his tracks and looked for the person who had touched him. Even though he was busy on a mission heading somewhere else he stopped to minister to this poor woman. Do you remember what happened to the girl because Jesus stopped? She died. Imagine how her father felt when Jesus stopped to chat with this woman knowing his daughter was dying. Of course Jesus healed his daughter and it had a happy ending. Jesus paid attention to what God was doing. A hurried life won’t pay any attention to what God is doing around them.