Hurry. Hurry. Rush. Rush. It’s been the story of my life far too long. Every minute of every day scheduled to the second. Back-to-back-to-back appointments. Leaving to pick up my daughter from school five minutes after I should have and then feeling the pressure of rushing and trying not to speed the whole way there.
No time for anything extra. No time to sit down and relax.
Busy. Busy. Hurry. Hurry. Rush. Rush. Pressure. Stress. Hurried soul. Is there a cure?
Yes there is!!!! But to find the cure we must first find the cause. Why are we in such a hurry? Why do we feel the need to overwhelm our schedules?
Is it that we need to feel needed? We have a hard time drawing boundaries? We don’t know how to use the word no (which is a complete sentence by the way)?
Is it because of insecurities – we are so unsure of our value and worth we need to say yes to everything and every one so they’ll like us? Want us? Approve of us?
There are too many reasons to count of why we live in a constant state of hurry.
Sometimes we simply need to underwhelm our schedules. We just need to shake off the need for approval from people and find it only in God. Sometimes we need to know we’re allowed to say no. It’s okay to take care of yourself. It’s okay to rest and relax and slow down.
Sometimes it’s just knowing that if someone only likes you because you don’t say no, maybe that’s not the kind of friend you want in your life….selah!
Sometimes we just need to take the pressure off of ourselves to have to do everything and either ask for help or let it go for a while.
But…..sometimes life is just busy and there is no slow down in sight! Then what?
I’m a pastor’s wife and on staff myself. That’s busy in and of itself. Throw in 3 active teenagers and housekeeping and grocery shopping and extended family and friends and life and, and, and……and you have a recipe for a hurried soul…or a complete breakdown. 🙁
I can’t really drop any of those activities.We’re always going to be in the ministry. I’m always going to be a mom. My kids are always going to be active. We only allow them to be in one thing at a time….but that still spells chaos for mom and dad’s schedule. Life will always be busy.
I’m not just talking about being busy here. Living a busy life and having a hurried soul are two completely different things. You can be busy and not carry the rush and pressure and stress and anxiety that come with having a hurried soul.
The word “hurry” means to move or act with haste (heedlessness, recklessness). To rush. Sounds like a breeding ground for stress if you ask me.
I looked up the synonyms and antonyms and this is what I found.
Don’t you love the antonyms so much better?
You can be busy and still be calm. You can be busy and still rest. Still wait. Still go at a slow, relaxing pace. You can be busy and still have time for refreshing quiet.
I can live with busy….it’s the stress and anxiety of a hurried soul I want to leave behind!
Ever hear the old saying, “If you don’t rest your body, your body will rest you.” Meaning……you’ll run yourself into the ground and have no choice but to rest because you’re sick! It’s one way to get to a place of rest, but it’s no fun…believe you me.
There is a better way!
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28-30 MSG)
Teach us to number our days,
that we may truly live and achieve a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12 VOICE)He provides me rest in rich, green fields
beside streams of refreshing water.
He soothes my fears;
He makes me whole again,
steering me off worn, hard paths
to roads where truth and righteousness echo His name. (Psalm 23:2-3 VOICE)
Don’t you feel better just after reading those verses? Take a deep breath and read them again. (Some of you are so busy you’re really just scanning this. Read them again? Gasp! Ain’t nobody got time for that!)
Just do it. Read them again. Real rest. Grace. Freely and lightly. A heart of wisdom. Refreshing water. He makes me whole. He leads me.
This is the cure.
- Come to Me
- Lord, teach me
- Lead me
The cure is to first come to Him. His presence and His Word are more refreshing than a massage or a nap or a week at the beach.
Then we’re to ask Him to help us number our days. Help us bring order. Help us know what to say yes to and what to say no to. Ask for wisdom.
I remember a time in life I longed for more time to pray but looked at my reality and just cried because every minute was spoken for. Then I found that verse and asked Him to show me where to put more prayer in my life. I dared Him, actually, to try to find a spare minute or two. I’d looked at my schedule. It wasn’t there.
But……He is so faithful, and He showed me how to reorganize some things, and He cleared an hour and a half out of my schedule daily. And it had nothing to do with staying up late or getting up early. He’s so wise. It was awesome.
Finally, we need to simply follow His lead. There will still be activity. We still have to work and parent and live life. But if we’re following Him, there will also be times of rest in rich, green fields and beside streams of refreshing water.
He’ll lead us off hard and worn paths of anxiety and stress into rest and refreshing.
Whether our days are scheduled to the minute or we have time for a nap, He’ll walk us through. And if we tap into His strength and grace and presence, we may be busy, but we won’t have a hurried soul.