Almost every sudden stop in my life has been tied to a ‘moving too fast’ season…don’t think I’m saying God was responsible for stopping me. I was just moving too fast, got over extended, literally tripped over my own feet, or was pushing so hard I was exhausted when my body just said, “no more”, and then I stopped.
There has been a lifetime of ‘oops’ moments to finally come to a teachable understanding of the lifestyle of Jesus, walking at just 3 mph…stopping to meet the needs of people, offer understanding, healing the sick and most of all just being conscious of those around him in need of a touch, a word, a savior.
As he moved about slowly, He saw and was moved with compassion. I’ve noticed that when I move too fast, I rarely see…I’m too caught up with where I’m headed, accomplishing something off a to-do list that I have forfeited being the hands and feet, the voice and especially the eyes of Jesus that make contact with people, to connect and give hope.
This smothers the heart of the Father, and with feet that move like fire, we consume in our path those that have often been placed on our path by divine appointment in need of the Christ we carry in these frail human vessels. He wants so much to express Himself through us to others, but only after He has first expressed Himself to us in a way that has filled our own thirsting heart and created a river of living water to flow from a reservoir in us to others.
We can never stop learning and growing, so for now as I turn 69, I’m growing to slow down and make it my pursuit to live unhurried, not just for pleasure but for purpose. I don’t want to miss any more the divine interruptions in my days that come as a result of making time to live a spirit-filled and directed life.
I’m assuming you are tired of hurrying too and crave a rhythm to your life that allows you to “walk with Him, and work with Him, learning the unforced rhythms of His grace.” (Matt 11 Message)
Mark Batterson says, “We hear best through rest,” and I would agree. There’s a lot of talk about the Sabbath right now…the revelation that man was not made for Sabbath, but the Sabbath for man. It’s never been about another rule to keep. I grew up in a rather unchurched home, but we were never allowed to play cards on Sunday. It was my dad’s way of keeping the Sabbath holy, I guess, but it never made sense to me.
Later, when I had come to know the Lord, as we gathered with Christian friends for fellowship and food on Sundays, we learned that other families had similar rules about movies, or dancing, cards etc, but nobody seemed to know exactly where it started.
It seems to me we’ve been far more concerned about what people do that we assume is displeasing to God than who they be. I believe God called us human BE-ings for a reason instead of human DO-ings.
You may think I don’t understand your life right now since I’ve raised my family, don’t have a 9-5 job and oversee a place of prayer…I mean, of all people, I should be able to eliminate hurry and live a life with margins, but the problem is that hurry doesn’t exist outside of us, it lives within us in the mindsets of productivity that validates us and the race to get everything on our lists done.
Believe me, God is not the one grading you on your performance. As a matter of fact, He is celebrating your conscious effort to meet with Him and have deep heart conversations and linger to receive His insights into your everyday life.
From that place you will “deal wisely in all of the affairs of life and have good success.” (Joshua 1:8) It’s in the meditating on and digesting of His truths that the word transforms our lives.
If you will BE who God has called you to BE, you’ll inevitably Do what He’s called you to do..the doing will be born out of the being.
I don’t understand why it has taken me a lifetime to really grasp this way of living, only succeeding in short stints of time, like binging and purging, sprinting and then cooling down, but now that I’m here, I’m asking the Lord to help me bring impetus to a movement that I believe He is cultivating among believers that requires a confidence in Him, a trust in His well-ables and a firm resolve to go against the frenzied flow of the world. I believe it can set us apart from conformity to the world of hustle and cause people to look at us and desire what we have. Then maybe we can initiate a pandemic that is contagious with the peace of God.
(excerpt from coming book, Slowdown Therapy)