In a world of hurry, I long for an unhurried life. In a culture where busyness has become a status symbol, where hurry and overload are considered normal, an unhurried life invites us to swim purposely against this current.
There is a man who walks every morning at the Shelbyville Rec Center. No matter the weather, he walks. He sets no records with his pace, but he does seem to be attentive to what is going on around him. He walks slowly, often with his hands clasped behind his back, until on occasion, he pauses to lift his phone camera toward the sky to take a photo. His white hair reveals some experience that likely has taught him this unhurried pace. I have no idea what his schedule looks like, but this morning ritual demonstrates a conscious pause. It’s an unusual slowness that I don’t often see.
We all know what it feels like to be hurried. It seems everyone is busy. “I’m stressed.” “I’m worn out.” “I don’t have time to pray.” We have too much to do and yet we try to heap it ALL into our schedules anyway.
We sleep less, work more, our attention continuously compromised. Busyness can crowd out spiritual disciplines and our relationship with God.
Known for her faith in God and her writings about forgiveness, Corey Ten Boom once said, “If the devil can’t make you bad, he will make you busy.”
In her book, Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership, Ruth Haley Barton offers these signs that might indicate you are moving too fast through life: irritability, hypersensitivity, restlessness (when you try to rest), compulsive overworking, emotional numbness, escapist behaviors (alcohol, food, binge-watching), disconnected from identity and calling, hoarding energy, unable to attend to human needs, slipping in spiritual practices.
Jesus modeled a rhythm of unhurriedness by getting away with the Father, to listen and talk, to intentionally step away from doing things to simply be with His Father, from serving others to receive, from speaking to listening. And so, I wonder about this unhurried life. If it’s not about clearing my schedule, perhaps it’s about filling my soul.
An unhurried life allows me to lift my eyes to be captivated, like the man at the Rec Center, by velvety-soft clouds against a turquoise-blue sky. To deeply inhale God’s peace not only in stillness but while tending faithfully what I’m called to do with the time given me.
Dallas Willard said, “Hurry is an attitude. It’s not necessarily the same thing as speed—it’s trusting in your speed. It comes from pride and trying to do too much. Good things do not come from being in a hurry! We need to ruthlessly eliminate hurry.”
When I live as though I don’t have limits, trying to do or be too much, I live hurried. In a recent sermon, Monty referred to this as an “I’ll take it from here” mentality. When I hurry, my capacity, no matter how great, is tainted by sin and opposed to God. I might get things done. I might even manage my outward appearance, but my tense heart tells the real story. Hurry wears us out and weighs us down. When we hurry, we don’t have capacity to see the needs of those around us.
The familiar passage in Proverbs 3:3-6 offers instruction for an unhurried life. Verses 3-4 emphasize two attributes of God that amplify the meaning of verses 5-6:
Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;
bind them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
So you will find favor and good success
in the sight of God and man.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart. He is trustworthy and faithful. His goodness and glory deserve our wholehearted trust. Remember God’s steadfast love and faithfulness by writing them on the tablets of our hearts.
Lean not on your own understanding. Open your eyes, your clinched fists, your heart. Remember God’s steadfast love and faithfulness by binding them around your neck.
In all your ways acknowledge Him. We are broken but hopeful. Invite God to keep us aware of His love, wisdom, and power. Not our own.
And He will make your paths straight. When we surrender to Jesus, He gives peace that surpasses all understanding, hope that doesn’t fail, and confidence in who He is and who He is making us to be.
God invites us to rest in His steadfast love and faithfulness, not be wise in our own eyes but trusting Him to number our day aright that we will gain hearts of wisdom, tending faithfully what He intends and trusting Him with what doesn’t belong to us or to today.
Are you living hurried or unhurried? God offers what we need for rest, peace, and joy. Look up!