Unrushing Our Lives
By Olivia Barnes
Thursday, November 17, 2016
At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. Luke 4:42 NIV
Have you ever rushed through a day, come to the end of it and realized you missed it? You were too preoccupied rushing from one task to another to be fully present, to focus on God’s blessings?
Life is busy, we often have multiple responsibilities to deal with, but busyness is different from being rushed – busyness involves a full schedule. It is physically demanding but serves as a reminder that we need God; we need His strength to get us through each day.
Rushed days however lead to fatigue; it attacks our bodies, our minds, our wills and can cause weariness deep in the soul. So much so that rushing through life can cause us to lose sight of God, to lose sight of Him as our priority, our foundation, redeemer and King, leaving us unavailable to Him.
John Ortberg quotes Dallas Willard in his book ‘Soul Keeping’ stating that,
Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.
We need to unrush ourselves; we need to eliminate hurry through whole hearted devotion to Christ.
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. Colossians 2:6-7 ESV
Ortberg has stated that,
The soul was made to rest in God the way a tree rests in soil.
Trees are still, they rest on and in the soil. It gives them strength and beauty, anchorage for their roots, water and nutrients for growth. As believers we are to be rooted and established in God, in Him is our strength, beauty and worth.
It is in Him that we become unrushed.
Look to the scriptures, in creation God took the 7th day to rest, not because He needed the rest but because He wasn’t in a rush, He took time to enjoy His creation.
Studying the gospels Jesus was always busy but He was never rushed. He was always present, aware of those in need around Him and made time to rest, pray, read the scriptures, enjoy creation and fellowship with others. He replenished the soul.
If Christ had went through life in a rushed state He would never have gone out of His way to meet the Samarian woman at the well and He would never have stopped at the foot of the tree to talk to Zacchaeus.
Rather Christ went through life with a whole hearted devotion; He is our example to follow. He often took Himself aside to replenish His soul through fellowship with the Father.
How do you replenish your soul? Where do you replenish your soul?
For me it’s a particular walk I take to a mountain top, it’s still, soothing, quiet and unrushed. For me it is my time of soul replenishing, admiring God’s creation and being still in His presence.
Unrushing your life takes time, determination and focus. Find your place of soul replenishing. Make it a habit, a part of your weekly routine.
Lord, unrush me. Teach me what it means to rest in you, to be present and to recognize how you are blessing me each day. Bring me daily to that solitary place where my soul finds rest in you, that I would be available to you, sensitive to your leading and still in your presence. In Jesus name, amen.
© 2016 by Olivia Barnes. All rights reserved.
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