Ch. 5 – An Unhurried Life (The Practice of Slowing)

I’m not one big on New Year’s Resolutions, but this “PRACTICE OF SLOWING” was my goal for 2014. I wouldn’t say I have failed miserably, but SLOWING is already a goal for me in 2015. My motivation for this has a lot to do with our last discipline of CELEBRATION. When I am rushed, I find it difficult to find joy in the moments that God gives me every day. It’s hard because time seems to be going by faster and faster. My girls went from Barbie dolls to high school dances to planning for college in what seemed like a blink of an eye. And I find myself wishing I could go back in time for a day with my girls just to experience a Barbie doll day with them again. Just one Saturday morning—when they wake up with their pink jammies on and they both coming running and jump on my lap and sit with me in the big green Lazyboy chair. We’d just sit and laugh and watch cartoons together. I wish for that maybe because I never really slowed down enough to enjoy my girls at that age. And now that Maria and Annie are teenagers, my time as the most important man in their life is running out. So that’s my urgency I guess. I want to slow down so I can enjoy these teenage years with my daughters. But not just for them, I have two little boys who I hope will one day be men. If I am a hurried father in their eyes (one who is present, but always too busy), then one day I’ll have sons who look like men, but who act like boys.
 

So this is a key discipline in getting spiritually fit, Otrberg says, don’t mess around. He calls a hurried life a sickness. Therefore, one must “ruthlessly eliminate hurry from our life”. The verse that always comes to mind for this discipline is Psalm 46:10 (NIV) – God says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

 

Being still is essential to the practice of SLOWING, but don’t overlook what else the verse says. While you’re still…it says to “Know that I am God”…and…exalt him. Attending church is one of the ways we can slow down and exalt God every week. This is just one of the reasons you should attend church regularly. However, you need more than that. You need time of solitude with just you and your creator. So ask yourself, do you have a place you can go and just be with HIM, a place without electronics or distractions. Think of it this way, if you’re going to work out (exercise)…then you need a place to do it. Whether it be a gym or you living room you need a place. Do you have a place for Solitude? If not, you need one. And remember it has to be a place where you can “Know that (HE is) God”…and…exalt him.

 

If you remember your reading from this chapter Ortberg says hurry is a disease of the heart, which means your heart is chasing after things of this world instead of chasing God. The ironic thing about chasing God is that it’s a pretty slow chase. Jesus never seemed to be in a hurry. And if you have prayer relationship with our creator, his answers to prayer seem to take more time than we’d like.

 

Have you ever heard the term Godspeed? It seems to communicate good fortunate or blessings. But true God Speed is to operate your life at speed that is not too fast where you get ahead of God and not too slow where you lag behind. It’s a difficult task. But if you can get there, you’ll know it. It’s that sweet spot of life. Right behind God, following him where he leads, drafting like a race car through life on the coattails of the great shepherd. It’s a peaceful place, even when the road gets bumpy, you know everything is going to be OK when you’re operating at God’s Speed.

 

Doesn’t that sound like a good place to be? It is, but it’s not easy. You have to work at it. It’s a relentless pursuit of God’s Speed. It takes perseverance and it will require that we ruthlessly eliminate hurry from our lives. Make plans and do this, go back and read the chapter again if you have to. Oh, you don’t have time…you can afford it right now—YOU CAN’T AFFORD NOT TO!!!

 

God's Speed,

Jason