Don’t Hurry Be Happy
I run everywhere. Seriously. I am not a runner, but if I need to go somewhere that is more that a few feet away I generally run there.
When I come up to a red light I instinctively choose the lane that has the fewest cars. If I am first in line at the light my foot is ready to immediately press the accelerator once the light changes green.
When I am at the store and I am getting ready to checkout I always will look for not only the shortest lane, but the lane that has the fewest items in the line. That’s my line.
Why? Because I am in a hurry.
One time I was driving with my wife to a store or some other place that I didn’t really want to go to, and she looked over and told me I was speeding. I looked at my speedometer and sure enough, I was. Then she simply said to me, “Why are you in such a hurry to get there? You don’t even want to go.” I laughed and realized that she was right.
Why was I in such a hurry?
When I see a friend we will greet each other and then proceed to tell each other how busy we are. It’s like we are comparing merit badges of “hurry,” “stress” and “anxiety.” We love to seem busy. We love to be in a hurry. But where are we going?
It’s like a race that never ends. Spinning our wheels but never going anywhere. Rushing, hurrying and speeding our way to the grave.
[quote]Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. ~ Lao Tzu[/quote]
I am preparing a course that will be launching soon and the premise will be about taking a year to get to know Jesus better. I don’t know if anyone else is interested in something like this but I am. Anyhow, as I look at Jesus’ life I realize that he was never in a hurry.
Jesus’ buddy Lazarus got deathly sick. Since his sister knew that Jesus and Lazarus were pals she sent a message to him. She was hoping that Jesus would come hurrying to heal him. Guess what Jesus did?
[quote]So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he remained in the place where he was for two more days. John 11:6[/quote]
So here is Jesus just chillin’ out while his bro Lazarus is on his deathbed. You may argue, “But he knew he would raise him from the dead.” Yeah, I know that. But no one else knew that. In fact, you or I only know that because we have read it so many times!
Imagine actually being there. We would have probably awarded Jesus with the “Worst Friend of the Year” award. Doesn’t he care? Why doesn’t he go running to Lazarus’ side?
He wasn’t in a hurry.
He eventually did show up and Lazarus was dead. It’s OK though because Jesus made him live again.
The things that really strikes me about Jesus is that he was never in a hurry. But he was always doing “his Father’s business.” People would try to force him and push and pull on him to do certain things, but he wasn’t concerned with those things.
Jesus lived a life of service to others, but he also had regular intervals of solitude and prayer. He was constantly withdrawing to a mountain here or a wilderness there to just have time alone with his Father.
In fact, when Jesus died and rose again there were still sick people in the world. Still people who had leprosy. Sill lame. Still sinners. But Jesus realized that his work was finished.
Many times we think that our value is held in how much we produce, how busy we are, and how much we accomplish. As a result we run faster and faster and do more and more. But are we following Jesus? When we enter Heaven will he say, “Well done thou good and busy servant?”
[quote]Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. ~ Saint Francis de Sales[/quote]
My challenge is this: Let us be on a quest to eliminate hurry from our lives. It has not benefited us in any way. It only brings stress and anxiety.
