How to Hurry with JOY
I have been in a storm of hurry. How about you? My insides are in turmoil while I have a smile pasted on my face. Instead of floating on the grace of God, I tread water, thrashing on the inside, outwardly mimicking a smile and I feel as if I am drowning.
I pray the prayers of the one drowning in hurry:
Please not one more knock at the door.
Not one more thing to add to my plate.
I need not to hurry. Help me slow down.
God has been reminding me a lot recently to trust Him. To float, so to speak. Just let the interruptions come and be flexible. Trust that he is in control of every aspect of my life.
Don’t hurry the time away just to get to the next thing.
Once I choose NOT to hurry in a time-pressured situation, then I am able to do things quickly without a hurried heart.
What?
Does that make sense? I didn’t know it was possible for me. I usually turn into robotic woman, devoid of feelings and as fast as the bionic woman (you young ones will have to google her) when I have multiple tasks to complete in a short time frame.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, I remind myself. Slow down, a new maxim for me, what’s the hurry? How do I not hurry and hurry at the same time? I was getting ready to leave the house this morning. I hurried on the outside and not the inside. What’s that feeling I have? I stopped for a second and thought, it’s JOY.
“Everything if given to God can become your gateway to joy.”- Elisabeth Elliot
Do the next thing.
I like to think. I put these thoughts down on paper, hurriedly mind you, and thought:
Lord how do these mesh with what you have been teaching me about slowing down. How is joy found in the midst of an errand storm? How is joy found in the middle of my tense shoulders?
On to the store. How will I handle this one, Lord without a tension headache? Twenty minutes and counting down. As I practically ran at breakneck speed through the aisle with my eye scanning the shelf for salsa verde, I asked the Lord, how do I not hurry when I am in a hurry? Smile. Take a deep, puff-out-my-belly-breath. Whew, I round the corner, smile in place and BOOM-a smile back. I made second of connection with another human being. I feel frozen in time. Hurry on the outside, not the in. Warmth flooded my heart. I rushed to the cash register to be greeted by a long line. I can wait. Smile at the cashier. Late is not the end of the world or my Christianity. Losing my peace, my temper, snapping at my children or strangers is sin. Then comes guilt and loss of a good witness.
Ann Kroeker shares:
“What are we passing on to the next generation – a legacy of love and service, practiced in a family that lives slow enough to take notice and respond? Or are we modeling a life of hypocrisy, passing along nothing more powerful than the importance of arriving on time, as we call out, “Hurry! There’s no time for that- we’ve got to go!””
Joy CAN be found in the midst of the circumstances, but it is a choice.
It must be sought. Joy and unbelief cannot co-exist. Complaining and thankfulness are polar opposites- one repels the other. I cannot walk in the fruit of the Spirit and the fruit of the flesh at the same time. The flesh says hurry on the inside and the outside at the same time. The flesh does not look for the connection of the human spirit or that quiet contemplation that can reside inside despite the outward circumstances. I’ll leave you with these three simple ideas that I am trying (by the grace of God) to put into practice.
Slow down on the inside.
Trust that God is in control of every moment, even the stressful ones.
Ask Him to show you how you can slow down on the inside and choose joy.