The Hurry Trap

The hurry trap is sneaky. My husband and I have one weekly pleasure I thoroughly enjoy. We curl up on the sofa to watch the next episode of Survivor. It’s a “reality” show where a group of folks are stranded in a remote location with little more than the clothes on their back. The lone survivor of this contest takes home a million dollars. In between, there are challenges of skills in order to advance. Each week a group of the losers must vote someone off the island. 

There’s one thing I notice many times about some of the challenges. It’s not the fastest that finishes. The one who is in a hurry makes mistakes. It’s the person who takes a breath, calms down, and takes a slow and methodical approach to completing the challenge. 

You would think that in order to be a winner and reach the end, it would be the person who goes the fastest. 

That’s what I thought for a long time with my writing. Push faster, get the next book done. After all, writing every day and cranking out the word count was “productive”, right? 

Redeeming Your Time From The Hurry Trap

Recently, I completed one of the YouVersion bible app plans called Redeeming Your Time: 7 Biblical Principles for Being Purposeful, Present, and Wildly Productive. It’s by Jordan Raynor and based on his book by the same name. 

In the devotional, he made points that helped me see how I had fallen for the world’s definitions of productivity and success. I mean, even some of my favorite trainers who I highly respect taught the same old “worldview” teachings.  

Do you want to know what happens to me when I’m listening to too many voices (or reading from too many trainers)?  I’m like a frog in boiling water. In that metaphor, the water heats up slowly and the frog doesn’t realize the danger until it’s too late. 

When I listen to too much of the world’s and even sincere Christians who teach do, do, be, do more, be more…. I end up in a meaningless swirl of busyness. The swirl can show up in so many ways…too many emails filling your inbox, too much chatter in social media, too many webinars signed up for, involved in too many ministries trying to show up and “do my part.” 

I soon realized I was like the frog in the water. Surrounded by too many things boiling for my attention. Things that really didn’t matter. The busyness came at a cost… my peace of mind. 

Something blocked me from consistently resting in His presence in all aspects of my life. 

Psalm 23:2 says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake…”

When studying the scripture, my eyes were drawn to the word “maketh”. 

In Hebrew “He makes me lie down” is “rabats: stretch oneself out, lie down, lie stretched out“.

This phrase reminds me of two instances in my life.

A few years ago when trying to help our little grandson take a nap, I stretched out alongside him on the bed while patting his back. A while back, our dog was experiencing a stressful night. I sat on the sofa with him, encouraging him to lay and stretch out so I could rub his back and his belly. 

In both instances, there was a combination of my presence, my action, and their willingness to respond. I have always found comfort in the solitude of nature, scripture study, and prayer. The more I get to know Jesus, the more I want to know Jesus. 

Knowing Jesus gives me peace in a hurried life. 

And you know what…having peace fuels my creativity. 

I want to encourage you that the next time you’re feeling the pressure of busyness worried that you won’t get your next thing done…or stuck in the hurry trap…

Take a pause and lay in the grass with the presence of The Good Shepherd.

I created a scripture study journal devoted to studying Psalm 23 one verse at a time. It’s been during this slow study (1 verse for 1 week) that I am truly coming into a closer closeness with My Shepherd. My prayer is that it helps you as well!