The Hurry Trap: Finding peace in the busy-ness

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. 

How to avoid the Hurry Trap

1. Acknowledge that Christ is the cornerstone of all you do in life. He is the corner piece to your puzzle of life. The first step in avoiding the hurry trap is to ensure you’re doing the right things the things that align with Christ’s will for your life. I remember a man from my childhood and overhearing a conversation he had with my parents. His statement was “Work is work. Church is church. I don’t let them get mixed up together.” His point was that some of the ways he conducted his work wasn’t very “nice”. But, in his mind he had separated the two aspects of his life. Dear one, there is no separation. He is our cornerstone and firm foundation, in ALL of it.
2. Let your “yes be yes, and your no be no”. Every good thing doesn’t have to be done by you. Give yourself a permission slip to say “no” to too many obligations. I know women seem to have a harder time with this than men. But, some men do as well. A friend of mine recently put together a list of ways to say “no”, and let your no simply be a no without a string of excuses. It was so freeing for me to to read (and print) that list! 15 Ways to Say No.
3. Have a weekly time of quiet and solitude. In the short story The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, the devil (Screwtape) reveals that the way to trip up Christians is to keep us so busy we have no time to reflect on what is truly important. Spend time alone with Jesus to refuel your spiritual tank.
4. Your life’s mission is to glorify God. There is no but or if’s. As a Christian, it’s our number one priority. THAT alone is our why in everything we do. When we use that as a filter, it can help us eliminate some of our busy and hurry. We have callings which are chosen by God. He gives us a lot of free will to choose how we accomplish those missions. It may seem kind of obvious, but it’s a filter that sometimes helps you determine what you need to do or not do. Also, remember this, every “good thing” may be good, but it doesn’t mean it’s good for YOU!
5. Make it easy to say “no”. It’s easy to say “no” when you are so passionate about your “yes”. When our “yes” challenges and inspires us, we know we can’t afford to add more onto our list of things to do. I remember growing up in the 60’s and 70’s. My folks were passionate about family and family time and nothing standing in the way of ‘togetherness’. They never accepted invitations to anything if they couldn’t bring me along. “Being together as a family” was important to them due to my dad’s time in the military.

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.

Journal to Jesus Prompts

Here are some journal prompts to help you Journal to Jesus on this topic:

1. How does the topic of “hurry” make me feel?
2. What is a scripture that gives you comfort and reminds you to take time to rest?
3. How could you explain to someone else the topic of “Resting in Jesus”?

Have you seen the new Journal to Jesus book? 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!