Much is being written and discussed on the airwaves these days about the fast pace of life we have grown accustomed to. Epic bestsellers like John Mark Comer’s “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” speak to our desperate need to slow down.
I have no doubt that all of this rushing to accomplish everything on “our list” is very bad for us. As a result our health is compromised as well as our happiness, our relationships, and our spiritual grounding. Likewise it impedes our ability to connect fully with God the Father where we find our rest.
Why are we in such a rush?
In contrast not much is being said about the human characteristics at the root of it all. Why are we so determined to rush to do all that stuff, and what does it say about us?
I stumbled across one lone sentence in a fictional novel a few weeks ago that got me thinking. It was a simple illustration of what turned out to be a universal truth. Seems like it cuts across just about every situation I have found myself in since. It adds a layer of meaning I had would not have previously considered.
The scene finds Yeshua speaking to the archangel Michael about Lucifer’s interference in the affairs of mankind. He relates it back to the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden saying…
“Adam is as a son who hast wandered from my way. For he hast thought to taste now things meant to be savored later, and after lying in squalor is now ripe for turning.”
From The Third Heaven Series by Donovan Neal
Above all else, what was beneath the first really bad choice made by mankind? Hurry!
The story behind the story…
We learn that Satan tempted them. Furthermore, he made them think God was holding out on them. Rather than die, they could become powerful and more knowledgeable like the Almighty if they just tasted the forbidden fruit. Certainly all fine arguments for the lie, but why was it so easy for Satan to tempt them?
Surely there are many dynamics that come into play, but at the root of their disobedience was lack of faith in God. Even with the proof all around them, they did not have faith that God would always provide everything they needed. They did not understand that He considered needs for their growth and for their pruning, exactly when they needed it. Simply put, they did not have faith that God knows what is best. He wants us to have all that is best for us. It is human instinct to desire what we want now. God’s desire for mankind is to rise above our instincts and become more aware of our spiritual selves, rather than to rush toward that next shiny trinket.
Relationship
Let’s look for a moment at the relationship Adam and Eve had with God. He placed them in a beautiful paradise, gave them dominion over it, visited with them and walked with them, talked with them… I wonder, what did they have to talk about with the Creator of all things? If I had that kind of relationship with God, and knowing what I know about the fall, I would like to think my curiosity would have me asking, “What’s wrong with that tree over there? Satan says its fruit will make us like you? We want to be more like you. Will we be allowed to eat it at some future time? What is good and evil and why do you not want us to know about it? Will you teach us about it someday?”
Why didn’t Adam and Eve go ask God? God may have been able to provide some pretty compelling answers to dissuade them from tasting that fruit and saved us all a lot of trouble. He could have cultivated patience in them to wait for the proper moment. Ultimately, they did not seek counsel with God. They were in a rush to find out for themselves, and if I am totally honest, I must admit I would probably have done exactly what they did.
The truth about rushing to do it all…
So back to that universal truth. Every day we still make the same bad choice that Adam and Eve made in the garden. We rush to do without thinking things through. We fill up our calendars with tons of stuff that gives the appearance of fulfillment, but is it really fulfilling? Are we just robbing ourselves of the relationship with God that our spirits long for? Is that why we feel so empty? Are we still “eating the wrong food?”
What does scripture tell us?
Two very well known scriptures come to mind in support of this truth.
The Prodigal Son
First, consider the well known parable of the prodigal son. Nowhere in that parable does it tell of the father rushing out to search for his son or sending his servants to check up on him. The boy’s father apparently accepted that his son was gone, and went on with his life. I am sure he missed the boy, but he allowed space for the boy to find his own way back, making the eventual reunion sweeter, more meaningful, and more permanent.
Matthew 6:25-35-4 (AMPC)
Second, consider the birds of the air and the lillys of the field.
25 Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they?
27 And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the span of his life? 28 And why should you be anxious about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field and learn thoroughly how they grow; they neither toil nor spin. 29 Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his magnificence (excellence, dignity, and grace) was not arrayed like one of these.
And finally, God’s ability and desire to care for us…
30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear? 32 For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently (rush to) seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all.
33 But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. 34 So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:25-35-4 (AMPC)
Time to slow down
It is an especially poignant lesson as we adapt to the social changes we are dealing with as we face the current worldwide panic over Covid 19. The actions taken to slow the spread of the virus are forcing us to set aside our rush to do this and that and separate ourselves from others. Perhaps this is a wake-up call as well as an opportunity to come back into communion with the Lord and put our trust in Him.
It is a lesson I am still learning and probably will never fully internalize, but as I set aside more time to read the Word and reflect on it, I find myself more content. I trust that there is purpose in the trials that I face. I know that God has something very fulfilling ahead of me that I can only achieve by walking this path, as slow and trying as it sometimes seems. Fear fades, impatience dissipates, and I am quite comfortable just being in my own skin.
There is no suitable substitute for spending time in the company of the Lord, therefore I am determined not to rush for a taste of what He intends for me to savor later.
Blessings & Adventure,
Lynn “lynnibug” Rios
