Hurried Sickness

Hurried sickness is more than being busy, it is an unhealthy pace of living. We wake up one day and find ourselves overcommitted and under resourced. Spiritually we are unavailable for God. In our routine, we may rush through a religious service, but our heart is not engaged with the heart of Jesus. Mentally we are overly stimulated by too many shiny things. Computers, mobile devices and media all demand we be on demand. Hurried sickness only leaves a shell of a soul.

Jesus recognized his disciples had crossed over the line when He noticed they were too busy to eat. Their works for God had replaced their time with God. They had to courageously tell people no for a period of time so they could tell their heavenly Father yes. Indeed a mind without rest can become restless, discontent and in danger of making dumb decisions. Selfish taking, self reliance and self pity can drive our feelings when we find ourselves emotionally frazzled. Jesus knew that without rest His disciples were more vulnerable to the prideful affects of success.

“You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.” (Deuteronomy 8:17-18).

Do you see symptoms of hurried sickness in your life? Impatience, anger, fear, double booking, not returning phone calls or emails in a timely fashion and being late for appointments may call for a boycott of busyness. Perhaps your child only participates in one (or none) extra curricular activity outside of regular school hours, so your family can rest and reconnect with God. Maybe it’s time to hire a virtual administrative assistant who can protect your calendar from a frantic pace. Hurried sickness is the natural progression of a busy culture, so we must prayerfully adjust.

Furthermore, find a quiet place and rest. Make Sunday an authentic day of renewal and worship. Doing nothing is doing a lot! Rest gives us the resolve to stand up to injustice and the humility to sit down and listen. Rest opens up vistas of creativity to our mind and closes doors on unseemly influences. Rest is relational lubricant and a physical recharge. Above all, rest brings peace to our soul. It feeds our spirit and grows our faith. We hear the Lord more clearly when it’s quiet. Rest is God’s gift to carry on in His strength. Yes, the remedy to hurried sickness is quiet rest with Jesus.

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him” (Psalm 37:7)

Prayer: Heavenly Father, slow me down to walk with You. Grow my faith to rest and rely on You.

Related Readings: Psalm 46:10, 62:1-8; Galatians 1:10; Hebrews 4:1; Revelation 14:13

Post/Tweet today: A mind without rest can become restless, discontent and in danger of making dumb decisions. #wisdomhunters

Additional Resource: An idea for a virtual administrative assistant: http://bit.ly/1gh4hKA

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© 2014 by Boyd Bailey. All rights reserved. www.wisdomhunters.com