Welcome back to Continue The Conversation where we take a snippet of Sunday’s message and create a conversations out of it.
This weekend we continued our new series entitled SYNC. In this series we are talking about spiritual transformation. Yesterday, I talked about the importance of solitude and the dangers of hurry.
I had to confess that my life is often dominated by hurry in such a way that in reduces my chances for Christ to be formed in me. I suffer from a sort of “Hurry Sickness” that I first heard about from John Ortberg.
So how do you know if you suffer from “hurry sickness”?
- You might suffer from it if your a chronic multi-tasker that tries to drive, text, eat, and put on make-up at the same time.
- You might suffer from this disease if you tend to make up mock games with your kids like “who can eat breakfast the fastest”, just so you can get out the door.
- You might suffer from this disease if you can’t sit still for more than five minutes without creating a list of things you need to be doing, so you will feel productive.
Hurry is addictive. It’s so addictive that I often find myself hurrying even when I don’t need to. And the problem might not be what you think it is.
I used to think that I hurry because I have a busy job with a lot of responsibilities. I used to think I was always in a hurry because I have a busy social life and 3 little boys that are constantly on the go.
The truth is, I choose hurry. And I choose it because of what it does to my ego. Hurry makes me feel important. Hurry gets my adrenaline going. Hurry keeps me from having to slow down to see and hear the truth about my inner life.
And the sad reality is until I slow down, Christ will never be truly be formed in me. See you can’t microwave spiritual transformation.
How about you? Do you suffer from “hurry sickness”? Is hurry keeping your from “abiding” in Christ?
*A watercooler post.
love ortberg…but never thought about hurry makes one feel important…
exodus 14:14…the lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
“…you can’t microwave spiritual transformation.”
I LOVE THAT!!!!
Yes, I am very sick with hurry sickness. You pegged me to a t. I started keeping a planner in third grade… what does that tell you?
Isn’t that the excuse we all use for not building our relationship with God and others? “I can’t seem to make time for quiet time.” Or…”I don’t have time to be in a small group.” Do we think we are too important or too spiritual to be with God or others? I don’t know. Would love to explore some more. I do know our ego gets in the way with God way too much.
Sadly, I chose hurry also. Something about being busy makes me feel productive… As I stare down another week, my list is already growing. And to think I chose this!
Brook Sarver
http://www.two10eleven.com
At our women’s group at our church this weekend we were discussing how we are jealous for quality time with our husbands and it turned into us turning to the bible to find out that God is a jealous God and he wants quality time with us just as much if not more than we want time with our husbands…. something that I am working on…
Of course hurry sickness is a malignancy in my life.
I can multi-task with the best of them–get dressed, put on makeup, twitter, talk on the phone, eat, and read and even put some thinking in there all on the way to work. I need to de-stress and stop this mess. Looks horrible when written out.
You bet I hurry. I’m also a “doer.” I want to be in the mix, be a part of it all and I hurry to make that happen. When, the truth is that Christ often wants me to just stop. To be in His presence. To let him be near and for me to take note of it. I think I’ll do more of that this week.
I think for some of us life can almost feel boring if we just stop and enjoy the moment. Put everything on the back burner for a day and “watch the grass grow.” Being in a hurry is addictive. Using the microwave approach is appealing to so many – especially in today’s society of instant gratification. I want it now… do I really need to learn all that… can’t I just say I believe and move on… why do I need to “grow”… I kinda like it like this.
well, funny enough…i am hurry’s worst nightmare. i’m not sure i even know how to hurry. is there an online tutorial somewhere? everyone is always waiting on me. “hurry up” is my least favorite thing to hear someone say to me, and my most favorite response to that is “where’s the fire?” but my problem becomes just as dangerous b/c i take so long to do whatever it is that i’m doing that oftentimes there’s no time for solitude.
@ Stephanie Now that is a perspective I have never thought about! I can see how your pattern could also hinder spiritual transformation.
I stopped wearing a watch 4 years ago because it was stifling me. You are right on about hurry being connected to ego and feeling important. Christ is the only audience that matters. I have had to learn to even prioritize friendships because I cannot please everyone. I have had to learn to say no…and that’s near impossible for a people pleaser. I am still very hurried, a lot….but that is usually business driven and it comes and goes. I’ve learned to let the laundry sit an extra day and just get in the floor with my kids. Like any addiction…it is a constant struggle, but one worth fighting. I’d much rather know Christ and I are hearing one another, than for me to be hurrying up into the ranks of importance in the public’s perception. Slowing down is good for the soul.
This has actually been one that I have learned from those in this country we are guests in. We all know the “now” mentality in America…but here in SA everyone kind of just waits for whatever it is they are waiting for. This of course drove Dan and I bizerk for about the first 6 months we were here (and still does occasionally) but now we just take time to do whatever it is we are doing as well. We soak it all in. Maybe God didn’t bring us here to multi-task. I think He did bring us here to serve these people to best of our ability but we thought that was doing what we did back home – go, go GO! 3 things at once. But here, actually drinking tea and sitting doing “nothing” with people is what I know He has called us to do (at times) and I learned that almost from day one. It just took me about like I said 6 months in, to figure out that we were “doing it” wrong. Relationships can’t be built 5-10 steps ahead of whatever I am doing right now and usually that is where my mind was/is. So now, I try to be in the moment with the people and with the task at hand. Sometimes I still get frustrated at however long it is taking for whatever it is…but most of the time I have brought along extra money R7.00 ($1.00 US) to buy them tea.
i have found that the ‘hurry’ in my wife is almost always the result of me overcommitting. i cram too much stuff into my schedule and then ‘hurry’ around to get it all done. i think if i can learn to say ‘no’ or ‘not today’ to some things then I will be able to eliminate some of the ‘hurry’
yes, but i let other people impose that sickness on me. when i taught school my motto was, “a lack of planning on your part, does not constitute an emergency on mine!!” now i just do what i have to do to survive. by the way, there are no microwave solutions to crock-pot problems. that’s a chuck harris original.
This has actually been one that I have learned from those in this country we are guests in. We all know the “now” mentality in America…but here in SA everyone kind of just waits for whatever it is they are waiting for. This of course drove Dan and I bizerk for about the first 6 months we were here (and still does occasionally) but now we just take time to do whatever it is we are doing as well. We soak it all in. Maybe God didn’t bring us here to multi-task. I think He did bring us here to serve these people to best of our ability but we thought that was doing what we did back home – go, go GO! 3 things at once. But here, actually drinking tea and sitting doing “nothing” with people is what I know He has called us to do (at times) and I learned that almost from day one. It just took me about like I said 6 months in, to figure out that we were “doing it” wrong. Relationships can’t be built 5-10 steps ahead of whatever I am doing right now and usually that is where my mind was/is. So now, I try to be in the moment with the people and with the task at hand. Sometimes I still get frustrated at however long it is taking for whatever it is…but most of the time I have brought along extra money R7.00 ($1.00 US) to buy them tea.
I am a recovering ‘hurry addict’. I/we used to constantly be in a hurry. I was always rushing the kiddo’s along and it would stress us all out. Last year….I decided enough is enough. We cut everthing out. Prayed about what God REALLY wanted us invovled in and now we have some ‘hurried’ days here and there, but we find plenty ourselves with plenty of ‘down’ time, too. I feel like we have found a good balance. We definitely have to work at making sure we don’t get ‘hurried’, though.
This one got me..
“You might suffer from this disease if you can’t sit still for more than five minutes without creating a list of things you need to be doing, so you will feel productive.”
I have a list in front of me as I type this entry. In the last 72 hours I have made and almost completely finished another 3 lists and not short ones either. I enjoy life and people. I have a desire to live life and help others to the fullest. I just lose sight of what “the fullest” means.
I live to create another spreadsheet. If microsoft had not created Excel then I would have. Speadsheets are a wonderful tool for creating lists and sorting lists and prioritizing lists. They do very little for opening my heart and mind to Christ.
I really think I need to listen to this series Pete.
Pete if you would have told me you were at fan fair I would have hooked you up. I was glad to hear that you mentioned me in service yesterday.
Pete..wow, yet another amazing post. First of all, I want to commend your humility. I love authenticity and transparency! He is seen through our weakness, and His strength is made perfect. It gives others around us such hope and encouragment.
There is so much here, yet again! I may take a day from where I have been, and spin off with this….although, they really are very related. In fact in the next installments you will see this very thing at work…except God put a stick in the spoke of my bicycle and brought me to a lurching halt! Thank you so much for writing.
@kristiapplesauce Wow, that is so true. There is so much we can learn from them. Being “in the moment” with people is so important.
Hurry, busyness…it makes me feel important and productive. But the one thing I THOUGHT was most important to me doesn’t even show up on my ‘to do’ list most of the time. God’s patience with me is just unbelievable. i am unworthy of my God, who sees all the sin in my life and still choses to love me and guide me toward him…and i can’t even sit still in silence.
I have the opposite problem of hurry sickness – idleness. I spend half of my day in solitude (for 3 more days, anyway!) with nothing to rush me. And, yet, I spend far too much of that time on things of no eternal importance and still find myself saying “I didn’t have time” for God at the end of the day. How sad is that?
I think what bothers me most about my hurried lifestyle is that I am teaching that pace of life to our children. If I’m not stopping to abide in Christ and then stopping to enjoy their childhood….what are they learning from me, except pressure.
Thanks for challenging me. I tend to try to “microwave” everything in my life in order to mark it off my list.
Whoa, I used to suffer from this. THEN God allowed me to get a “llfe altering” disease that has caused me to live differently. I have spent a year at home. I mean that literally. There have been very few outings and usually just to the doctor. All this to say that God has been able to do a work in my life that I never would have allowed in my all my hurrying. It hasn’t been fun being homebound (and having my husband leave) BUT the way I know Jesus now has been worth it all. I can’t believe I’m saying that but it’s true. God doesn’t need to completely stop our lives to speak to us, it only takes a few minutes of putting Him first. Let Him decide what your day should look like. Okay, stepping down off my pulpit.
Is the first step admitting? I am addicted to hurry. I didn’t see it till today that it brings attention to ourselves. Ouch. I want to do it all to be everything to everyone and not to disappoint. In reality I am missing the One who I need the most who longs for my time. I have already instilled into my kids the hurried lifestyle and now they aren’t comfortable just “being” I pray this summer, beginning now we can slow down. We can enjoy just “being” I have so many lists and love making them, and my microwave works overtime, but I am missing out. There were times Jesus would go to the garden. I need to find my garden again.
@Sheryl I just wanted to thank you for being so honest. Sorry to hear about many of the things you have been through but glad to know that God is speaking to you in the midst of the pain.
I think I am in recovery as well. My husband has helped a TON with this!
I have been debating getting rid of my email-capable phone…debating. Not quite ready to commit to that yet!
This hit home for me. I have hurry sickness pretty bad. I imagine myself more laid back than I am. I’m just more wound up than I want to admit and, drum roll please, I am absolutely horrible at multi-tasking! That’s so hard to admit since I have convinced myself for years that I’m really, really good at it. Now that I’m all grown up with a family, a grown up career and lots of busy stuff going on, I think it’s showing in my life. It’s definitely a choice and I’m now choosing to rise up out of it rather than make it a legacy. With God’s help I am getting the message and seeking the right choices. I pray for help to make the right choices since I know how bad I’ve been at it in the past. I can imagine how much more effective I would be at the right things if I let go of the hurry, seek the solitude I know I need frequently and live in the present moment. That’s the funny thing is that I know this and still I hurry. I have to agree that ego drives it. It does make me feel important… but only undermines my best intentions. Enough is enough and I hope to keep that in mind so that my kids will learn better behavior than I learned.
@Anne, Let’s not get all crazy or anything!
Pete so true. This is me in a nutshell (no this is me in a nutshell, how did I get in this nutshell?). I’m seeing the reality of this in my own life. I love how Christ talks about the seeds, and abiding in him by being a branch. The Psalms & Proverbs speak about being planted. Paul prays that the Ephesians will have roots that go down deep. I think we miss this a lot and we try and manufacture growth, which is dangerous. Nature has a way of growing things that is specific: preparing, planting, nurturing, watering, pruning, etc. This all takes time. And many times we/I force things and we end up with unhealthy, poorly rooted, and stunted growth – which usually leads to death. Thanks for another reminder and for a great conversation.
Pete, I was nailed yesterday. I’m a schedule-oholic. It’s my job but unfortunatley, if I’m not careful, I let it waft over into my spiritual life. I catch myself assuming I know what God wants me to do and then I start rushing it. That’s not abiding.
I’ve been re-reading John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart. In it, he speaks at length about the adversary using not just or weaknesses but our strengths against us. Most of the time, it’s our ego that makes it possible.
Thanks for calling me out.
Yesterdays message also hit me where I live, and I had an immediate opportunity to put a spontaneous de-hurry plan in place in a practical way. Gas is for all practical purposes $4.00 a gallon. In driving the 74 miles back to Kentucky on Sunday, I avoided the I-65 interstate with its 75-80 mph traffic pattern, and drove 31W. Took me a full 30 minutes longer to get back to Kentucky.
I spent the first hour driving what is basically a 45 mph average, turned off the radio, and cleared my mind to peruse and pursue the Sync topic. The hour passed in an instant.
The next hour I spent listening to an audio book. This hour passed also with amazing rapidity.
By the time I arrived, it really appeared I had used half of the gas I normally used, and arrived with a much clearer mind and plan.
What would I have done, and what would i have gained, if I had driven I-65 and arrived back 30 minutes earlier? Nothing.
This was Step 1 for me in slowing my life down
I have a tendency to be in hurry-mode in everything. I never gave it a second thought until recently when I took inventory of the character of spiritual leaders I respect and desire to live like. I noticed a commonality that I didn’t have. They take their time. Even as busy and inundated with needs as they are, they are not rushing around crazy, they pay attention, are willing to stop, and never communicate that they’re too busy. I think this is so important in being in ministry. If a ministry leader’s priority is meeting others’ needs, you have to be flexible and ready to slow down and be attentive. Elisabeth Elliot also writes on this theme in her books Discipline – The Glad Surrender, and The Music of His Promises.
wow Pete,
Carrie Underwood reads your blog…that’s cool!!
chuck
I found myself today, driving home on OHB, and wanting so badly just to get home, I don’t know why, there wasn’t anything pressing at home that I needed to tend to, but wanted the people driving in front of me to get a move on! I think I work well under pressure, and a little bit of the ego aspect, like you said you had, but there are times that I’m not in a hurry, and am alone, but with music, TV, cell phones, it isn’t complete solitude, plus I may be stubborn, or really unsure of the unknown, if I do let Him be so much a part of my life. Someone asked me the other day why I go to church, and I froze! I then said to get closer to the Lord, but again, I don’t know that I’m ready to surrender that much.
Growing up, we went to church for several years, when we moved overseas, I was 11, we didn’t go to church, and my parents never pushed for it. When I was 17, we moved back to the U.S., and my mother made us go to a Methodist church, of which it was a “have to”, not a “want to”, and I could never stay awake during, what I thought were, dreadfully boring sermons.
My reasons, lately, for going to church are simple, and certainly not uncommon, I’ve hit a rough spot, not currently working, and having a tough time getting a job, and am too proud to want to have to ask for help from anyone, and (I know this sounds bad) to take just anything…college graduates just don’t work at Waffle House! I do believe everything happens for a reason, and there’s a lesson in every hardship, and that it forms character. I know I went way off topic, but that’s what was on my mind and heart, plus I figure few people really read the long comments anyhow, and if they did, maybe they can relate, and advise a little.
Christina
@Christina Just wanted to let you know that I’m praying for you. I don’t have a lot of answers but I do know my “rough spots” have been incredible moments for me to receive the grace of God. Praying that for you.
Pete,
I hurry.. i can admit it. You know I could even play the “I have a chronically ill child” card as to why I’m always rushing from here to there. But reality is I should be slowing down. Spending more time with Christ to make sure that I am leading my family in the right direction. Slowing down and just enjoying my family when we are home and stuck in the hospital. To slow down and spend quality time with wife and make sure our relationship is where it needs to be. But I agree with you about how when ur in hurry it makes you feel important. I never realized until you pointed it out. I forget where the verse is but it says…. If you want to stand out, then step down and let Christ just consume your life. So this is where I am at in my walk. Just taking it one day at a time. Thanks so much for insight this sermon series is very interesting. Oh by the way.. Is there anyway to maybe order the sermon series?
I am the king of hurry, the prince of the fast pace…I know just what you mean….I was out of town this week and couldn’t get to CP…so I read the blog and think man was he ever talking about me. I rush to the office, I rush to the gym, I rush I rush I rush…I’ve traveled to a thousand destinations and never stopped to admire the view…this is how crazy we make things. How much more could we help folks and minister, I mean really get involved with another life, if we were not hurrying by there wants and needs? How can we notice there needs and hurts when we don’t take the time to “unhurry” and recognize our own pains.
you got it Pastor Pete!!! Let the changing begin!!!
Enjoy the cleansing God is bringing into your life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
Pete, after reading Jenni’s synopsis of your sermon on Sunday I have made the commitment to take 20 minutes each day to practice solitude. I’ve chosen the hammock in the back yard, and I’ve forced myself out there each day. I know it sounds like a cush gig, but really to stop what you are doing for 20 minutes and bring yourself into alignment with God is harder than it sounds. Everything works against those 20 minutes. It’s only day 2, but I’m gonna keep on swinging. Thanks for the inspiration.
Since having a child, I have lost the art of relaxing. I make an effort at least once a week to spend time just being still for a half hour or so. Its much more difficult than it used to be, but I feel so much better afterwards
@Adam You certainly can order the series when it’s over. However, it would probably be easier to just listen to it online at http://www.crosspoint.tv
Today, on a Monday no less, I had lunch with my girlfriends that lasted 6 hours. This is very unusual for me to sit still that long and just hang out. I was fidgety at times and felt like I had to be somewhere else. My mind kept wandering off to other stuff I could have been doing. But I realized,as I wrote about this later on my blog, that I must value my time building relationships. In order to do this, with God or with people, I can’t be running around all over the place, distracted and constantly in a hurry to get to the next thing on my list. God used your post to confirm that today I chose to do the right thing. So, thank you. Debra
absolutely. after finally getting to sit and listen to it at 6 PM after “hurrying” all morning, i wished i could have heard the message 3 times. i like to be busy. i don’t like having nothing to do. downtime is a dirty word in my vocabulary. however, all the hurry is what’s keeping God out. something’s gotta change.
First of all I was just checking out the “Experience the Environment” website on your church website…cool stuff!
Secondly, yes I suffer from bouts of “hurry sickness” but have recently been doing a self examination of all I ‘choose’ to do on top of all that I ‘have’ to do. With the new addition of our third child, I am looking at areas I need to change. I like what your wife said earlier about teaching that pace to your children…I’ve never looked at it that way, great stuff!
…Sorry I meant “Experience the Environment” page on your church website (not website on your website)
I was always told that true character happens when no one is looking. I think that when I am so busy working, doing church, being with friends, taking care of the house, writing on facebook and other people’s blogs I am making sure someone, somewhere is looking. It’s the ego Pete was talking about.
However, when all that is stripped, and no one is looking but me and God, I am forced to see who and what I really am…..my true character. It’s in the quiet, the stillness that I allow my soul to breathe and find that it’s aching for connection to the one thing that can actually give me worth.
I timed myself reading through your post and all the 49 responses before me. Lightning fast. Good job, man. On to the next blog . . .
Hurry is one of the badges we wear to try and feel important. Love that spiritual formation can’t be microwaved, that is brilliant.
It’s all about the adrenaline for me. It’s like I purposely over-book my time in order to always get that rush of adrenaline flowing through my veins in order to move on to the next activity or task. When my kids were younger, I’d rush around, hurrying them through playtime, naptime, mealtime. I am trying so hard now to recover from being so hurried for so long. Sunday mornings are the true test for us – I grew up being hurried by my dad and so hurry has felt natural and right for a lot of years. I literally make myself stop and smell the roses in our front yard. I try to notice details around me that are new. If I’m really in a hurry, I interrupt my task, call a friend, drink a bottle of water, burn a CD, any simple task that helps me re-focus my priorities and stops the hurry.
Pete, I’m so glad we had lunch and I got connected with this series because it really speaks to part of the changes I’m trying so hard to make in my life. here’s the irony… i shared your sermon with a friend who pointed out to me that i’m always in a hurry; rushing, rushing, rushing and yet always late!
Confession… I sent a tweet during church on “Hurry makes us feel important. It is our ego.Interferes w spiritual transformation” This one nails it most for me. In multiple ways: first there is the physical rushing around always overscheduling and procrastinating to create last minute chaos. Then there is the mental hurry that is an even bigger problem for me. My head spins constantly with past ‘hauntings’, today’s do to lists & future dreams. Even in solitude, my mind races. So even if we are not physically in a hurry, we also need to be mindful of our thoughts. In my mind there is no room for God. I have yet to allow Him to breach the sound barrier I have created over the years.
I have started my daily devotionals a bit earlier and now the kids are old enough (3 on 6/10 – check out my post on it) to let me have a bit of quiet time alone, so I’m working on the silecing my head part to read the book you recommended.
I’m looking forward to the next installment and the kids and I are coming to the picnic w/ Matt & Nicki. (btw, Nicki Robins told me today there is a CD of the first sermon? how do i get my hands on that?)
Great post Pete!
I live in a city about 8 miles long with a freeway that goes through it. Recovering from burnout 7 years ago, having the Lord speak “I don’t want you to get back on the same treadmill you’ve been on”, I felt lost. I didn’t know how I would slow my pace, or even if I could.
Approaching the freeway onramp one day, I felt a spark in my spirit … “Don’t do that. Take the side streets. When you’re driving in your own city, take the side streets instead of the freeway.”
It forced me to slow down. I’m not hyper-religious about it. If its’ going to add stress to take side streets, I’ll use the freeway. But it just helped break that “hurry sickness” thing from my life. I still struggle with it, but a little less these days.