Time to slow down? Taking your foot off the pedal

The Eagles were one of the most successful bands in musical history selling over 200 million records worldwide. Their first hit, Take it Easy, was a song about letting go of stress, avoiding self-inflicted pressure and enjoying the moment. It’s a lesson we could well learn today. It seems, in this media-drenched, increasingly pressurised and frantic time, we have lost the art of slowing down.

Today we live in a world where everything is based on speed – fast transportation, fast Internet access, fast news, fast food. The Bible predicted this is what would happen. God told Daniel that in the last days “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase” (Dan.12v4). Is that not a picture of society today?

We are swamped with information, but in our busy lives we have lost the ability to slow down, relax and reflect. Christians too have been swept into this vortex of vein-popping urgency and have come to believe that to achieve happiness and our purpose in life we must continually move at speed.

The Bible, however, repeatedly tells us to slow down. “One who moves too hurriedly,” says the writer of Proverbs, “misses the way” (19v2). The Psalmist echoes this message with the instruction “Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps.46v10).

One of the reasons for this divine wisdom is the recognition that when we consistently live our lives with the pedal to the floor there are consequences to pay. Doctors’ surgeries are swamped with people suffering from insomnia, hypertension and migraines. It’s significant that the most high-tech generation in history is also the most medicated.

Yet nowhere in the Bible do we ever read of our Lord rushing, yet His three years of ministry were incredibly productive and strenuous. The apostle John said that Jesus did so many things that, if they were all recorded, “I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written” (John 21v25).

Despite this phenomenal output, Jesus was never in panic mode, never desperate to be somewhere else, never rushing to the next appointment. Throughout His life He moved with an unhurried poise, a flow and a rhythm that musicians call tempo giusto – the right speed. He exuded calmness and grace despite the incredible pressure He was under.

So how can we learn from His example and what can Scripture can teach us in adapting a less stressful, slower lifestyle?

First, we need to take responsibility for our schedule and ensure we take regular relaxation and rest. A well-known Bible teacher wrote: “Once I was complaining about my heavy schedule, but one day I said to myself; You’re the one who makes the schedule; if you don’t like it, do something about it.” Many well-intentioned believers are burned out and depressed because they simply won’t apply the brakes. They work flat out, all the time.

No top-class athlete will ever train seven days a week. Without exception they will take at least one day off for total rest. The reason is obvious – both the body and spirit work at their optimum level by so doing. The Lord Jesus, as our example, always made time for rest and renewal and we should do the same. Sometimes the most “spiritual” thing we can do is get some rest.

A day of rest each week is also part of God’s plan for the human body. It’s not insignificant that this fourth commandment appears more times in the Bible than any of the other commandments. We can’t ignore God’s direction for rest and not pay a price for it.

When Israel was journeying in the wilderness, we read that the cloud went on before them. But that same cloud was also the signal which appointed rest. When it stopped, Israel was told to stop. So Israel was led by God, but also rested by God.

Second, we should recognise that interruptions are part and parcel of life. We often think otherwise: interruptions are seen as those annoying hindrances that get in our way and make us more rushed to fulfil our obligations.

The story is told of an old professor at the University of Notre Dame. When asked what was the most important lessons he learned during his teaching career, he said: ‘I have always been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted, until I discovered that the interruptions were my work.’

Again, we have numerous examples of how the Lord dealt with interruptions in Scripture. He was never too busy to help people even if it invaded His schedule.

We read in Luke 18 that the disciples tried to usher families away when they brought their children to Him. But the Lord said: “Let the little children come to me.” He took the time.

In the same chapter the blind man Bartimaeus was being rebuked by people for calling out “Jesus, Son of David!” But the Lord tells the people they are wrong, stops and heals his blindness. Again, he took the time. When we accept that interruptions are an inevitable, they become far less stressful.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we must never forget that the Christian walk is a walk and not a sprint. It is also entirely dependent on Christ, not us.

One Bible teacher put it like this: “It is wrong for the Christian to try to live the Christian life, and we are not asked to do so. The Bible says ‘It is not I, but Christ that lives in me’.”

If we give Him His rightful place in our lives, He promises He will direct proceedings. We no longer need to scurry from one day to the next in a desperate attempt to get everything done. God is working His purposes out in His time.

We have an example in the Old Testament of the prophet Habakkuk. He became agitated because he didn’t think God was moving quickly enough. But God reminded him that just because nothing seemed to be happening fast did not mean that nothing was happening.

He told him: “This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed” (Hab.2v3).

God is in no hurry, so we don’t have to be either. We should walk in this frenetic world as a people with God-glorifying confidence, not because the future is known to us but because it is known to God who says: “He who believes will not be in haste” (Isa. 28v16). And again, in the same book: ‘When the time is right, I, the Lord, will make it happen’ (Isa.60v22).

The late Christian philosopher Dallas Willard once said: “Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day.” We should not be so busy or rushed that it has a negative impact on our health or our relationships. We need to take the foot off the pedal and live God’s way. It will bring a new level of peace to our lives.