Message: “Eliminating Hurry 2: Something Is Wrong” from Ross Stackhouse

Jesus once said, “I came that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Whatever ideas we may have about salvation, Jesus came to save us from enemies that are threatening the abundant, eternal kind of life for which God created us. Jesus came so that we might have Life, God’s Life. There’s a new enemy, though. Well, maybe not new, but renewed and stronger: hurry sickness. Something is clearly wrong in our time, worse than before, as it relates to hurry and its friends: busyness and distraction. We know we have it if we have the symptoms: irritability, hypersensitivity, restlessness, workaholism, emotional numbness, out-of-order priorities, lack of care for our bodies, escapist behaviors, slippage of spiritual disciplines, and isolation. There is good news, though. Jesus hasn’t left us. Quite the opposite. His presence and Life are still offered to us. We simply have to do one thing: Be present with Jesus and give our attention. Oh wait, that’s not simple at all, is it?

Scripture References: John 10:10, Mark 8:36-37

Related Topics: discipleship, emotional and mental health | More Messages from Ross Stackhouse

From Series: "Eliminating Hurry: the Great Enemy of the Spiritual Life"

Dallas Willard said, “Hurry is the great enemy to spiritual life in our day.” We are more hurried, busy and distracted than we’ve ever been as human beings. We sleep less, rely on digital devices more and more, and think of “slow” as a really, really bad thing. Whether it is out of a sense of fear or insecurity or pain or guilt or a combination, normal for more and more of us is living life at a speed that doesn’t lead to life at all–at least not the abundant spiritual life for which God made us. There is good news: God’s mystery, power and love are there for us to experience all the same. The good news is that there is a richer, deeper, better faith beyond the mediocre faith we’ve been frustrated with or have avoided altogether in the midst of our rushed, distracted living. If we can learn to unhurry our lives and learn to be still with Jesus with our weariness and burdens, we will find rest for our souls. We will find that Jesus’s yoke is easy and his burden is light.