“You are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one” Luke 10:41-42, NIV
God is so cool in how He works! In May, I prayed for an opportunity for us to partake in His divine nature and He led me to read “The Practice of the Presence of God.” In reading this book, I learned and shared with you a way of doing life with Him—of partaking in His nature—by practicing His presence. I decided to start expecting His presence in all that I do, including what I read and listen to, instead of sticking to mere devotionals. He led me to read “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry”—a book that I didn’t know had any relation to spirituality or faith at the time of ordering it. I never would’ve started it if I’d remained “stuck” on looking for a “devotional.” I decided to read it, choosing to believe that He’d show up in the words I read. The very first page was a blown-up Bible verse; the whole book is filled with scripture. He is faithful. Day by day, He reminds us that we can trust Him.
With all of that being said, two weeks ago I found myself in a tizzy. It was the first major episode of anxiousness that I’ve had in years. My first-ever outbreak of shingles that occurred a few days prior indicates that the frantic state I found myself in wasn’t as sudden as it felt, but had likely been building over time. I do believe that God often uses our bodies to reveal to us the state of our inner souls and to remind us to turn to Him.
Anyway, I became overwhelmed with anxiety as soon as Jordan pulled out of the driveway to head into work on the night of the Fourth of July. I reached out to two people—both are wives of men in law enforcement—and they both reminded me to hold onto my faith. I’m a little embarrassed of needing that reminder, but time and again it’s the exact thing I need to hear. That night is just one example of the many ways the world grips a hold of me, blinding me to the presence of Jesus.
In “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry,” John Mark Cromer explains busyness as another cause to the piling of worries we encounter. He quotes J. Ortberg as stating the following:
For many of us the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. We will skim our lives instead of actual living them.
Cromer says: “The need of the hour is for a slowdown spirituality.”
I love what my Life Application Study Bible (NIV) says in regard to the verses illustrated above:
Lord, there is a lot going on in our world—and therefore also a lot going on in our minds. Slow our racing thoughts, Father, and diminish our fears. Remind us that despite how our nation continues to whirl, You remain tried and true, stable and unchanging. Decrease our speed—the speed of our schedules, the speed of our accumulation of things, the speed at which our worries pile, and the speed of our beating hearts. Turn our eyes, our ears, our hearts, and our minds to the one and only thing we need: You.