Slow Down oh My Soul

“What I do today is important
because I’m exchanging a day of my life for it” (Unknown).

Admittedly, it’s hard for me to be consistent in my fellowship with the Lord. To be frank, I don’t have it all figured out.  And surely I have my own struggles with Christian living and disciplines. But one thing that I’m very assured of is that – I have, by God’s grace, a relationship with the Lord. Yet embarrassingly many Christians including myself often neglect to cultivate or to renew that relationship every day. We are in the state of, what most accurate and condense language of today called – busyness. The archenemy of intimate divine relationship with the Lord is busyness. Busyness that is closely tied to worldliness – getting caught up with this society’s agenda, objectives and activities to the neglect walking with the Lord.

Busyness in your life overcrowds your mental resources, leaving no possibility for the quiet moment with the Lord. Mountain of assignments and workloads, hundreds of responsibilities, gathering of properties, achieving dreams, aim for worldly successes, etc. all these though are not evil in itself have robbed your time with the Lord God Almighty. You got to stop! Slowing down… rest and pause – stop! God wants to speak to you. God want to guide and refresh you. The Lord wants a fellowship, an intimate relationship with you, but you will never recognize it until you slow down and allow time for Him. Psalm 39:6 says, “We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing”. Therefore, slowing down will ya?

Slowing down to pray. Slowing down to listen. Slowing down to cultivate relationship. Set aside time for the Lord. Not leftover time, not throwaway time, but quality time. Time for contemplation, meditation and reflection. Unhurried, uninterrupted time. Bill Hybels in his book Too Busy Not to Pray writes, “You can’t become an authentic Christian on a diet of constant activity, even if the activity is all church related. Strength comes out of solitude. Decisions that change the entire course of your life usually come out of the Holy of Holies.” The fact is: God don’t need you, you need God. Therefore, come to Him for Life. Give up your best time for the Lord. You’ll never regret it!

Psalm 103(NLT)

“LORD, my heart is not proud;

My eyes are not haughty.

I don’t concern myself with matters too great

Or too awesome for me to grasp.

Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself,

Like a weaned child who no longer cries

For its mother’s milk.

Yes, like a weaned child is my soul

Within me.

O Israel, put your hope in the LORD –

Now and always.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

When there’s Nothing you can Do… Wait

Picture taken from: http://loveandacupofcoffee.wordpress.com/

In a ‘Do-Do-Do-World’ today we all somehow have become merely a ‘Do’ing Person rather than a ‘Be’ing Person. Here is my thought for today: Taking actions is crucial whenever we face troubles, it is human to do so. But whenever you realize that there’s nothing you can do…

Wait.

Wait patiently.

Don’t keep going.

Restrain yourself from anything hasty. Whenever possible, put on the brakes! There is a red light in front of you. Slow down. Often, we seldom made wise decisions in a hurry. Wait. Don’t you agree that we’re seldom felt sorry for things we didn’t say or do? Abraham Lincoln, my friend says, “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” Wait.

My thought comes from David’s thought in God’s Word, Psalm 40:

"I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,

and he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the pit of despair,

    out of the mud and the mire.

He set my feet on solid ground

    and steadied me as I walked along." (40:1-2NLT)

As you read Psalm 40 carefully, you’ll realize that David’s situation didn’t changed. In fact, it was David changed. When you wait, your situation may not change, but you will. Wait, you may discover that the time of waiting is one of God’s ways to show you that He is God, and you’re not. Thus, surrender the situation to Him. So be cool, patiently wait. Ahhh… as I wait, most of the time I realized that I’m the one who need to change, not the situation.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Week 48: Slowing - Slow down Tiger!

One of the great disadvantages of hurry is that it takes such a long time. (G.K. Chesterton)

Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save. (Will Rogers)

Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

Today is my off day. I think that the best time for me to spend this precious moment is to read, write and relax. For the last few days, I forget to slow down my pace. “Buzz buzz buzz…” my alarm clock rings:

Morning: Hurriedly I wake up, brush my teeth, bath, drink a cup of water, skip breakfast, and get to work. 

Afternoon: Lunch; faster biting those meats and chewing that vegetable, drink my coffee and get back to work. (Oh even as I sit down, I still thought about work…)

Evening: 15 minutes instant dinner, get back to work, sit down but still doing something, lying on my bed sms’ing, get back to work, meeting for a while and sleep.

… And the circle goes round and round again for the next day. "What a busy day", I said to myself. Then I stop; take a deep breath and slowing down. Then this verse comes to mind, “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) “Be still” can also be translate as “Enough!” or “Stop!” Life is too precious to miss, and the faster we go the more likely we are to miss what really matters. Maybe you’re too hurrying – “enough!” Maybe you’re too busy –“stop!” Maybe you’re soo fast –“be still!”

Yes, slow down tiger! You need to slow down. Unless we break the addiction to busyness, hurry and workaholism we can savor the moment we are in now. It is here. And it will never come again. Busyness in your life overcrowds your mental resources. When you need to sit down and relax, your mind rather wondering around, “Oh, I forget to check my e-mails”; “I wonder what my friends’ comments about my Facebook post this morning”; “Where is Sally? She promises to call me!” Thus, you can’t experience the present moment –now. The faster we go the less we become. The hurry we become the less things we done. And no matter what, we certainly don’t become better people in haste. If your life is always busy, you may miss God’s guidance and His present in the moment. Friend (or rather tiger), God is telling you to ‘be still and know that I am God.”

"Slow down,
you are missing the scenery..."

Peter Kreeft writes, “If you can’t take time to do nothing, you’re slave to doing. Doing nothing is a radical, revolutionary act. It frees you from the universal slavery of our age: slavery to the clock. The clock measures doing but not being.” Slowing is always a counter culture in our society today even in Malaysia. When you do things slowly people thought that you’re lazy, unproductive, wasting time and less enthusiastic. It can be true sometimes, but you see, there is a time for everything – a time to hurry up and a time to slow down, a time to get busy and a time to relax, a time for urgency and a time to be patient. Dallas Willard observed, “Though Jesus saw his work in lives of others as urgent, he pursued it patiently.” We ought to do the same.

Here are few things that I practice (not always but frequently) to discipline myself in the art of slowing down;

·        Take time to get out from my office or room and take a slow walk outside,

·        Make myself a cup of coffee and sit in a chair doing nothing,

·        Speaking more slowly,

·        Pause before respond or speak,

·        Chewing slowly when eating,

·        Look at a picture or scene and savor the moment,

·        Take extra longer shower,

·        Breathe slowly and deeply,

·        Read slowly,

·        Getting enough sleep… etc.

 Are you now in a busy mode? Are you addicted to hurry, rush and ‘Red-bull’ moment? What if you choose to do things slowly, can you savor it? Slow down tiger! God doesn’t demand constant activity; he desires both productive activity and refreshing rest. Get busy and slow down. Urgent and patient. My favorite author Adele Calhoun defines “Slowing is one way to overcome inner hurriedness and addiction to busyness. Through slowing, the sacrament of the present moment is tasted to the full.” God of the Bible makes it clear that we need time to slowing down, ‘Be still and know that I am God.” Slow down tiger!

THINK BIG Hurry cannot make our future faster,
START SMALL Trusting God’s unhurried time schedule,

GO DEEP “Through slowing, the sacrament of the present moment is tasted to the full.”

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References:

1.     Zondervan NIV Study Bible,

2.     Reader’s Digest Quotable Quotes; Wit & Wisdom for Every Occasion.