Hurry and Worry

As for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd who follows You… (Jeremiah 17:16 NKJV)

On my walk this morning the fall colors were quite a distraction.  A pleasant one it was, but still drawing my eye from the path on more than one occasion.  As I circled around my church this morning, there were several people rushing from parked cars to the church building in a hurry to get to a function that took place this morning.

As I prayed for the people in the building, I was prompted to pray for them to not be in a hurry, and not to allow worry to overcome them.  Then it occurred to me that these two actions are sisters, and often go along hand in hand with each other.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6 NKJV)

In order to be in tune and on the same wavelength as our God, we are to be patient and to wait on Him.  When we are in a hurry, it causes us anxiety, and gives us a false feeling of being in control.  It actually causes us to worry – worry that we’ll be late, worry that we’ll be an inconvenience to someone else, worry that we’ll miss out on something important.  Since Jesus told us not to worry, shouldn’t we also not hurry?

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. (Psalm 130:5 NKJV)

God constantly asks us to wait for Him.  But in our hurry we often leave Him behind.  Taking these morning walks with the Lord as my companion is reminding me to make time to slow down.  I pray that you’ll find ways to slow down and shove hurry aside as well!