{"id":10153,"date":"2022-01-11T11:33:06","date_gmt":"2022-01-11T11:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-sites.ccci.org\/agapeuk-old\/?p=10153"},"modified":"2023-05-11T10:31:47","modified_gmt":"2023-05-11T10:31:47","slug":"the-ruthless-elimination-of-hurry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-sites.ccci.org\/agapeuk-old\/the-ruthless-elimination-of-hurry\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Home<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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By Emma Parkin<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Ever feel like your life is moving too fast, you\u2019re rushing from one thing to the next and your heart and mind are in a constant state of unrest?<\/p><\/blockquote>

I didn\u2019t realise this was true for me until I read \u2018The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry\u2019 by John Mark Comer. It was like millions of light bulbs going off in my head at once. The teachings and explanations made so much sense to me and things I had heard or knew before suddenly captured my heart in a new way.<\/p>

I resonated so much with what John was saying and he wholly convinced me that following the ways of Jesus would create light, space and freedom in my life. And it did! Read on to find out how\u2026<\/p>

John highlighted 4 different aspects of Jesus\u2019 life that can help us to live freely if we adopt the same practices.<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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1. Silence & Solitude<\/h2>

I was amazed at how solid the reasonings were for incorporating some sort of silence and solitude into your life \u2013 and that was before John even talked about the life of Jesus. The idea that as soon as our mind is restless, we reach for something to distract us. How true! He talks about how those little moments of your day are \u2018potential portals to prayer\u2019 and if we were to allow those moments to stay free from distraction, we could be connecting with God so much more. Wow! How many times could I pray if it were the same as the number of times I reached for my phone?<\/p>

He then goes on to talk about Jesus\u2019 way of life. Jesus took himself off to a quiet place as a regular rhythm in his life. Story after story shows how often Jesus removed himself from the busyness of life to spend time with His Father in prayer. \u2018Jesus needed time in the quiet place.\u2019 How much more then do we?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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2. Sabbath<\/h2>

I knew in my head that Sabbath was important, and I\u2019d heard lots of talks on it before (each time I resolved to do it!) but for some reason as I read \u2018The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry\u2019 something for me just clicked into place.<\/p>

The reasoning for the Sabbath, the high importance of it and what to actually do on the day all added up and culminated in me actually setting a day per week aside to do the Sabbath properly. And I\u2019m still doing it two months later. The reason why? It\u2019s dramatically changed my life and I\u2019m not exaggerating.<\/p>

When I incorporate all four aspects of Jesus\u2019 life into my everyday on top of the Sabbath, I feel more calm, I don\u2019t automatically rush every little task to get to the good bits of life, I feel more energised, I can think more clearly, I can breathe more deeply and life doesn\u2019t feel like it\u2019s spinning out of control anymore \u2013 everything is just a lot slower. And I love it. It\u2019s like I\u2019m taking the skills I learn on the Sabbath into the rest of my week. It\u2019s like I\u2019m carrying the Sabbath with me.<\/p>

(I\u2019m still working on it and I\u2019ve definitely not cracked it so there are absolutely times when all of the above are not true, but I now feel like I know how to keep the Sabbath going in my life.)<\/p>

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3. Simplicity<\/h2>

The part of Simplicity that stood out to me was the idea of making decisions based on how time costly they would be (not just the monetary cost) and weighing the cost against the benefit.<\/p>

This chapter also talks about how Jesus had a lot to say about money and told simple truths about our relationship with money drawing us away from God. There is so much more in this chapter. Have a look!<\/p>

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4. Slowing<\/h2>

The fourth aspect from Jesus\u2019 life is all around slowing our lives way<\/strong> down. In Jesus\u2019 life, he was interruptible, he made space for people and he took his time. The book talks about how we need to retrain our brains to slow down as we automatically choose the most efficient course of action (sometimes that\u2019s right but we\u2019ve let it spill into all areas of life).<\/p>

To practise this idea, John talks about purposefully choosing the long queue at the checkout\/waiting for the green man to cross the road\/driving at the speed limit etc. All ways to help remind yourself that you don\u2019t need to be in a rush, you can slow down, take your time. It\u2019s worth saying John encourages the reader to take or leave some of his suggestions and they are only meant to help bring freedom.<\/p>

One of the suggestions that I\u2019ve taken on board and has made the world of difference to me, has been trying out forms of mindfulness and meditation. For me this means just taking time to be still for ten minutes in the morning and evening and allowing my breath to slow right down. \u2018Just focus on my breathing \u2013 in and out and nothing else.\u2019 I feel like it\u2019s opened up a calmness in me that I hadn\u2019t found before. I\u2019ve found myself breathing more deeply and slowly during the day too which often equates to me not feeling so rushed or panicked. (Although, that\u2019s not always the case, I\u2019m still working on it.)<\/p>

John Mark Comer says, \u2018Mindfulness is just silence and solitude for a secular society. It\u2019s like prayer, minus the best part.\u2019 He goes on to say, \u2018In meditation of the Hebrew\/Jesus variety, you don\u2019t just empty your mind (of the noise, chaos, anxiety, etc.) but you fill your mind with Scripture, with truth, with the voice of the Holy Spirit.\u2019<\/p>

This is what I would love to focus on next!<\/p>

John makes 20 different suggestions that could help you slow down \u2013 why not have a read and pick one or two to try?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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To conclude, I\u2019ve lifted a quote from the book talking about Jesus\u2019 teachings:<\/span><\/h2>

\u201cThey [Jesus\u2019 teachings] are statements about how the world actually works. And if you ignore them, not only do you rupture relationship with God, but you also go against the grain of the universe he created. Cue the splinters.\u201d<\/p>

I\u2019ve found this book to be powerful in many ways. It\u2019s shown me how we as people are so easily led astray by the world and in this area of life if we\u2019re not careful we won\u2019t look any different to the world.<\/p>

It\u2019s revealed to me much about how the world was created and how the way Jesus lived in it was the way God intended us to live. We were designed to have silence and solitude, the Sabbath, simplicity and slowing down in our lives and without them, we won\u2019t function optimally. We won\u2019t have life to the full.<\/p>

And finally, it\u2019s shown me how to incorporate spiritual disciplines into my life and how much of a difference it can make. I\u2019ve made changes to my life because of it.<\/p>

I would wholly recommend reading \u2018The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry\u2019 by John Mark Comer. You won\u2019t regret it.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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