While reading Isaiah a little while ago, I came across a passage of scripture that caught my eye and nudged my heart.
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’ Therefore you will flee! You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’ Therefore your pursuers will be swift!” -Isaiah 30:15-16
Which got me thinking…
Whether it’s a horse or a Honda, doing something productive and going somewhere quick feels far more productive than sitting around twiddling the ol’ fingers. Planning life and accomplishing tasks feels far more responsible than living in a perpetual state of seeming laziness and nothingness.
Why?
Because culture does not preach repentance, rest, quietness and trust.
Scripture tells us our salvation and our strength is found when we slow down and allow our lives to be led by His Holy Spirit, but culture screams go, go, go.
We like the idea of quietness and rest, but truth is, when we find ourselves living out our day-to-day, we all too easily get caught up in the fast pace rush set by culture around us.
So how do we do it?
How do we take back control of time and practice the art of slow in a culture that breed’s speed?
I’m no expert, but I did do a mini project about a year ago to see if I could gain a little more control of my time. No, I didn’t add some magical 25th hour to my 24-hour clock, but I did discover a practical tip that would allow for me to be more mindful of the 24 hours I do have. And I have to say; this little project has helped me greatly be more aware of Christ throughout my day.
Here’s what I did:
I set the alarm on my phone for every hour starting at 10am (start time can be any time that suits your own life schedule). Meaning, up till 8pm, my phone alarm rings every hour on the hour to remind me to either pray, meditate on a particular passage of scripture, or pray for someone in my life. I even labelled the hourly alarm as a way to organize my thoughts ahead of time so I’m not scrambling and rambling at the top of the hour wondering who to pray for and what to think about.
Here are a couple of screen shots of my phone to show you what I mean.
So why do all this? What’s the point?
Because of the seven simple words found in Isaiah 30: but you would have none of it.
I never want these words associated with my life.
I never want a fast paced existence to lead me away from quietness and rest, repentance and strength.
I never want my life to blend into the culture around me in such a way that I look exactly the same as everybody else.
If you’re not intentional about purposing quiet moments to think about God, it’s oh so easy to go weeks without thinking about Him at all. And because I want my salvation to be founded on repentance and rest… and because I want my strength to be framed in quietness and trust, I need to use my timely wisely and not rush through it.
What does your time look like?
