By Patrice Burrell
As the holiday season quickly approaches, it’s so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle that comes right along with all of the festivities. There are halls and doors to deck, trees to trim, gifts from the heart to give, and precious memories to be made. Sometimes without even realizing it, our pace accelerates more than usual, and before we have time to think about what has happened, we are carried away in a whirlwind of rush.
Just saying the word, “RUSH” makes me feel anxious, hurried, and overwhelmed. We get so busy that we overwork our bandwidth, trying to keep up with all of the things, and all of the stuff that’s supposed to make our holiday merry and bright. But sweet sister, can we just take a pause here for a moment?
Thanksgiving and Christmas are not really about grinding, is it? I know dominant culture perpetuates a different narrative that is more commonly accepted, and even expected for us to believe. Nevertheless, can’t we still choose (on purpose) to reject the rush? Can we decide to go against the grain, even if we feel like the odd woman out and are perceived as the non-conformist, rule-breaker? Can we make counter-cultural shifts based upon our own Spirit-led convictions?
Hebrews 4:9-10 (NIV) tells us, “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.”
In order to reject the rush, it will necessitate that we enter God’s rest. And we can do this as we renew our daily devotion to God through worship. Here are three ways we can choose to focus on worship – especially during this holiday season – and reject the rush that creeps up to invade our devotional time with God.
1. Reject Rituals Over Relationships
During this most wonderful time of the year, it’s easy to go into auto-pilot mode in our efforts to get it all done. We want to be on to the next thing so we are crossing through each task on our “to do” list. After-all, we have people in our sphere of influence counting on us to provide them a premium holiday experience. But wait, our relationships cannot become mechanical behavior as we rush about. Most especially, we must guard our relationship with God and be mindful not to skip quickly through our sacred moments with Him. Rushing can encroach upon our dedicated daily quiet time too when we are not vigilant (if we are to be honest).
I know it can be tempting to rush through our time alone with God so that we can move on to immersing ourselves in the holiday hoop-la that awaits. However, let’s not get caught up in checking boxes so quickly that quiet time with God becomes just another part of our morning ritual. It is not just another thing we do before starting our day.
Psalm 16:11 (ESV) reminds us, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
We never want to mistakenly substitute spiritual activity for authentic engagement in our fellowship with God. Let’s reject the rush to go through the motions of being in God’s presence, but actually miss being present in meaningful moments His presence invites us to enjoy.
2. Reject Routines Over Real-time
Now, I love routines and I am all about the spiritual disciplines. They are great to incorporate within our daily rhythms. Likewise, we do not want to become more invested in how and where we spend our quiet time than the awareness of being in relationship with a living God. He wants to constantly make Himself known to us in real-time. The quality we experience during our real-time communion with God is more important than the routines we “plan for” leading up to our quiet time.
In Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG), Jesus said, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
Embracing this practice means keeping an open heart and mind to the Holy Spirit’s leading. We may need to mix things up a bit, and God will often prod us to do just that in order to help us slow down and really focus on Him. We cannot afford to rush past the gentle wooing of the Holy Spirit that lovingly direct us to real-time insights God longs to share with us. This unforced rhythm often occurs when we meet with Him in our secret place each day.
Even If we planned to read ten verses of scripture during our devotional time but sense God speaking to us at verse five, it’s okay to stop, meditate, and lean in to what God is saying in the moment. We can choose to reject the need to rush through finishing reading the passage for completion’s sake. No pressure, no legalism. Let’s give ourselves grace and permission to abandon routine when we sense God drawing us to entreat Him in a different way.
3. Reject Regret Over Rest
With so much going on around us from family traditions being carried on, to church community gatherings, to special events that pique our interest, prioritizing what matters most is not as easy as one might think. Do you have a holiday bucket list of things you can only do for this season? I do. I want to go to this place and see that attraction, and sometimes my choices later lead to regrets over how I have spent my time.
When we have not done all the things we thought we should have done (or maybe the reverse – did things we wish we had not) it leaves us feeling inadequate to then worship and rest in God. Aside from the holidays, how many times have we said, “I’ve got to get that load of laundry done first…I’ve got to wash the dishes first…I’ve got to run these errands first…” before we can give our attention in personal devotional time with God?
Regret brings condemnation that robs us of God’s rest. When we condemn ourselves with judgemental thoughts like, “I didn’t get it right,” or “I haven’t done enough,” we will resent ourselves over decisions already made instead of choosing to accept God’s rest. His rest is accessible to us when we relinquish all of the rushing and begin to worship.
God is not condemning us, so why do we hold on to regrets and condemn ourselves? Romans 8:1 (ESV) affirms, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Now that’s good news!
The biggest part of worship is our surrender to God. In exchange for rejecting regret over all the ways we have not produced or performed (especially to our own standards), we can choose to worship and receive rest anyway. God is not waiting for us to come into His presence once we get ourselves fixed and all together. He just wants us to come because His presence alone is powerful enough to transform our lives.
Rush is a great distraction that keeps us out of sync and off balance. Our inner rhythm longs to be regulated by God’s cadence alone. Stuff will always seek to pull us away; things will scream at us from culture competing for our affection. None of it is more important than being centered in our personal time of fellowship with God.
Jesus was never in a rush, but always intentional. He was never reactive, but always proactive. As we continue to grow in our relationship with God, may we realize rush is simply not necessary. Being with God is our one essential, non-negotiable. Let’s resolve now that as we enter another holiday season, we will reject the rush and abide in Christ.
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