A slower life sounds delightful! Maybe that’s why country living is such a popular idea. We idealize a lifestyle led by simple faith and slower daily routines.

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But I’ll be honest, my country home would need good Wi-Fi. I like the idea of a slower lifestyle, but not when it comes to my computer speed. Even a 3-second delay has me worried I might need an upgrade! So much of what I do on a daily basis involves technology.

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The truth is, some of us would be miserable if things slowed down. We’d much rather things hurry up.

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The problem is, our souls weren't created for hurry. And as a result, hurry is the enemy of what matters most in life.

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For so many years it seemed someone pressed fast-forward on my life. And I say “someone” because I felt like a victim. It was always someone else’s fault we were rushing around in the morning or racing out the door in a frenzy.

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It took years for me to realize hurry wasn’t a mandate. There were other options, especially those that made me a nicer person. Hurry didn’t bring out my best. In fact, I can be pretty self-centered when I rush. And the work I think I’m crushing is really crushing me.

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The “why” behind living an overcrowded life isn’t easy to discover — and mine certainly wasn’t. The reasons I jam-packed my schedule were complicated. Clearly having the right planner or time management program wasn’t the answer. Because underneath it all, I was searching for significance and believed doing more was the answer.

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The more you do, the faster you have to work to get it all done. And the hurry cycle begins.

Here’s the problem: Hurry will never get us what we really want.

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• If you want a deeper relationship with God and others; hurry makes them shallow.

• If you want to think more deeply about the Lord and the world around you; hurry makes it impossible.

• If you want to do better work; hurry steals any excellence you hope to have.

• If you want to serve others well; hurry causes you to brush over their needs.

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Hurry steals the best from us, and so we must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from our life.

We were designed to go at a slower pace, to ponder, to process thoughts one at a time, to focus on the face in front of us with tender care. And when we try to go at computer-speed, we miss out on what’s important in life.

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The Apostle Paul penned a list of the characteristics a Christian should exhibit when the Spirit of God lives in them. And not one of them is possible when I’m in a hurry: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control …” (Galatians 5:22).

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Hurry robs us of the beauty God has placed in front of us and the grace others so desperately need.

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Sometimes dealing with hurry is as simple as deciding to slow down. Walk more slowly … talk more slowly. Sometimes it means editing our schedules and removing half (if not more) of our optional responsibilities.

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We can uncover the root of our hurry, but it takes time. To start, the next time you feel hurry start to sneak in and push the gas pedal, pause and breathe deeply. Refuse to be rushed. Declare that hurry has no place in the good work you’re doing or the beautiful life God’s placed before you.

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Lord, thank You for Your patience with me. You are never in a rush when I come to You. Help me turn to You more often and invite Your Spirit to have His way in me, bringing a calmness I desperately need. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.