Book Review: Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer

May 27, 2020

The title says it all and it’s quite simple, we need to slow down. Right now, we are in a world where we are forced to rest, but why don’t we look at that as a blessing? John Mark Comer beautifully wrote a book entitled “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” which is a roadmap on how to stay emotionally healthy and spiritually alive in the chaos of the modern world. Not only did this book convict me and my personal actions but it also gives us biblically sound ways on how to eliminate the hurry in our lives–we all struggle with the hurry disease. I would love to share some things that resonated with me that I think we all can learn from, so shall we?

The bottom line that John Mark Comer was trying to communicate is that HURRY is the great enemy of spiritual life today. So many people want success and are always on-the-go, which isn’t a bad thing, until it consumes your life. So much of our time is lost in the black hole of a device that we lose the concept of our entire day. Did you know each person touches their phone approximately 2,617 times a day? Assuming you sleep eight hours each night, that’s just over 163 times an hour!

So how can we learn to SLOW DOWN? Here are some of my favorite lessons pulled from this book:

1. Making time for silence and solitude brings PEACE
When I say solitude, I don’t mean to sit and look at a wall all day. I understand that lives are busy, and people have things to do. Jesus himself was a busy man but he always made it a priority to be silent with the Lord. Some people think that laying in their bed and being on social media is their form of “solitude.” Just because you are alone on your phone, doesn’t mean you are alone with your thoughts. Find time in your everyday life to make it a part of your routine. Wake up early to read a book, find time to sit outside and smell the fresh air. Find your version of solitude, and understand that it’s different then loneliness.

2. Having a sabbath improves PRODUCTIVITY and HAPPINESS
Humans need to recharge. Humans need to not be around work and stressful jobs. Even God himself took a rest after the sixth day of creation, so if He did why don’t we?
I find myself guilty of this, trying to do everything in my power to be successful and run to the next big thing. Not knowing the boundaries is a whole other issue, but I find myself struggling with the discipline of setting aside a day of rest. Sit back and appreciate your week and what’s to come. Thank the Lord you had a week to enjoy and spend time with your family and intentionally with the Him.

3. We are called to WALK with God, not run.
I don’t see anywhere in the bible where it says to run with God, do you? There is a reason why we hear the Lord so clearly in the silence, it’s because our minds and hearts are focused. 1 Thessalonians 4: 10-11 states, “We urge you brothers and sister…. to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life.” This is what I encourage you all to live by in this time of rest we’ve been given. How can you intentionally have time with the Lord with a chaotic life? Hurry is the root problem.

I can’t stress enough of how convicting this book was. It is both an answer and a question. Are you and will you slow down? I encourage all of you to read this book and think about your own life, and ultimately, find rest for your soul.

Sources

Comer, John Mark. The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World. Hodder & Stoughton, 2019.

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