Make Not Haste

For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight; for Jehovah will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear-guard. -- Isaiah 52:12 (Darby Translation)

The pace of life in 21st century America is oftentimes frantic.  Driving into Seattle this morning I-5 was a wall of cars, all jockeying to get into a lane that was moving microns faster than the one in which you were already; trying to get somewhere quickly on time, but obviously not going to be.  The impossibility of trying to schedule an appointment when teenagers need to be dropped off and picked up at randomly mandated times illustrates the pressures and insanity of the haste and flight by which we find ourselves living.  Few adults can live without their calendars not just in a pocket, but in their hand -- and children in middle school are being indoctrinated into carrying a planner everywhere because life is so full that nobody can be expected to carry in their heads everything that needs to be done in a day.

If you're here reading without a calendar in your lap then I congratulate you!  We all must have a daily respite from the haste.  Isaiah was written thousands of years ago, but has a commanding reminder for driven 21st century Americans --don't go in haste, don't fly like a chicken with your head cut off, but know that God is preparing the way before you and is watching your back always.  Taking time to reconnect with a God who loves us enough to surround us -- front, back, sides, above, and below -- can help us find the peaceful oasis of living water in the midst of swirling dust and insanity.  It also gives us the space to be that oasis of caring and attentiveness to the frantic who swirl past us, micro-managing many things that in the larger scheme of forever matter not.  The Lord goes quietly before you in firm control and God is bringing up the rear; be at peace.

Prayer:
All Surrounding Merciful God, release us from the overpowering hourly sense of responsibility and rush to be all things to all people.  Help us to remember the only true responsibility is to You, and that attentiveness there restores and corrects all else in our lives.  Amen.