Time Sickness and the pace of God

As you know I often think about where time has gone. At one point in my adult life, I felt like I spent so much time living in the past that I made some drastic changes in my social media in hopes of living more in the present and feeling more fulfilled. Some of the changes, like unfriending people with whom I no longer have any connections with other than Facebook, were very helpful to me. However, outside changes didn’t solve all of my problems related to the lack of fulfillment. According to Faceilethings.com, in 1982 American author and Santa Fe physician Larry Dossey defined a new term called “time sickness” as “the belief that many people have about the fact that time is always slipping away, that there is never enough of it, and that we must go faster and faster to keep up.” It is said that Dossey was addicted to trying to see how much he could get done as the minutes ticked away, essential racing against the clock. This particular struggle results in a lack of fulfillment for so many people today because you really can’t beat the clock. Time continues to slip away. Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying “Lost time is never found again.” One day you are 9 years old living your best dream of exploring the planet or your own backyard and then the next, you are becoming a grandparent for the very first time and wondering if you should join AARP at the discounted rate of only $12 a year.

According to Time Magazine in 2006, we actually have more leisure time than we did 40 years ago; an estimated 45 minutes per day of extra leisure time than in the past. In June of 2020, NBC News reported that Americans were unhappier than they’ve been in nearly 50 years. Obviously, a global pandemic has contributed to these feelings but is not the only reason behind them. The number has been trending down since 1970. According to Akorra.com, here is what we do with our leisure time; Watch TV or video streaming, etc.; eat, and for some of us that is a real priority; bathroom time, enough said; communicating via social media, phone, email, or actually talking; Surfing the internet and scrolling social media; reading, something I have picked up in the last 6 months; wishing, meaning that we still spend a remarkable amount of time wishing, dreaming, or hoping for something better; Sex; Traveling; Sleeping. The internet is full of strategies one can incorporate to set new priorities, change one’s lifestyle and habits, and find more time in an average week in order to feel like you have gained some time back.

What I struggled with was realizing that I needed to catch up mentally to the place and time that my life was actually being lived; the here and now. The pace of my mind, my memories, my processing of time, was not matching the pace of the life I was actually living. This, then, begged me to ask if I was keeping up with the pace of God for my life. Long ago (here I reach into a past memory) I heard gifted theologian and at one time the youngest seminary president in the country, Earl Radmacher say, “Look away from that which you must be aware of, unto Jesus.” His statement came as a memorable summary of the challenge given to us by Paul, an apostle of Jesus. Paul uses a running analogy to point us to some insight about our pace of life and faith. Look at Hebrews 12:1-3 (TPT) in the New Testament; “As for us, we have all of these great witnesses who encircle us like clouds. So we must let go of every wound that has pierced us and the sin we so easily fall into. Then we will be able to run life’s marathon race with passion and determination, for the path has been already marked out before us. We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his, he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God! So consider carefully how Jesus faced such intense opposition from sinners who opposed their own souls so that you won’t become worn down and cave in under life’s pressures.”

Today, one of our pastors, David Arcos shared some principles out of Acts 3:1-10 that might be helpful as you think about the pace of your life, the pace of your faith, and living in the peace, joy, and fulfillment that God has for you. The story goes like this; Peter and John, two of Jesus’ close followers, were arriving at the temple entrance called the Beautiful Gate, for afternoon prayer. They were noticed by a crippled man who had laid at this gate daily for years and he asked them for money, as was his custom to beg of those coming to the Temple. Peter and John boldly said to him, “Look at us!” The man, who had never walked due to his crippled feet and ankles, looked up into their eyes thinking he was about to receive some money. But Peter told him that they didn’t have any money, but they could give him this; “by the power of the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk!” We are told that the man immediately jumped up and began walking around. He then went into the temple courtyard leaping for joy and shouting praises to God, so much so that all the people around realized this was the crippled beggar they had passed every day as they entered the Beautiful Gate. They were astonished and amazed at the change in him.

There are a few things that Pastor David pointed out that I can relate to in this miraculous story. The first is this; Shame keeps us looking down when we should be looking up. This man’s point of view his entire life has been near ground level. Think about it. He couldn’t walk or even stand, so as he sat or laid at the gate, his perspective was that of working legs and feet, the very thing he did not have. As time passed, his mind kept going to the fact that he didn’t have functioning legs. He kept thinking about the time he tried to get his feet to work, with zero success. As time continued, his shame grew. His shameful image of himself caused him to see those around him but to not really look at those around him. That is why Peter and John had to tell him to look at them. Instead of head down and hand raised, they wanted him to look them in the eyes, to see his reflection in their eyes to know how they saw him, not how time has caused him to see himself. That shame that had been growing for years like a bad weed held him from the pace of life and faith that God was moving at. It was time for him to catch us and see himself as God sees him; BEAUTIFUL.

Isn’t it ironic that he resided at the “Beautiful Gate?” Isn’t it ironic that people passed him by every day for years? Isn’t it ironic that he was looking for an outward, superficial solution to his problems; money? In one moment, God revealed the truth that he had never looked up to see, that he is beautiful, and that the solution went deep, to the depths of true healing. Friends, no matter what is crippling you, be it physical pain or illness, mental or emotional crisis, financial struggle, the battle of addictive substances or behavior, you do not have to hang your head down low. You need to look up and into the eyes of those who see you as beautiful because you are.

That leads me to the next idea, which is to ask for BIG SOLUTIONS! Why ask for a Band-Aid when the ailment can be healed? Why ask for a few dollars when a new career is what you need? Why ask for a mental health day when complete peace and restoration is available to you? Why ask for the temptation to go away when complete transformation and recovery are what you can experience? Friends, our shame so often forces us to look back, focus on that time gone by, and tell ourselves that we don’t deserve the best outcome. Because we focus on the past, we can get to a place where all we can imagine is an external short fix rather than an internal healing. We can only bring ourselves to attempt to address the symptoms rather than allow the Great Physician to heal the root of our problems. We ask for small things like money for our next meal when He wants to give us the cattle on a thousand hills.

Finally, if you can muster just enough courage to look up, and can ask for and expect big solutions, realize the healing that only comes from letting God heal you. Then take the final leap of faith and jump in and give God the credit for the great changes in your life; for the healing that has taken place and the peace and joy and hope that has been poured out to you. Don’t lollygag on the first step of the pool, slowly reaching your toes down towards the 2^nd step. Instead, walk to the deep end, and JUMP IN! When you experience this kind of change in your life, the solutions to the problems that you’ve been focusing on sometimes since you were a teenager, you should want to jump up and down, glorify God, amaze those around you, including yourself. When you find new life, positive change, unbelievable relief, you should not keep that hidden.

I am living in the present, at the current pace of life and faith, more than I ever had in the past. The things God is doing in and through me are not exhausting me or frustrating me. They aren’t feeding my ego and causing me mental anguish. They aren’t triggering harmful thoughts and feeling that I want to run away from. My mind and God’s pace seem to be meeting at a point of divine providence. Friend, I looked up from the shame that was crippling me. I came to the end of myself and I asked for a big solution. Once I recognized the healing change that only God could do had actually happened to me, I jumped in. The irony is that the beauty that is being recognized now is the beauty that God had always seen in me. Why did I wait so long? At this point, I don’t really care to know, because the time has gone. I can’t get back even a millisecond of the past. But I can “Look away from that which I must be aware of, unto Jesus.” You see, He is the Healer. He sets my pace. He is so good that offers me the power to move forward and rest when I’m weary. He brings solutions to my problems and he restores my soul. He helps me to avoid the crippling acts that bring shame and I don’t have to be afraid of evil because He’s with me. I know He can do that for you.

As always, thanks for reading,