by Renee Collins, Ph.D., Abilene, Texas
“For fast-paced people, silence is an act of defiance.” – John Mark Comer
“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done” (Gen. 2:2-3).
Today a Hardin-Simmons University colleague, Dr. Lindsay Spindler, and I presented a session at the 2026 Christian Society for Kinesiology, Leisure, & Sport Studies held at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, GA. I left deeply encouraged by the faculty members in attendance. They modeled academic excellence in pedagogy and content, seamlessly integrated faith with learning, and demonstrated a genuine desire to collaborate and spur one another onward. It is a profound privilege to cross paths with such an outstanding community of nationwide professional educators and practitioners.
During two of the conference sessions, two words resonated in my heart for my weekly devotional: flourishing and unhurried. In one session, we were challenged to discuss how to be intentional in recognizing and measuring how our students were flourishing in our classes. What a thought-provoking question. Another session, the presenter explained a deliberate approach to stress regulation. Someone in the session shared how Dallas Willard asked what one word described Jesus. After the person guessed words like compassionate, forgiving, merciful, or gracious. Dallas said, “Unhurried.”
According to Online Merriam Webster dictionary, flourishing means marked by vigorous and healthy growth as well as being very active and successful. If we think about growth and being successful, it looks different for each person pending the many internal and external factors. The session caused me to think about how God must view each of us walking out our faith at different stages. Are we flourishing or stagnant? Are we growing or staying in a rut?
God does not use a single standard of success. He looks at our heart and knows everything about our path. He gives grace each day no matter the struggles, the peaceful times, or the times we need rest. He values the small steps we take, the small detours we take, or the gigantic leaps that we make occasionally as a reaction. He is there wanting us to trust Him more each day in every way. He wants to be our true source of growth.
“That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers” (Psalm 1:3).
“He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth’” (Psalm 46:10).
“…but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
As far as unhurried, many of us suffer from the trap of hurry-sickness. We take shortcuts, multitask, and compress so many things in one day, we plop down at the end of the day and review our planners or calendars to see what did not get done. It is not about doing more but being rooted as the tree planted by the streams of water. Jesus had many people all around Him wanting various things. Today during the session, I appreciated the presenter’s plain statement about how even God took a day off to rest. When is the last time we have been unhurried? Think about just this week alone.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28_30).
As we step back into our busy weeks, let us leave behind the rush and choose to be rooted like the tree by the water. God does not measure our worth by how much we check off our calendars, but by the peace we find in His presence. May we trade our hurry for His gentle rest today, trusting that He will grow our hearts in His own perfect time.
Consider reviewing the lyrics to Rest on Us by Songwriters: Brandon Lake, Elyssa Marie Smith, Harvest Parker, Jonathan Jay, Rebekah White, Tony Brown.
