4 Rhythms That Quiet the Soul in a Noisy World
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By Elizabeth Delaney, Crosswalk.com
As technology continues to advance, it seems like it’s also increasing the pace of life and shifting the expectations of people for faster results. The consistent push for obtaining more at an increasing rate can leave a person feeling like life has become chaotic, and wondering how peace can be obtained.
In his new book, The Speed of the Soul, author-speaker-pastor Tommy Brown partners with NavPress / Tyndale Publishers to help readers discover four rhythms for a quiet life in a world of noise. Brown explains how loving deeply, living quietly, minding your own affairs, and working with your hands are a rhythm. Finding this rhythm helps you to experience calm, contentment, focus, and an ability to just be present. In a word, centered. When a person is experiencing a sense of feeling centered, “we awaken to the life of God in us and activity of God around us,” Brown wrote.
He connects this to 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12, using a “wisdom circle” as another illustration. The circle represents a boundary that has parameters that offer protection from the distractions of the world, while also highlighting what truly matters: relationships, our values, and a sense of what God has called us to do.
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1. Love Deeply
The most meaningful relationships are the ones that go beyond discussions of news, weather, and sports. They explore the deep things of life, such as emotional connection, sharing hopes, dreams, and experiences, and being supportive of each other.
“Love doesn’t have to be blood. Love is a choice. Love means taking care of people even when it’s difficult. Love means showing up. Love is hard. But it’s rewarding. That’s what being a family is all about,” Brown wrote.
Borrowing from Paul, he goes on to connect this love with a mutual care for each other that could be called sibling love, and he says it’s the place from which a person begins to live the sort of life that pleases God and will attract outsiders.
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2. Live Quietly
The world typically won’t cooperate with your efforts to live quietly. Brown notes that in 1 Thessalonians 4:11 (NIV) Paul writes, “Make it your ambition to live a quiet life.” So a person needs to be intentional about living a quiet life.
Brown suggests asking yourself, “Does this technology, purchase, car, or entertainment add to my soul’s peace and tranquility? Does it contribute to the tranquility of my friends’ and family’s lives?”
This approach helps with paying more attention to what external noise or influences are being allowed in your life, and work toward cultivating calm.
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3. Mind Your Own Affairs
Brown attributes most people’s inability to mind their own affairs as being rooted in one of two things:
-An enjoyment of getting entangled in the affairs of others.
-They’ve never learned to invite God into their own affairs.
In the Gospel of John 21:21, Jesus was basically telling Peter to mind his own affairs after Jesus’ resurrection when Peter asked, “But Lord, what about this man?”
Jesus replied in the next verse, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”
God has a plan and a purpose for each of us. We need to stay focused on the direction He’s leading us, not concerning ourselves with what He’s doing with someone else.
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4. Work with Your Hands
God has a calling on each of our lives for a specific type of work. We need to ask Him to reveal what that is and then find meaningful ways to express it.
The questions Brown poses to help the reader uncover are:
1. What makes you come alive?
2. What are you doing when you feel most yourself?
3. Where do you see God showing up in your work, volunteering, or hobbies?
Brown notes that, “When you start to see a pattern, you’re on the path to understanding your vocation. By understanding your vocation, you realize that working with your hands isn’t just about your most fulfilled life. It’s about making something good and beautiful of the world God created.”
If we live the Christian life well, others will want it and may even ask you how to get it.
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Digging Deeper in Faith
This book has some great insights, personal stories, and details on how to slow down in a fast-paced, stressful world. It also shows the reader how to discern what truly matters and work through suggested steps to find more meaning and peace in life. There’s a nice reflection and answer section included after each aspect of the wisdom circle that allows the reader to dig deeper into the concepts in the book. The book could also be used in a small group study with the group leader leading members of the group through the reflections, and using those as an opportunity to discuss thoughts, ideas, and answer any questions.
It’s also a possibility for the book to be used by youth leaders or parents of older teens as an opportunity to have conversations with their teens regarding stepping away from their mobile devices and being more present in the actual, physical world around them, so they can experience life and relationships more fully. Brown suggests thinking of being more present as a tension that needs to be managed rather than a problem that needs to be solved.
The Speed of the Soul will officially release in October, and can be preordered here.
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