Dear Christian, Stop Hustling

Hustle is a buzz word in our culture today. Athletes are supposed to “hustle, hit, never quit.” Young adults have to get out there and hustle to make their place in the world. Stay-at-home moms are supposed to have a side hustle to help support their family. Never stop hustling, never back down. Hustle, hustle, hustle. It’s normal, it’s encouraged, it’s how we’re supposed to live. Or is it?

Hustle, as defined by Merriam Webster, means to:

• Urge forward
• Obtain by energetic activity
• Sell or promote aggressively
• Hasten, hurry
• Make strenuous efforts to obtain

There’s other definitions too, but are you seeing the trend? Every definition includes an active sort of word – urge, obtain, energetic, aggressively, hasten, hurry, strenuous. It all sounds very go, go, go. We gotta get this done. Gotta work hard. Gotta push. Is it any wonder that everyone seems to be “so tired” and “so busy” these days?

Hustle is not, or rather should not, be a way of life, especially for those of us who claim to follow Christ. There may be short seasons of hustle. You may be a house flipper who needs to finish this bathroom renovation in the next 3 weeks. Your son may need that shirt sewn by next Tuesday. Your boss may have given you a deadline coming up at the end of the week. Sometimes we must work quickly. That’s normal, but it should be very temporary. 

Why shouldn’t we hustle and strive endlessly? It is the antithesis of how we are biblically called to live.

To The Word

“Stop striving and know that I am God…” – Psalm 46:10

What does this verse imply? To me, it’s that when we are constantly striving and going and doing and pushing, we are not recognizing that God is God. Maybe we need to not be so busy, sit back, and let Him move. Let Him be God.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I will not be in need. He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul…” – Psalm 23:1-3

That doesn’t sound like a lot of urging, obtaining, hastening, or hurrying. It sounds like the Lord is telling us to slow down and follow His lead. Jesus was rarely in a hurry. Remember when they came to Him and told Him Lazarus was sick? He said, “I’ll come,” but He didn’t overwhelm Himself with hurry. Nor should we.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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

It’s as simple as that. Come to the Lord and receive rest. He is gentle and humble, and you will find rest and peace within His heart. Do we find rest and peace in hustling? Or do we find it in quietly and calmly seeking the Father’s heart? 

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” – Exodus 20:8

Rest is the opposite of hustling, and we are commanded to rest for one full day each week. The Lord set the precedent early on in the lives of His people because He knew they would need it. And He knew we would need it.

“Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” – Genesis 2:3

If the Creator of the universe can rest, so can we. If He found value in rest, so should we. If He was blessed by resting on Sabbath, so will we. 

God designed us to rest (Sabbath), tells us to rest (be still), and sets an example for us to rest (Creation and Jesus). It’s obvious that this should be a priority for us. Not just observing Sabbath (although that is VERY important – read more here), but choosing to build our lives around the concept of rest and reliance upon the Lord, not around the hustle of our culture. 

How Do We Stop Hustling?

If you find yourself constantly in these situations where you have to hustle, it’s worth a look to see why. Are you procrastinating? Do you need more help? Are your expectations unrealistic? But also look at your mindset. Do you take the Lord’s command to rest seriously? Are you observing Sabbath? Are you being still before the Lord? I find that when we are still daily before the Lord, and when we set aside a day each week to rest, the urge to constantly hustle leaves. And that’s because that desire is not of the Lord. When we refocus on Him, He refocuses us on how we need to be living and He guides us into a place where we can stop hustling and rely on Him.

Again, there are times of urgency in life. No one will refute that. This may be a rushed season for you. But it’s still worth investigating the why behind the hustle. The Lord may be trying to show you that this isn’t how He wants this season to go for you. Listen to Him. Lean into His teaching and His leading. He has good in store for you and He wants you to pursue Him. 

Do you feel like you’re constantly hustling through life? What can you change to stop hustling and make your life more peaceful and focused on the Lord?