Have you ever read a book that affected you so deeply, you could not help but change? Has the Lord spoken to you clearly, calling you out on sin or giving you the direction for which you have asked Him? Or perhaps you’ve found within a book’s pages some peace you did not realize you were missing. Perhaps you have read a book which changed your life so deeply that you realized you would never be the same again.

For me, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry is that book. Aside from the Bible, it is quite possibly the most life-changing book I have ever read. High praise, I know. But this book points continuously to the Living Water for which we all long, and recommends practical methods for walking with the Lord in a way that really is countercultural.

The book opens with an interesting point. When we ask, “How are you?” A common response is, “I’m doing well, just busy.”

We know that this is a problem. Comer writes, “People are just too busy to live emotionally healthy and spiritually rich and vibrant lives” (21).

The hurry that tints our days and the business that fills our lives are destroying our souls, Comer argues. Love, joy, and peace are incompatible with hurry. In order to live a life like Jesus lived, we need to slow down. Way down.

The solution isn’t more time, Comer argues. It’s removing the unnecessaries from our lives. Letting God determine our schedules. We have to accept and live within our limits and realize that we can’t do it all. Not by a long shot.

The secret to the slow life isn’t efficiency, it’s the easy yoke of Christ into which Jesus welcomes Christians in Matthew 11:28-30. Comer invites weary Christians to return to the God who gives them rest. He speaks of how this is not just an idea, it’s a way of life, tying the practical application back to imitation of Jesus. This involves spiritual disciplines.

Comer argues for four practices for “unhurrying your life.”

1. Silence and solitude
   This involves quiet time with the Lord. No noise. No distractions. Just you and the Lord and the quiet. I love practicing this, especially when I can hear the silence. If I can hear the silence, it’s somehow easier for me to hear the Savior. Spiritual growth involves time alone with Jesus, just as any other relationship requires. 
2. Sabbath
   Do you ever stop? Rest? Sabbath is a practice of doing so for 24 hours a week, just as we are required to do by the fourth commandment. God rested from His work of creation—why don’t we rest?
3. Simplicity
   Comer isn’t arguing for minimalism, but he is arguing for less. Stuff takes up time. We live in a society that has been changed into a society where needs are the least of our worries. What do we want? This rampant consumerism steals our time, but Jesus took only what He needed. Comer’s argument is not that we live as nomads with nothing but an extra tunic, a cooking knife, and a water bottle, but instead he argues we get rid of what we don’t need and prioritize what matters, granting freedom.
4. Slowing
   In this bit, Comer gives lots of practical methods for living a slow life. Things like driving the speed limit, giving your phone a bedtime, and eating at home. It’s practical and kind and full of neat ideas.

Live quietly.

Let your soul live inside of you.

Take on the easy yoke of Jesus.

Read this book. Your life will never be the same.