Five Minutes To Perfect Peace

Tired of feeling guilty when you slow down? We open the morning with a candid look at why rest feels wrong, then turn that reflex on its head with a memorable reading from Tim Hansel—equal parts humor and hard truth—about choosing sunsets over imaginary troubles and joy over constant self-surveillance.
We don’t argue for escapism or quitting what matters. Instead, we show how to keep working on the important things without letting them dominate your spirit. You’ll learn small, daily practices—naming specific worries, handing them over in honest prayer, thanking God for concrete care, and building tiny moments of delight—that make room for calm to do its work. Think of it as traveling lighter through the same terrain: fewer imaginary problems, more present moments, a heart that can breathe while the world keeps spinning.

Transcript

The Guilt Of Relaxing

Tim Hansel’s Regret And Joy List

Peace Misunderstood As Frivolity

Scripture On Trust And Perfect Peace

Pray, Thank, And Live Lighter

Parting Encouragement And Invite

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mack. I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day. So grab your cup of coffee, sit back, relax, and let me help you start your day right. Way back in 1979, Tim Hansel wrote a book called When I Relax, I Feel Guilty. Now that may have been written over forty years ago, but I believe that statement is probably even more true now than it was back then. Somehow we feel we need to keep busy, and so we fill our days with as much or more than we can handle, and at night we go to bed feeling completely exhausted and thinking about all the things that we didn't get done during the day. And somehow the thought of taking time to relax and do nothing creates not only guilt, but sometimes stress because we feel we should be doing something more productive. In his book Tim reflects back on his life, and he comes to this conclusion. Let me read it to you. If I had my life to live over again, I'd try to make more mistakes next time. I would relax. I would limber up, I would be sillier than I've been this trip. I know of very few things I would take seriously. I would take more trips, I would be crazier, I would climb more mountains, swim more rivers, and watch more sunsets. I would do more walking and looking. I would eat more ice cream and less beans. I would have more actual troubles and fewer imaginary ones. You see, I'm one of those people who live life guardedly and sensibly, hour after hour, day after day. Oh I've had my moments, and if I had to do it all over again, I'd have more of them. In fact, I try to have nothing else, just moments, one right after the other, instead of living so many years ahead each day. I've been one of those people who never go anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a gargle, and a raincoat, an aspirin, and a parachute. If I had to do it all over again, I would go places and do things and travel lighter than I have. If I had my life to live over, I would start barefooted early in the spring and stay that way until later in the fall. I would play hooky more. I wouldn't make such good grades except by accident. I would ride on more merry grounds, and I'd pick more daisies. When you first hear what Tim is talking about there, your response may be that he's talking about becoming frivolous. Just let your life sort of fritter away doing the things that are fun. But in reality what he's talking about is living a life where we are completely at peace. We're not worried about the future. We're not worried about what's coming up next. We're not taking on extra burdens upon ourselves that keep us awake at night, thinking about things that we can't control anyway. It's living a life of complete trust and peace, and that can only come through our relationship with Jesus. In Isaiah twenty-six and verse three, it says, God, you will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you. It's God's desire for us to have peace in our lives, to have times where we can just relax. Really, if anybody should be able to truly enjoy their lives, it should be Christians. And yet so many of us are so wrapped up in so many other things that we lose our joy because of worrying about what we think we need to do and our concern about what might happen if things don't go the way we hope and are praying for. But as Isaiah said, God will keep us in perfect peace if we trust in Him and if our thoughts are fixed on Him. Philippians chapter four, verse six, it says, Don't worry about anything, instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. And then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. So here's what Scripture tells us. If we want to have peace in our lives, to be able to relax and enjoy life a whole lot more and worry a whole lot less, there's a very simple thing we need to do. We need to tell God everything that's worrying us through prayer. We give it to Him, we let Him have it, and then we thank Him for all the things that He's doing, and then we can find peace. And the Scripture tells us that it will be perfect peace, a peace that allows us to relax and not worry about the things that are happening or might happen around us. Maybe we can get a little bit of Tim Hansel in us as well, where we can sit back and relax and take time to enjoy life. We don't stop working on the things that are truly important. No, we keep working on them, but they don't dominate our minds and our hearts and our spirits. We find peace, an ability to relax and enjoy our lives, enjoy our families, making sure that we have some time to relax far more often. Don't let the things that are happening around you take over and dominate within you. Have a great day, my friends, and we will talk again tomorrow. Thank you for listening today, and I invite you to join me Monday to Friday right here on Starting Right with Danny Mack.