Tranquility: Cultivating a Quiet Soul in a Busy World

There's never enough time. So we try to cram as much as possible into what little time we have--work, friends, play, rest. But what if How do I fit it all in? isn't the right question?

Scripture has a lot to say about time. Taking a cue from Ecclesiastes--"Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind"--and drawing on everything from Augustine's Confessions to conversations with air traffic controllers, David W. Henderson encourages us to move beyond merely trying to open up a bit of margin or to say no once in a while, and to take a purposeful step back from our lives to examine those internal and external dynamics that propel us into busyness and hurry. Sharing honest stories about his own struggles with busyness, he helps readers explore the way the Scriptures frame our time--understanding the times, making the most of the time, and trusting God with the rest.

For anyone who is tired of feeling the push and pull of our time-bent culture, this book will be a welcome invitation to rest and to live artful and faithful lives marked by peace and tranquility.

From the Back Cover

What if How do I fit it all in? is the wrong question?

We try to cram as much as possible into what little time we have--work, friends, play, rest--but there never seems to be enough time. Taking a cue from Ecclesiastes--"Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind"--David W. Henderson encourages us to move beyond merely trying to open up a bit of margin or to say no once in a while, and to take a purposeful step back from our lives to examine those internal and external dynamics that propel us into busyness and hurry. Sharing honest stories about his own struggles, he helps us explore the way the Scriptures frame time--understanding our times, making the most of the time, and trusting God with the rest.

If you're tired of feeling the push and pull of our time-bent culture, this book will be a welcome invitation to rest and to live artful and faithful lives marked by peace and tranquility.


"God's gift of tranquility does not stretch time but makes our time enough. I need--we need--this deep wisdom!"--Mark Labberton, president of Fuller Theological Seminary

"A gorgeous offering, and so timely. David invites us out of our attempts to master time and into the spaciousness of entering time in order to listen to God's heartbeat."--Janice Meyers Proett, coauthor of The Allure of Hope and national conference speaker

"This is thoughtful, practical, wise. Take time to read it."--Leighton Ford, president of Leighton Ford Ministries


David W. Henderson (DMin, MDiv, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary) is senior pastor of Covenant Church (EPC) in Indiana. He is the author of Culture Shift and has ministered in more than a dozen countries around the world. Married for more than thirty years, he and his wife, Sharon, have four adult children.