Pacing surrounds us. There is a tempo weaved in all things. Music & mathematics, physics and poetry, speech and effort. It’s in the fabric of our experience and we shift in that timing as our frequency adjusts to environments, and environments adjust to ours.
In this, resonating with the Spirit and our Father’s heart invites us into a pacing that is framed by peace.
Speed is a Cruel Master
The ability to move quickly is a tool, not a goal. It is an asset or a liability depending on whether we are subject to it or using it. A need for speed is a distraction, a voice of fear seeking to impose pressure and produce results in a time frame for the sake of time itself. Fast has no inherent value, and when prioritized it creates a culture that hosts the fruits of fear – guilt and anxiety.
- Speed is primarily concerned with appearance
- It feeds off comparison, fueled by intimidation whether by insecurity or pride
Effectiveness has Nothing to do with Speed
Progress has nothing to do with pacing. It is composed of:
- Decisiveness – making concrete steps forward with evaluation and commitment, not in the pursuit of the perfect but of the good with mechanisms for evaluation and iteration.
- Adaptability – adjusting to things as they are so the frame of reference used is accurate, based on the truth with sources of direct/indirect feedback for appropriate adjustment.
- Focus – intensity has nothing to do with pacing. A laser is concentrated light, not light moving at a faster speed. Focus is created by exclusion and limitation, creating intensity through attention.
You Can Afford to Go Slowly
- Inside the will of God, you have all the time in the world. We’ve entered into the Sabbath’s rest, where all things come from a place of rest. Eternity begins at the cross and we are now living in the reality of heaven, before it is revealed. Life doesn’t begin when we enter heaven, it began once Jesus finished it all. As we abide in Him, we enter into the reality that heaven is here. And where heaven is, there is only peace.
- We are rich with time, opportunity, and wisdom. Accessing the wealth of the Kingdom is not in the monetary treasure storehouses. Because of this rest, we are enriched with time and we can afford to spend it generously. Spend it on the mundane. Spend it on taking your time to delight yourself in the process. Because He is with us. So why not be present where we are?
- Going slow requires exclusion and limitation. It’s a relief that we don’t have to do it all or perfectly and it makes what does concern us more valuable and therefore more fruitful.
- Contentedness is the champion over lust, envy, idolatry, coveting, and insecurity. One chooses to be content, to say what is enough. Choosing to never be content is to be a slave to your sensations, following the whim of insecurity to guide you through comparison and competition.
- In the kingdom, you have it all because you have God. So you can be content. And if you want to stay there, you have to choose to be.
We were Made to Go Slow
- As sons and daughters of God, we are not moved by fear (pressure or intimidation). We are not in competition with anyone or thing. We are seated on the throne with Christ, and our speed is found in our slowness.
- Royalty is not rushed. The allure of kings faded once God tore the veil and enriched all who believed in Him with His Spirit and made us all royalty. We are members of the royal family and we walk with authority because of our identity, and as such we never have to rush.
He is in the Waiting
The Psalms are littered with calls to wait upon the Lord as a source of life. The waiting is a state of peaceful rest through trusting and entrusting. Trusting Him to be faithful and entrusting all we value into His capable hands. The waiting isn’t a restless place of stillness. It is the stillness of natures beauty. It is the stillness of a lake on a clear, windless day. It is the matter of being present.
Choosing to be in the waiting is a matter of defiance. It is a statement of faith. Of all the things that could be done to secure our positioning and create control of circumstances, we choose to gaze upon God. Not only do we prefer it to all things, but it also the answer to all things. Because what is greater than to adore the Almighty, to lean on His shoulder and relish in His goodness. We are not on our own, our destiny is written, our portion is Him, and
To abide in Jesus, to abide in the love of God, is to always be in the waiting. To never leave the waiting. To remain seated on the throne with Him and to be driven by the security of His love and His peace which He gave to us to shield us. Life, informed by the reality that it is all finished, that He never leaves us, and that we are not in want for anything. For in Him, and with Him, we have it all.
The Call To More 