Slow Down

Somewhere along the way, many of us began believing that busy and productive were the same thing. They’re not. I’ve had seasons where my calendar was full, but my soul was empty. I was moving fast, checking boxes, and getting things done, but I wasn’t really present. Looking back, I don’t remember much about those seasons except feeling tired.

Maybe you’ve been there. The truth is, hurry has become so normal that many of us don’t even recognize it anymore. We rush through meals. We rush through conversations. We rush through prayers. And sometimes, if we’re not careful, we rush right past the people we love most. Solomon reminds us that haste rarely produces wisdom. In fact, some of our worst decisions have been made because we were moving too quickly to think clearly.

I’ve discovered that God rarely seems to be in a hurry. Trees grow slowly. Character grows slowly. Relationships grow slowly. And maybe that’s because the best things in life usually do.

One thing that always amazes me about Jesus is that He never seemed rushed. Crowds followed Him. People needed Him. Demands surrounded Him.

Yet He always seemed to walk at the pace of peace. He was never late. But He was never frantic either.

Epictetus observed: “No great thing is created suddenly.”

God’s pace is often slower than ours. And that’s probably a good thing.