Grace Fox tells this story in her book “Timeouts for Moms”
(pages 177 – 179)
Today God is asking us not to go so fast. He is asking us to WALK SLOWLY.
Like Abraham, we want to reach the end goal. We want to see the promises given to us from God come into fruition. We feel as though if we go faster, if we run harder, we will reach that goal more quickly. Then we will have achieved something, we will have proven our worth, we will have completed God’s plan. Hebrews 12:1 encourages us to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” This verse speaks so clearly of persevering, pressing on, keeping focused on Jesus, but sometimes, we can get caught up in running the race, we can get stuck with our eyes on the goal, and life is racing past us as we run. When we live like this, run faster like this, we often forget that God is right beside us, he wants to journey with us on the pathway, and wants us to live out the plan, not just get to the goal. This is both a literal practice and a spiritual practice. We all lead busy lives, and we have requirements on us, tasks that cannot go without being completed on a daily basis. Our jobs need to be done, our families need to eat, our homes need to be taken care of. But in the midst of these tasks, expectations…. where is our focus? Where do we place our value? Is our focus on the end product? Do we wrap up our value, our worth in what we accomplish, what we produce? Or do we allow ourselves to walk slowly, enjoying each moment on the pathway, walking along side Jesus, allowing our worth to rest in Him, to be accepted as we are without the need to prove ourselves. Still accomplishing the things we need to, but now with a focus on enjoying and being thankful for each step.
God asks us to WALK SLOWLY
When we walk slowly in the path of life, we:
- See more clearly
- Hear more clearly
- Think more clearly
There are several biblical examples of walking slowly with the Lord, and we will look at a few of them today.
- 1. Seeing more clearly
When we are running a race, or heading straight for a goal, it is like we have blinders on. Our eyes are focused only on what the end product is. The job we desire, the solution to our marriage problem, the life renovation. We often think that attaining this goal or achievement will bring us some sort of satisfaction, which it does, but we place to much value on the end product. Somehow we allow it to define us. When we travel quickly, we often cannot see what is happening around us. As a result, we miss out on so much of what there is to see, in our lives, in nature, in the people around us. When we are travelling more slowly, we have the opportunity to look around us, to notice the aspects of life that we might not otherwise see. For example, if we are walking through a pathway in the forest, walking slowly allows us to see how the sunlight shines through the trees, how the rain drops drip from the edges of the leaves, how the moss grows up alongside the bark. Or when we are in the car, as a passenger speeding along the highway, we have a split second to notice the things we drive past. In life, walking slowly allows us to see those very same things in nature, but also how our children bring light to those around them, how much our spouse gives to others, the neighbor who is in need because of a difficult life circumstance.
JESUS WALKED SLOWLY: Mark 6:45 – 50
After ministering to the people, feeding the 5 thousand, Jesus knew He needed some time to rest, rejuvenate, to be quiet before moving on. He knew to Walk slowly. So He had the disciples go ahead of him. While resting, while slowing Himself He was still aware, He was able to see the needs around Him. Now, Jesus was always surrounded by those who needed attention from Him. But His focus, His care was for His disciples, and as He took the time to quiet Himself, rather than hurrying on to the next task, He could see when His disciples were in need, and he was able to go to them.
Jesus is our ultimate example for life, and He knew to WALK SLOWLY.
WALKING SLOWLY allows us to see more clearly what is around us.
- 2. Hearing more clearly
Walking slowly also allows us to Hear More Clearly. If we return to the pathway in the woods that I mentioned before, if we run through that pathway, racing towards the end goal, we might here only the beating of our own heart and the panting of our breath. However, if we walk slowly, we can hear the rain drops falling on the ground, the birds chirping in the trees, the faint sound of the creek or river running in the distance. We can hear the sounds of life around us. In our everyday lives, as we race from one achievement to the next, one errand after another, striving continuously for something that proves ourselves, we hear only our own thoughts, our own criticisms, our own measurements of worth. If we slow ourselves down, and walk slowly, if we allow time to rest and listen and walk rather than run, we might hear the still small voice of the Lord. We can hear God’s voice, respond to His call, His direction, not out of need to move faster, or need to prove ourselves to gain our worth, but honestly respond to the needs of others around, or to respond to the still small voice. This allows us to focus on using our gifts, and building relationships with others.
ELIJAH WALKED SLOWLY: 1 Kings 19:3-14
Elijah is running for his life literally. He is in danger. He still takes time to journey into the wilderness in a state of fear and desperation. He is unaware of the end goal, he doesn’t see where the path of life is leading, and at this point it doesn’t look promising to him! However, as he takes time to walk slowly, to rest, to refocus, He is able to hear the voice of the Lord. First through an angel, who replenishes his body, restores his health, and then he hears the voice of the Lord. Not in the great powers of the weather, not in a strong and mighty way, but in a gentle whisper, he hears the guidance of the Lord. Now, if Elijah has just continued running, continued to take matters into his own hands, he would not have been able to hear that voice, that gentle whisper. By walking slowly, we quiet our minds, quiet our hearts and we are able to hear the guidance of God’s gentle voice.
Walking slowly allows us to see more clearly what is around us, and hear more clearly the voice of God.
- 3. Thinking more clearly
Colossians 2:6-7
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness.”
When we are able to walk slowly, we refocus on why we are walking at all. Are we walking or running simply to prove that we can? To tally our achievements? To list our tasks? Sometimes when we have a goal in mind, in sight, we have the sense that once we have achieved that goal, somehow we have a greater sense of purpose. Somehow the title, the completion, the recognition will make us a better person. Somehow, we still feel that despite God’s promise of His unfailing love, we often feel that we need to prove ourselves, to earn our worth.
Or are we walking to experience the path, to be in relationship, to journey with the Lord and others on our way? When we walk slowly, we naturally have a greater sense of thankfulness. We are better able to respond to the things on the path, and express gratitude for the things around us.
In an exerpt from The Secret of Walking with God, Bob Sorge writes:
“The secret place is not the destination; it is only the catalyst. It is designed of God to establish us in an intimate friendship with him that is walked out through the course of our everyday lives. The goal we're after is an everyday walk of unbroken communion with our Lord and friend.
Enoch was the first man in the Bible who walked with God:
ENOCH WALKED SLOWLY Genesis 5:22-24
“After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him" (Genesis 5:22–24).
Even though men began to call upon the name of the Lord in the early days (Genesis 4:26), Enoch was the first man to uncover the true delight of walking with God. He found something even Adam didn't experience. He pressed into God until he learned how to commune with God through every facet of life. To find that dimension of relationship certainly required an intense spiritual pursuit, and then when he found it the Lord made a graphic statement by catching him up to heaven.
By taking Enoch up to glory, God wasn't trying to get us impressed with Enoch's piety. Nor was God saying, "If you get to be as spiritual as Enoch, you'll get translated up to heaven, too." This was a unique experience God used to emphasize a specific point. God's point was, "I love to walk with man! Enoch was the first man to truly walk with me, so I decided to highlight his example by doing something extraordinary with him. I took him up to paradise to underscore how much I value and desire a daily walking relationship with my chosen ones." Enoch's example continues to witness to all generations of the great zeal God has to walk with man.”
So when we walk slowly, we change the way we think. We don’t look to prove to ourselves with achievements and pursuits. We enjoy an everyday walk with our friend, our Lord. This allows us to find thankfulness, contentment and acceptance not through our achievements but through the Lord. It allows us JUST TO BE.
GOD SAYS, IT’S OKAY JUST TO BE.
LET ME REPEAT. THE LORD TELLS US, WALK SLOWLY WITH ME. IT’S OKAY JUST TO BE.
In closing, I ask you to picture two pathways. One is set out like a race track, flat terrain, no obstacles, smooth course, upon which we can run with no interruptions, we can see clearly the goal ahead and we can press on as fast as we can. This sounds blissful at first, especially to those of us who like to see the end goal.
Now picture a path along a riverbed. There are medium to large size rocks all along the pathway. You need to be careful at each step that you take. You need to make sure of your footing each time you take a step, to make sure that you don’t slip or fall in the water. This is a much more labour intensive path. It is tiring and it involves more attention and thought. However, it also allows us to stop after each step and be thankful for the safety and success of that step. It slows our heart and our mind down to concentrate, to focus. Each time we make a step we can pause, stop and say thank you.
Whatever your path in life looks like right now, whether you are in a season where the path feels easy and smooth, or whether this season is more like a rocky mountain path, steep and tiring, or whether you can’t see the path clearly, I encourage you to walk slowly. Walk with Jesus on the journey. Allow yourself to see, hear and think more clearly by walking it out slowly. Focus on each step of the path rather than the end goal. Connect with God and others along the path as you hear the leading of the Lord. Enjoy the walk, and be thankful for each step.
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