Last week, I wrote about moving forward.

This week, I want to remind you – moving forward is not about moving fast.

Moving forward can be slow. In fact, moving forward can be slow, purposeful and relaxed.

I think of Aesop’s fable ‘The Tortoise and the Hare,’ in which a slow tortoise wins a race against a fast-paced, burnt-out hare. As the saying goes: “Slow and steady wins the race.”

With that in mind, I felt God bring clarity to me about what slow is. He did this by highlighting five lies, which I have believed, about slowing down.

Sometimes it is helpful to identify what something is, by looking at what is isn’t.

I pray these five points would help you to identify areas of your life in which God is asking you to slow down, with Him.  

1. Slow isn’t Failure.

Confession: I get so frustrated writing these blog posts. Every Saturday, I sit before my laptop, and I usually want to type out a blog post as fast as I humanly can!

Why? Because: there’s dinner to cook, there’s cleaning to do and there’s a husband and a toddler to look after…

I worry about my ‘next thing’ rather than staying present to the thing in front of me.

You might be frustrated because maybe you want your ‘next thing.’

Maybe you wanted to be married, by now. Maybe you wanted to have that dream job, by now. Maybe you feel like you should have achieved a perfect life when, in reality, things are messy.

Maybe your ‘to-do list’ is making you feel like a failure. But, I assure you, slowing down is not a sign of failure.

Slowing down has actually got a lot more to do with you being perfected, rather than achieving your own ideas of perfection.

The book of Hebrews reads:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12: 1 – 2, ESV.

Jesus is described as the “perfecter of our faith.”

When we focus on Him and get rid of all our fast-paced goals, He will use our slowness to develop character within us.

In other words; He knows I want to finish this blog post and move on to my ‘next thing’, but He wants to use this slow moment to perfect patience within me. He wants to challenge me: Will I set my sights on Him, rather than ticking my ‘to-do’ list?

It’s counter-cultural to slow down. But you are not a failure for slowing down and letting Jesus perfect whatever He wants to perfect in you. In fact, my advice would be to open your arms and say: “Jesus: Do your thing, however long it takes!”

I don’t know where it is in your life that you feel like a total failure. Maybe you think you are not achieving enough at work – you can’t do it, it’s too much pressure, no time to rest…

Whatever the area, I want you to know that slowing down isn’t failing. Your life won’t dwindle if you relax its pace. Let Jesus do what He wants and embrace His way, above your hurry.

Questions: Where do you think you are failing at the moment? Are you mistaking a slower pace for failure?

2. Slow isn’t Lonely.

I know that God is telling me to move forward, right now.

He might be telling you to do the same.

But, I will be honest with you: As soon as God spoke to me about moving forward, I was thinking BIG and FAST and INSTANT!

I was deciding what my next big steps were going to be. I was setting goals and time frames…

And here is the truth: I was getting ahead of God. I was rushing ahead without God, or anyone else.

Just for a moment, I want you to imagine a tall pine tree. Imagine being stood by its roots; unable to see the top of the tree.

Its bark is sturdy and definite. Its weight is mighty and strong.

You need to be like that tree!

You need deep roots in order to be tall.

You need to go deep with God.

You need to be with Him; growing in Him.

It’s not lonely at the top if you are planted in Jesus and in community.

But, in order to reach great heights, you must first to root yourself in Christ.

There is a story in the bible about a man named Joseph who, as a teenager, was given a dream about His life, from God. Yet, Joseph had to wait until he was 39 years old, before his dream came true.

The bible also talks of a man named Abraham:

Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

Genesis 21: 5, NIV.

Abraham waited for years and years before his wife Sarah had their God-promised son.

Whatever God has promised you, He will do it in His own timing. Don’t take part of what He has said to you and attempt to figure the rest out, on your own. Accept what He Has said and keep submitting to Him. Just don’t run off without Him! He likes to do things with you and He usually tells you to do things with people!

Question: Can you identify an area in which are you running ahead of others? (Could be running ahead of Jesus, could be running ahead of spouse, or team?

3. Slow isn’t Still.

Slowing down and being still are often linked. But, today, I felt God tell me that slow wasn’t still – He told me that I was getting the two confused.

Earlier this week, I felt the Holy Spirit prompt me to go to a coffee shop and buy the person behind me in the queue a drink. I felt in my spirit this person would be a little bit younger than me and that they would need encouragement.

I set off on my journey. When I approached the shop, a young woman stood by the door, as if she was going to go in. Instead, she halted and let me into the shop before her.

“Perfect”, I thought, as I realised that God had orchestrated this scene exactly as He had told me.

Yet, when I got to the till, I froze.

I felt awkward.

In short – I missed my God-given opportunity to give the girl a yummy drink and a shot of encouragement to-go.

On leaving the shop, I walked by my local river. I heard God tell me not to beat myself up. He said that there would be more opportunities like the one I had just missed. He was pleased that I had moved. He was pleased that I had taken steps to obedience.

As I walked, I noticed the movement of the water – strong, steady and glistening in the sunlight. Yet, purposefully moving.

I realised that even slow, wave-less rivers still have some movement.

Sometimes you might think that slow movement isn’t worthwhile. But progress, no matter how small, is seen by your heavenly Father.

He forgives those moments where you froze still, disobedient. And He is really, really pleased with your movement, those tiny, slow things you are doing – they set the world alight.

Question: Where are you being still instead of being slow?

4. Slow isn’t Empty.

… But it might start with emptying your thoughts… or your diary!

When I think of slowing down I think of big, empty spaces in my diary. I don’t want that! Yet, I don’t want a mad-packed diary either!

This week I have felt this weird, empty feeling inside of me. You know the feeling where you are kind of agitated or frustrated and you are not sure why.

Whenever that feeling happened, I felt like I was supposed to cancel all of my other plans and write.

Cancelling other plans slows me down. Similarly, writing slows me down.

I wouldn’t have recognised what God was trying to do in my life if I hadn’t done those two things: cancel and write.

I soon realised that this feeling inside of me was a God-given hunger. Like a desperation to be with Him, to know more of Him.

In other words: when I took two practical steps to slow myself down, I cottoned on to what God was doing in my life.

I think someone reading this needs to do some practical “stuff” to slow down. I think you need to cancel something, delete something, unsubscribe from something. I think you need to write or walk or sew.

Don’t go mad – just draw your attention to little, practical ways to slow yourself right down. I believe once you’ve done that, God will also open your eyes to something wonderful.

Question: What one thing can you do this week in order to slow down?

5. Slow isn’t Boring.

You might think writing and slowing down is dull.

But slow isn’t lacking adventure.

One day this week, I asked Jesus why I felt far from Him, even though I was hearing Him speak. I felt that it was because I had been believing He was disappointed with me. I had been acting as though He was mad at me and He didn’t want to spend time with me. In my head, He was there, but distant.

In reality, He told me He wanted me to get away with Him, so that He could “recover my life.” Matt 11:28 AMP

Jesus knows you intimately. He knows exactly where you need a reboot.

He is not asking you to slow down and live a boring life; He’s asking you to slow down so that HE can fill your life. In fact, He is the only one that can truly fill your life and make you feel totally satisfied.

It’s like being on a long walk with a friend that you love. Jesus wants to make you feel seen, heard and appreciated. He doesn’t want to rush those things and He’s not out to bore you! In fact, it’s a good idea to think about things that you like to do and invite Jesus into those things. For instance, my husband loves driving so he talks to Jesus in the car (and about the car!)

This idea of getting away with Jesus is repeated in the bible, again and again. In the Song of Solomon it reads:

My beloved spoke and said to me, “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me.”

Song of Solomon 2:10, NIV.

Grab hold of that invitation, because loving Jesus is the greatest adventure you could ever experience.

Question: Where are you feeling bored and unfulfilled, instead of connected and full of life?

Conclusion

You might want to come back to this post and mull over the questions given. Take some time and check in with yourself – are you avoiding “slow” because you think it’s boring, empty, still, lonely and leaves you a failure?

Now is not the time to be still; now is the time to be slow. Move slow. Move purposefully. And do so with Jesus, not without Him.

I would love to hear any stories about how you manage to slow down in the comments below.