Take Your Time, Eternity is on Your Side

Last week as I was finishing up reading The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, I remembered a phrase the Lord told me many years back. He said, “Take your time, eternity is on your side.”

When I was in ministry school, there was a season where Lord was teaching me about slowing down. So much so that He invited me to drive the speed limit, park at the edge of the parking lot of our school, and walk slowly even knowing I was probably going to be marked tardy for my class. I did this for a few months! I didn’t understand it at first, but I never realized how much my internal world was such at a hurried place and because I didn’t steward my time well.

I was searching through my journal if there was anymore the Lord told me about that season. As I was reading – I don’t even remember what the context was – but apparently I was frustrated about being somewhere and sulking why I couldn’t get there any faster. The Lord was comforting me and I journaled what He said,

“Beloved, you’re trying to walk faster than I’m walking. This relationship is about our journey together. Let’s have an adventure. Let’s create a story moment by moment, every step of the way. Take your time eternity is on your side.”

“You’re walking faster than I’m walking”

“Take your time, eternity is on your side.”

That hit me all over again as if the Lord was speaking that to me for the first time. 

Am I continually creating a destination in my mind and thinking I should have already been there…yesterday. A distant mentor once said that often God doesn’t often give us a map but compass. If we are at all familiar with the Old Testament stories, we can read how true that statement is. Even Solomon had the insight to say, “A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 

If Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, then He knows where I was, where I am, and where I will be. So wherever I think I should be, I need to learn to hold them loosely, manage my time and energy well so I can be here now in the responsibility of the moment, and trust in the God who holds my process. 

That is definitely easier said than done, but this is why we practice. There is a list of slowing down practices in the book you can use or ask the Holy Spirit what slowing down for you looks like. Ask him this question, “What does it look like for me to steward my time and energy well?”

I will be re-implementing the practices I mentioned earlier and a few others from the book. And if you haven’t started reading The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, we encourage you to and join us this Advent season to really slow down. We can take our time because the God of Eternity is by our side. 

Comment some of the practices you are or will be doing below. I would love hear how you will be slowing down this advent season.