“I feel the need, the need for speed!” This is a famous quote from the original Top Gun movie from 1986. This is a fun movie about naval aviation pilots who fly fast, drive fast, think fast, go fast and live fast. I’ve always loved this movie and the remake that came out a few years ago is also really enjoyable.
Personally, I like speed. As a result, it can be difficult for me when things go slowly, and I can’t figure out how to hasten the pace. Like, if you make bread with yeast, it takes time to proof the dough (let it rise) and trying to make it proof faster can have bad results. It’s like this in life too, and I have gotten myself in trouble when I go too fast in my car, on my snowboard, or even when I cook. So, I can struggle with going too fast.
It’s also frustrating to me that I’m slow with various things. For example, I’m a very, very slow runner and I’m probably the slowest reader you will ever know (despite taking speed reading courses when I was in elementary school).
Nevertheless, there’s much to be said for things that require time so that they’re better – things that develop and improve over time. When I think about this, I can see lots of examples in the Bible to encourage us about time making things better. Consider these situations and people:
- Jonah had three days in the whale’s belly to recalibrate his decision to obey God’s directive to him.
- Joseph’s time in Egypt postured him to provide for his family during a severe famine.
- Esau had about twenty years to adjust his thinking about killing his brother Jacob.
- In Galatians 4:4, we read, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, . . ..” Jesus arrival into humanity had divine timing.
It’s also interesting to consider that God can do things really fast with divine interventions, speedy results, miraculous transformations and supernatural pacing. Here are a few examples of God doing things uber quick:
- Lots of Jesus’ miracles were fast: raising the dead (Lazarus), opening blind eyes (Bartimaeus), multiplying bread and fish to feed thousands of people, healing the man at the pool of Bethesda and lots more.
- God speaking to Job out of the whirlwind in Job 38:1 (after Job had endured horrific loss, pain and yucky conversations with his friends).
- When God’s angel told Lot to hurry up (Genesis 19:22) because of the impending destruction that was about to happen.
In thinking about going fast and slow, speedy and sluggish, let’s remember that God is our expert on pacing and time. In Ecclesiastes 3:1 we read, “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven,”. If your life is moving slower than you want, consider that God knows the timing and pacing in your life. If your life is moving too fast, God is still all-knowing with your life being speedy in this season. Let’s actively choose to trust God regardless of how fast or slow our life is going at this time!
