He Sets the Pace: Learning to Surrender to God’s Timeline
It was my first day back at my desk in two months. Still very tender from childbirth, I lowered myself down gently onto my chair, wincing in pain. While my baby boy slept peacefully in the next room, I stared blankly as the cursor on the screen taunted me.
Without pausing to make a realistic game plan, take a breath, or even pray and ask God for direction and strength, I plunged headfirst into my to-do list at lightning speed. At the end of the day, I collapsed into a puddle of tears. My body was pulsing, and my brain had turned to mush from stockpiling burden after burden upon myself.
Sure, I had made a lot of progress that day. Email responses—check. Podcast content—check. Instagram—check. Book editing—check. But when all was said and done, I didn’t feel accomplished. I felt anxious, exhausted, and restless.
Clenched Fists
Raise your hand if you too often feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders and the responsibility to carry it all—and then some—falls to you. The urgency to catch up and make up what I considered “lost” time had driven me to perform and not rest at the pace of grace. That night, as my baby slept in his bassinet and my husband snored next to me, I was wide awake, my jaw tense and fists clenched.
Instead of holding on tightly to God, I was holding tight to my plans. I was holding tighter to my strength. I was holding tighter still to my expectations—forging on ahead as the leader of my story instead of a follower of Christ.
That first day back to work after having my son was a humbling wake-up call. It was a stark reminder of my impatience, my pride, and my neediness. Instead of letting God make straight paths for me,[1] I was forging my own. As a result, I got caught in a web of proving myself instead of resting in the truth of Ephesians 2:8-10: “For by grace you have been saved through faith . . . not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand.”
Instant Gratification
Amazon Prime, of all things, has revealed much about my heart over the years. One of those things being an innate, human desire within me to get what I want when I want. To be completely honest, if something doesn’t have free, two-day shipping, then there’s a good chance that I’ll look elsewhere.
“Why wait when you can have it now?”
“Slowing down will kill you.”
“There’s nothing or no one stopping you.”
These are the kinds of messages that assault us daily as we scroll, watch media and entertainment, or even have conversations with others. In a world of instant gratification, it’s much easier to walk at our own pace instead of pausing, yielding, and taking a moment to ask God at what pace he wants us to walk.
Whose Pace?
Consider Genesis 16. This is a story of God’s covenant promise to Abraham and Sarah. Although they were just told by God that their descendants would be as “numerous as stars,” they felt the itch of impatience and had to scratch it. They restlessly decided to take matters into their own hands, which resulted in Hagar, Sarah’s servant, becoming pregnant with Abraham’s child. All because they wanted to speed up God’s promise and believed their pace was faster and better than his. The good news about this unfortunate story, however, is that God remained faithful to his promise and his people, even after they tried to take control.
Fast forward to the end of Genesis; another man walks at a different speed. Joseph’s story was characterized by kidnapping, imprisonment, wrongful accusations, and long-drawn-out years of suffering and obscurity. But instead of letting impatience define him, Joseph kept an eternal perspective and remained faithful in the waiting. In steady obedience, he took one day at a time, one step at a time, choosing to believe in the goodness and providence of the Lord—no matter how long it took. Joseph let God choose and set the pace, then he followed the pace.
A Call to Surrender
Motherhood is an act of release every single day. It’s surrendering our time and expectations for the little ones that need us most. Although exhausting and trying, motherhood is one of the sweetest ways God teaches us to slow down, cease striving, and instead follow his timeline. Each day with little ones is often unpredictable, positioning us perfectly to throw up our hands and say, “Lord, you’re in control. I’m not. Help me to walk at your pace today. I need your grace.”
I’ve come to learn that walking at the pace God sets for me and trusting in his sufficiency alone is first and foremost a heart posture. Practically for us, this can look like planning and setting intentions for our day. There’s nothing wrong with anticipating and responding to life’s demands—that’s not the error. But when the inevitable twists, turns, frustrations, and overwhelm of the day come and change our plans, we’re called to practically set aside our expectations and move forward in faith, in the new direction God has routed. All we must do today is the will of God—laid out for us in his perfect Word.
Follow the Leader
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).
If walking the pace God sets feels too hard, remember that you don’t have to—nor can you—do it on your own. And that, my dear friend, is good news. Surrendering our timelines and our plans in exchange for God’s is not an easy feat, but it is doable in the power of the Spirit who lives inside of us.
So, we can ask the Spirit to help us daily—while we care for our children, wash the dishes, work, run on empty—whatever we do. We can rest our hearts in him, taking the surprises and disruptions with grace. We can take a moment to pause, breathe, and pray, “God, lead me in your strength. I’m going to move forward in faith with my day, but I am open to your redirection. Help me to follow.” We can keep in step with him—our lifeline, leader, and power source—twenty-four hours a day, three hundred and sixty-five days a year.
[1] Proverbs 3:6
