Honoring the slowness of God

Reflecting the pace required to fulfill the mission of the Kingdom of God

While this is not a new problem, our world is increasingly micro-managed and delays are not tolerated. One of the legacies of the Industrial Revolution is the establishment of a new relationship between man, time, and productivity. “Time”, we say, “is money”! Accordingly, expressions such as “deliverables”, “deadlines”, “yield’”, “productivity”, and “performance” have become the markers of success. This is not without consequences. Modern performance, the increasing demand to do more with less, is a huge stressor, fosters impatience, creates a sense of guilt, and piles up frustrations. We use artificial means to hurry the growth of plants and cattle; debt is epidemic; dietary supplements all too often compensate for home cooked meals – who has time for that?! The heart of the problem is that in our quest for control, efficiency and results, we run the real danger of moving faster than God has designed us to move. And technology now gives us tools to maintain this unsustainable pace! Does this frenetic speed affect how we see our mission? Certainly!

Think of how we strategize our approach to the Great Commission. Might the church be borrowing the world’s values? For example, we see a growing trend towards “productive” church planting strategies with measurable statistical projections. However, under the pressure of such standards of performance, stressed-out church planters feel the pressure to quickly establish healthy congregations. The challenge is large and overwhelming, making people feel guilty because there is a gap between theory and practice. In contrast, almost 40 years after their foundation, the churches of Revelation 2-3 were still in the process of maturing. Or consider some approaches to discipleship and coaching. Paul takes the long view on the believer’s growth when he writes in Philippians 1:6 that “the one who began this work in you will make it perfect in the day of Christ”. But discipleship that merely stuffs the new believer’s head with knowledge, at the expense of real-life practice of the Christian life, shows impatience and is in sharp contrast with the church’s approach throughout her history. The growth of disciples is a lifelong journey. Or think of Moses who, for at least 40 years, patiently learned the simple lessons that God had to teach him. As for the apostle Paul, he took at least 14 years to learn what God had in store for him before he began his ministry.

Similarly, there is impatience in evangelism, often leading to discouragement or to premature conversions. We love to see fruit and so we try to create evangelistic results. And if we fail to see results we fold back on ourselves in the church. However, it is the Lord who daily adds those who are saved, and only he knows the day. Even if it seems to take a long time, and our prayers grow tired, Jesus really does care; he is never late to save anyone (Acts 2:47). So we have to rest in the sovereignty of the Saviour.

With so many books to read, blogs to keep up with, courses to take, conferences to attend, documentaries to watch, have we become rushed in the work of God? Pressured to attain a pernicious standard of worldly productivity? … Even in prayer, it seems, we give ourselves no time to meditate, to contemplate, to wait in silence for the Lord’s help (Lamentations 3:26). In the very presence of God, we feel the pressure to be brief and “efficient”, for we have much to do for the kingdom. This is a pace that is more like Martha than Mary!

Why did God leave 400 years of silence between the Old and the New Testament? Why did He let the people of Israel wander 40 years in the wilderness? Why did He leave Elijah 40 days in the desert before speaking to him,and send the Messiah thousands of years after the fall? And what about the life of Jesus himself — thirty years of preparation and only three years of public ministry! Moreover, why did he die at the age of 33 when he could easily have had 60 or 80 years of fruitful ministry? Truly, God’s thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8).

Some modern pragmatists might well balk at God’s slowness. Why is he wasting time? Doesn’t he know that the time is short, that life is a vapour and that there’s no time to lose? The mission is big and time is running out. Why is he having such difficulties managing his time to reach the goals he has set? But God moves at his own pace. The Bible reveals a divine pace that is quite unlike that of our modern world. God is not in a hurry. He never rushes. The urgency of the mission does not mean we have to rush ministry. Jesus himself deliberately waited four days to raise Lazarus from the dead (John 11). Time belongs to him.

God is patient and slow. Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22), a divine expression of grace and kindness to men who are slow to understand, slow to obey, and slow to love God. In fact, the slowness of God is a blessing to us: he is slow to anger (Number 14:18). He was patient with the rebels of Noah’s time (1 Peter 3:20), and he is just as patient with us today (2 Peter 3: 9). He even allows time for the false prophetess in Thyatira to repent (Revelation 2:21). It was over 2000 years ago that he promised, “Yes, I’m coming soon” (Revelation 22:20). He is not in a hurry. His conception of time is different than ours. For him, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a day (2 Peter 3:8).

We manage our time based on what seems most important to us. God values quality while we value quantity. In our post-flood world, in which life expectancy has gone down from 969 years to about 80 years, it’s very important to cling to the wise words of Psalm 90:12: “teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” We are invited not to do more, but to do well the things we have to do in the time God gives us. Rushing things only leads to pain. Some, in their haste, have done foolish things, leading to grave consequences. Abraham, for example, had a child with Sarah’s maid instead of patiently waiting for God’s promise (Genesis 16). Or king Saul, impatient by Samuel’s delay, offered a sacrifice himself, leading to the end of his reign (1 Samuel 13).

Thus, we must not only redeem the time (Ephesians 5:16), but also redeem the concept of time and speed needed to advance the mission. Delays are part of God’s strategy to form our character, to test our hearts, and to allow men to repent. “Margin” is built into the process of growth of the kingdom of God. I believe that we must think biblically about time instead of merely following the dictates of our culture. God tells us that we “need perseverance to obtain what is promised” (Hebrews 10:36), so we must accept that things take time, that the rules of the kingdom encourage a patient, un-rushed rhythm. Do not lay hands too quickly on a new convert, do not tear out the weeds before the end of time, do not jump too quickly to conclusions, be slow to speak. This is not to encourage laziness but rather wisdom. It is in fact a call to action, but trusting in God’s providence of God, following his pace. As Jesus said:

“The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.”

Our faith is more in the “who” (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) than in the “how.” Our trust is more in the invisible than in the visible. Our pace is set on an eternal scale, not a temporal one. We need perseverance to obtain what is promised (Hebrews 10:36). So let’s do things in God’s way, and in his time.