Your Life Pace

 “So let us run the race that is before us and never give up.”  Hebrews 12:1

The calendar turned to September, and life kicked into a faster gear for some of you.  The month brings fall sports, football season, school and all its activities, the pool closed for the season, the county fair and fall festivals, and…. The non-stop of activities continues to grow.  Your pace of life is labeled “busy.”  In your head you feel overwhelmed.

You have much to do and may feel pushed, rushed, and frazzled.  You have no time to think, plan, or even contemplate if what you are doing is what you want to do.  You are in gear and just plowing threw the activities.  Your life may be busy with family situations, illness, being a caregiver, a mountain of paperwork or other necessary but overwhelming tasks that keep you at a heightened intensity.

Maybe some of you are in park mode.  You just do not know what to do, where to begin, how to make changes, or how to live in this season of life.  Your physical body may look like it is resting, but your thoughts are running in high speed with no specific direction.

Whether you are in park or high gear, you need to evaluate your life pace.  What do you want your pace to be?  You can only reflect on this by first resting.  Rest your thoughts and give yourself permission to be quiet and rest in God’s quiet presence.  This may not feel possible nor productive, but if you do not rest, you will burn yourself out.

What about following God’s pace and walk with God?  To rest in God means to give each activity, each situation, each thought to God and learn the habit of trusting God to work in you.  That is, pausing and talking with God about what is before you, what seems huge in front of you and trust God to work through you.  It is not your strength, but God’s strength through you and in God’s timing not yours.  Resting in God does not mean you are inactive, it just means you allow God to walk with you in each situation without trying to figure out everything on your own.  You pace yourself with God.

We do not naturally rest because we feel we need to always be busy even for God.  We try to earn God’s favor.  Oh, we know God gives us grace and forgives us.  It is a free gift that we cannot work for nor earn, but we tend to want to prove to God that we are worthy of His grace.  We want to work hard to show God that we appreciate and accept what He did for us.  We want God to see our initiative in doing things on our own, but that is a distorted view of what God really desires.  God wants surrender and dependency upon Him.

When we allow God to set our pace, we can get off the merry-go-round of society with all of its expectations.  We take time to think, pray, and be aware of the feelings and needs of those we love and care for.  It gives us time to reflect on our daily purpose.  It is daily choosing to give everything to God and trusting His grace is sufficient.

God’s grace is sufficient.  In 2 Corinthians 9, Paul prayed for God to take away his pain and heal him.  He wanted God to meet his need and relieve him of the “thorn in his flesh.”  Then Jesus said to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9 – “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  His outlook changed and joy came into his life when Paul focused on God’s grace not his pain.  The pain was still there, but his focus changed.  His weakness expressed the grace and strength of Jesus.

God’s grace is sufficient.  Trust God instead of following the expectations of this world.  God’s grace is enough, but we want to make it on our own or give God the plan for our lives.  Slow down.  Change your focus.  Rest in the total acceptance of God’s presence creating your life pace.

Allow your life pace to be powered by God’s grace.  Grace is what God gives out of the goodness of His heart, not anything we do.  The good news of grace is that when we come to God, God gives His grace – unconditionally.  Grace is something we do not expect and can never earn, but it is also something we should never turn down.

When we live in a life pace of grace, we forgive ourselves and others freely.  We do not worry but surrender everything to God and know that God’s grace is sufficient and will meet all your needs. Walk in grace.  Change your focus to walk with God and trust His pace for your life.

Check out Elaine’s books, newspaper articles and past blogs on her website – www.livinginthedifferent.com