It's Time to Slow Down

I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. Ezekiel 34:14 (New American Standard)

God is working to expose an area in my life that He desires to repair and He is using several vehicles to do so. I am recalling the early days of my journey when I devoured book upon book to somehow “catch up” on truths about Him that I had missed. I couldn’t seem to read enough to feed my ravenous appetite. But there came a point when I realized I had taken in more truth than I knew what to do with. It was like I had filled my mind with a lot of facts that still needed to make their way to my heart and my daily experience.

A friend emailed me yesterday and shared a truth God had laid upon her heart to share. She was encouraging me to savor the things God was doing in my life and the lessons He was teaching me. She was imploring me to chew on the truths and meditate on them without moving immediately on to the next thing. To let God’s revelation go deep. God used her words to begin awakening in me the realization that I have a tendency to “learn and run” rather than “learn and rest“. There was a time I did this out of a sense of depravation and yet eventually it merely became habit for me.

This morning God became even more pointed in His message to me. I cannot miss the vivid picture He has brought to mind. He allowed me to do my normal reading of several chapters from the Bible followed by a half dozen or so devotional books. Throughout my reading there would be verses and phrases that flared up like fireworks in the distance and yet I would hurriedly move on to the next piece to read. When I came to the last book, He stopped me dead in my tracks and showed me this picture of myself. I was standing (not sitting) at a banquet table and I was moving from platter to platter nibbling away! I was barely tasting the food as I took it in. He showed me clearly THAT is exactly what I am doing with His Word. I am reading and nibbling morsels of truth. But I am not squeezing the flavor out of any of them! I am feeding but not feasting on His message to me. In light of today’s verse, I am running through the pastures rather than lying and grazing in them.

I was honest with Him as I admitted to not being sure how to slow down at this point. I have a feeling He is getting ready to walk me through the reasons I am in such a hurry and is poised to teach me how to implement His “table etiquette.”

Father, I want to learn to do this right. Keep me teachable to Your instructions and voice. Teach me how to get the most out of our time together. Amen.