When God Moves Slowly - Martin Wiles

God also told him that his descendants would live in a foreign country where they would be mistreated as slaves for four hundred years. Acts 7:6 NLT

“I got behind you today, and you were just poking along.”

I’m known as a slow driver. Actually, I don’t drive slowly; I merely drive the speed limit. I’ve been driving for 50 years, and I can proudly say I’ve never received a ticket—except once when a new set of oversize tires threw my speedometer off. Because I obey the law, my insurance company gives me a safe driver discount. 

Not everyone appreciates my attention to the speed limit. One tailrider who thought I was moving too slowly stuck his hand out of his window and rewarded me with a vulgar hand motion. But I’m like the tortoise. I normally arrive at the same time the speeding hares do. 

God’s children in Israel thought He was moving too slowly. They had languished in Egyptian slavery serving a cruel taskmaster for 400 years. Hadn’t God promised them a Promised Land? What was taking so long? Generation after generation was dying? When was He going to speed up their deliverance? But at the right time—and at the right speed, God sent Moses, and he led them out of bondage.

I’ve been with the Israelites on more than one occasion, complaining that God was poking along. If you called me into the ministry, where’s the church You want me to pastor. If You’ve promised to supply my needs, why am I having to borrow money to pay this bill? If You want me to attend this writer’s conference to hone my skills, why did You let the car break down so I’d have to spend $300 on repairs? 

God’s movement in our lives may appear slow, but He’s always right on time. If we could see the future and His entire plan for us, we wouldn’t think He was sluggish at all. But we can’t. We must simply trust He’s moving along at the speed He is for a good reason: perhaps to prepare us as He was Moses, maybe to give Himself time to orient world or local events, or maybe to bring someone else to where He needs them to be. 

We can know God’s mind, but we can’t always understand His speed. He never exceeds the limit, but neither does He ever go slower than necessary. 

Trust the speed with which God is moving you along. 

Prayer: Father, increase our faith so we’ll trust completely the speed You are moving. 

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