In high school, I am sure we all have learned about the impeccable speed of light in a general physics course. I remember sitting there as my science teacher gushed over the ridiculously fast speed of light, and that somehow nothing can travel faster than it. It was like the most secretive, yet remarkable discovery of light traveling throughout the world. 

My heart is enlightened by the definition of speed. Speed is a rate used to identify how quickly something is to operate or move. We see speed every day, off the speedometer in our cars, gauging our touch to the gas pedal. We push the gas pedal to move the hand of the speedometer when we have an itch to get somewhere quickly. We glance at the speed of the vehicle and how fast or slow are we moving. 

Speed is a wonderful thing as it labels how quickly and slowly things are appearing in our lives. There was a day recently when suffocating doubt entered my office walls. I am sure many of us have to experience the pressuring thoughts of doubt, desperation, and discouragement. I started to feel that the “speed” of my life, especially work, was much slower than my desires. The speed equation of my life seems to miscalculate my strenuous effort & buzzing through every to-do list.  I know many of us love the feeling of having absolute full control over everything, every situation, and every aspect of our lives. Or is that just me? In our fleshly selves, the idea of having full control is so comfortable. I think we press into our own strength because it just feels temporarily satisfying to know that we have done everything in our innate power to handle the situation. After talking with a friend, I came to the realization that many of us are just pure go-getters. Our hearts have these big & wild dreams, and we want everything to follow along the exact path that we have set in place.  

While staring at my office walls, I felt this tug on my heart. Where is the speed of my life coming from? Why am I pressing the gas pedal and gripping my steering wheel so tightly on my life? Am I controlling the speed of my life? I wanted these ideas and plans to happen immediately, yet they are things that are way beyond my control at the moment. We have these moments that we wish we could snap our fingers, and every problem is instantly solved. 

It nailed me. The speed of my life. There is a conviction that we are controlling the speed of our lives. We are controlling the rate at which we are to push through and pull back. Are we pushing the gas pedal, shifting the gears, or is God? Is God holding the speed of our lives? Or is it ourselves trying to torque the gears to get to the top of the mountain as fast as possible?

Proverbs 16:9

 “In their hearts, humans plan their course. But the Lord establishes their steps.” 

Perhaps, you aren’t exactly where you thought you would be in life right now. Perhaps you are in a career that doesn’t fully satisfy your purpose. Perhaps, you are not in a relationship when it seems like every one of your friends has found a rooted partner. Perhaps you are living out your greatest dreams, and maybe something still feels like it is not happening for you. 

I challenge you to open the book of Psalms, as wisdom pours out on these pages.

Psalm 26:2 says “Test me, Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind.” 

 Psalm 37:4 “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

It’s time to release the steering wheel, and the gas pedal. Let go of the control, let God enter into the driver seat, and move your own booty into the passenger seat. Pray to God and tell Him where you want to go, for He truly cares about every inch of desire in our hearts. He hears us out when we talk about our deepest hopes, passions, and dreams. God knows those little life maps we create, those little Pinterest boards filled with our sweet touches, He simply knows. 

Here’s the catch. Are you traveling at the speed of God? Speed of God is having a full tank of trust. The radio blasting with praises and prayers. Mirror reflecting His Godly word. A passenger seat with your name on it, and you must wait patiently.  The driver seat holds God with total and full control. As it says in Proverbs 16, God will establish our steps. Those establishments require His timeline and His speed. Not our speed, and our temptation of self-control. 

Let’s travel at the speed of God. It will take daily doses of releasing self-control, and make all the room for Godly control. 

I am no longer in the high school classroom fascinated by the wondrous speed of light that my science teacher gushed upon, but I am now deeply fascinated by the speed of my God. I hope you are too.

I invite you to ponder the loveliness that God is willing to work on our lives and partner with us to get to where we need to be. 

God’s speed is perfection. Not an ounce of miscalculations or overestimations, it is perfection.

With all my heart,

Haley

“And God said, “Let be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night. And let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights- the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.” 
(Genesis 1:14-17).