Introduction: When Quiet Turns into Restlessness

Last week, we talked about what it means to walk with God when it feels like nothing is happening—about waiting, quiet faithfulness, and trusting God even when progress isn’t obvious.

But there’s another layer to that experience that many of us wrestle with, often without naming it.

It’s not just that God feels quiet.

It’s that we feel restless.

We’re willing to wait… for a while.
We’re willing to trust… to a point.

And then something inside us starts to push.

Shouldn’t something be happening by now?
Am I missing a step?
Is God waiting on me—or am I waiting on Him?

It’s this kind of thinking that can lead us to wonder where God is in our struggles.

But that tension often has less to do with God’s absence and more to do with our hurry.

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.
—Psalm 37:7 (NIV)

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The Pace We Bring into Our Faith

Most of us live at a fast pace.

We value productivity.
We look for progress.
We measure growth by visible results.

That mindset works reasonably well in many areas of life. But it doesn’t translate cleanly into a life lived with God.

Hurry assumes growth should be noticeable.
God often works invisibly.

Hurry looks for forward momentum.
God seems content with depth.

Hurry treats silence as a problem to solve.
God treats silence as space to inhabit.

So when God moves more slowly than we expect, our instinct is often to compensate—to pray harder, analyze more deeply, or search for something we might be doing wrong.

But Scripture suggests that God’s pace is not accidental.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.
—Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)

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The Slowness of God Is Not Inactivity

Throughout the Bible, God forms people slowly.

Promises unfold over years.
Character develops over decades.
Transformation happens beneath the surface long before it’s visible.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
—2 Corinthians 4:16 (NIV)

The problem isn’t that God is slow.
The problem is that slowness feels unproductive to us.

But faithfulness has never been measured by speed.
It has always been measured by direction.

Walking with God isn’t sustained by intensity or constant reassurance. It’s sustained by orientation—by where we turn when nothing dramatic seems to be happening.

Sometimes the most faithful thing we can do is keep walking at God’s pace, even when it feels inefficient.

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Hurry as a Subtle Form of Control

One of the quieter realizations I’ve had is this:

Hurry is often a form of control.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
—Proverbs 3:5 (NIV)

When we rush, we’re usually trying to move things along—toward clarity, certainty, or resolution. But relationship doesn’t deepen on a deadline, and God doesn’t seem interested in being hurried.

God’s slowness creates room:

• room to notice what we’d otherwise miss
• room to loosen our grip on outcomes
• room to trust without constant confirmation

In that sense, slowness isn’t God withholding progress.
It’s God inviting surrender.

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Learning to Walk at the Speed of Relationship

If walking with God is about proximity, and abiding is about remaining oriented toward Him, then staying close requires a pace slow enough to notice His presence.

Not striving.
Not manufacturing momentum.
Not assuming something is wrong simply because things feel still.

Sometimes the most mature act of faith is simply refusing to rush God. Slowing down to wait for Him.

To keep showing up.
To stay present.
To trust that slowness is not a setback, but a gift.

Because God has never been in a hurry. Often, God is found most clearly in stillness.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.
—2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)

And learning to walk with Him means learning to slow down enough to remain close to Him, where blessings are found.

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Go Deeper

Why Hurry Erodes Nearness

Hurry doesn’t just exhaust us—it distorts how we interpret God.

When we’re hurried, we tend to:

• mistake silence for absence
• confuse slowness with inactivity
• treat growth as something to manage

Scripture consistently presents God as unhurried—not because He lacks urgency, but because He is attentive. He is forming people, not producing outcomes.

He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart.
—Isaiah 40:11 (NIV)

Hurry pressures us to move ahead of God—to draw conclusions too quickly, to correct ourselves prematurely, or to demand reassurance before trust has had time to deepen.

Grace invites a different posture:
stay, slow down, and trust that God’s pace is purposeful.

Here’s a gentle question to sit with this week:

Where might my hurry be interfering with my ability to notice God’s presence?

Learning to slow down isn’t about doing less.
It’s about walking at the speed of relationship.

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Closing Encouragement

If God feels slower than you’d like right now, don’t assume something is wrong.

It may simply mean He’s doing a deeper work than hurry would allow.

Same God.
Same faithfulness.
Just a slower pace—one designed for closeness.