Once upon a weary afternoon, I realized a rushed energy had become the anthem of my spirit. A wild river of timelines and tasks, striving and surviving, flooded my days as I found myself beholden to busyness.
I sensed the Lord inviting me to slow down, yet I’d spent so long managing the rush of my days, I’d forgotten how to trust the hush of His pace.
Dear friend, have you too survived on meager margin for so long you’ve forgotten the quiet strength of slowing down?
I love the peaceful scene King David depicts for us in his prayer to the Shepherd of our souls. David declares of the Lord: “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters.” (Psalm 23:2)
Before David was King of Israel, he was a shepherd gently guiding his flock. David understood the nurturing nature of the Lord tenderly leading His people.
As women, our days can feel so full managing the details of our lives that we can get caught in the current of busyness, leaving us flooded with overwhelm. As we strive to be productive, our default direction can run along rapid rivers of exhaustion rather than along the quiet waters of rest where the Lord leads.
Yet our Good Shepherd longs for us to follow Him into the calm of His company and the balm of His boundaries.
Time is a boundary; a hem of 24 hours each day marked by God. His heart for our time isn’t that we drown our days with a restless roar of activity. Rather, the Lord longs to refresh our spirits with restful reliance on Him.
Sometimes slowing down may feel like falling behind, but the notion that we could fall behind on God’s plans for us is a lie from the enemy. Take heart—we’ll never be late for His plans by embracing His pace.
God authors our stories and holds each season of our lives in His timeline. When we rest in the shelter of His company, we learn to discern His still, small voice above the rush of life. As we prayerfully cull our capacity for each season, our spirits exhale in the soft pastures and still waters of balanced days.
We can trust the Lord to lead us well, for this is the quiet strength of slowing down.
Lately I’m learning that the woman God created me to be isn’t nurtured through busy striving, but through faithful following. Be encouraged, dear friend, the same is true for you.
May we pour our plans through a sieve of prayer, allowing God to filter our time according to the beautiful purpose He’s prepared in advance for us. For the calm our souls crave is found in the quiet waters of His margin. 
Praying for you today, dear friend, as you listen for
the gentle whisper of the Lord inviting you to
trust the hush of His pace for your days.
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