Keeping Pace With God

Keeping pace with God sometimes proves harder than you may imagine. Why does it seem that way?

Some days God seems absent or silent. No matter how often you pray, praise, or worship Him, He doesn’t seem near. You wonder why He left.

The Israelites probably had similar thoughts. In their case, when He moved, they did too.

Exodus 13:21 (NKJV)

The [presence of the] Lord was going before them by day in a pillar (column) of cloud to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, so that they could travel by day and by night.

Their day-in-day-out job was to follow the pillar of cloud and fire to move through the wilderness.

Sounds pretty simple—He led—they followed.

As it turned out, the Israelites continually complicated what was simple. They felt lost in the wilderness just as you and I sometimes do. We don’t understand until later that we fail to move when God does. Instead, we wonder where He went and wander into unknown and dangerous territories.

More specifically, He waits for you to catch up to Him. Without telling you to move, He already headed for your Promised Land and expected you to go with Him. He trusts you to listen to His instructions. Ouch!

Keeping Pace With God: Learning How

In my Christian walk, I have stepped out ahead of God and failed to sense He went in a different direction. His goal was to take me to higher ground with Him but I missed His spiritual cues.

He gave me signs, not a cloud and fire, but directives I failed to listen to. For example, I didn’t get up earlier to meet with Him, fast and pray, or speak to a mountain using His authority when He said to.

Instead, I sought someone or something other than Him. I set my own pace to find out later He’d moved. That’s why He felt absent. Also, I didn’t abide in Him continually and became insensitive to His leading and voice. My lack of attentiveness to His Spirit was the problem, not God.

God is never in a hurry, worried, or fretful. He’s fully aware of what’s happening inside us and He’s not rattled. I’m so thankful He’s constant and trustworthy. To keep pace with Him, I must stay tuned to His frequency. That means I walk by faith and not by sight. To do that, I listen to hear the Holy Spirit inside me so I move with Him.

2 Corinthians 5:5-7 (MSG)

The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what’s ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less. That’s why we live with such good cheer. You won’t see us drooping our heads or dragging our feet! Cramped conditions here don’t get us down. They only remind us of the spacious living conditions ahead. It’s what we trust in but don’t yet see that keeps us going.

God teaches you and me through His Word and the Holy Spirit when we don’t know how to keep pace with Him.

What Does the Bible Say About Keeping Pace With God

One of the best Biblical instructions to learn how to keep pace with God is Psalm 119:1-8 (AMP). The words target the precise area of concentration necessary for keeping pace with God.

How blessed and favored by God are those whose way is blameless [those with personal integrity, the upright, the guileless], Who walk in the law [and who are guided by the precepts and revealed will] of the Lord. Blessed and favored by God are those who keep His testimonies, And who [consistently] seek Him and long for Him with all their heart.

They do no unrighteousness; They walk in His ways. You have ordained Your precepts, That we should follow them with [careful] diligence.  Oh, that my ways may be established to observe and keep Your statutes [obediently accepting and honoring them]! 
 
Then I will not be ashamed when I look [with respect] to all Your commandments [as my guide]. I will give thanks to You with an upright heart when I learn [through discipline] Your righteous judgments [for my transgressions]. I shall keep Your statutes; Do not utterly abandon me [when I fail].

And, I’ve added one more scripture that tells you how to do that.

Hebrews 12:2 (KJV)

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Takeaways From These Scriptures To Keep Pace With God

• The Israelites took their eyes off the cloud and pillar and felt lost and threatened. When we take our eyes off of Jesus, the same thing happens.
• Christians enjoy God’s favor and blessings when they follow God’s blueprint for life—the Bible.
• What you do each day consistently to seek God is how you develop holy character and integrity. When God is first, everything else falls into place.
• Here’s a test to see if you keep pace with God. Who or what do you think about first and most often? As an example, for a while God wasn’t on my radar. He is now. Plus, I want to follow Him because He’s an excellent leader.
• Choosing righteousness can be as simple as breathing. You choose living right (God instructs us how to do that through His Word and Spirit) when you desire God and His commandments. Walk in the Spirit with God and you won’t even think about being righteous because you are.
• Let Jesus be the One Who anchors your faith. He’s your sure foundation (solid rock) when everything else is sinking sand.

Are You Keeping Pace With God?

Jesus said we’d have tribulation. He certainly didn’t understate that fact! I tell God often that it’s not fun down here! Even so, God expects you and I to run our spiritual race and succeed. But, He also knows we need His help.

If you struggle spiritually, ask a seasoned Christian for advice. And then, run those suggestions by God. He will have something to add to what they say. While you’re at it, ask your Christian friend to pray with you. By doing so, you can come alongside each other as encouragers.

Additionally, stay on the path God chooses for you. As you abide in Him stay in His shadow as Psalm 91 suggests. Christians get in trouble when they step outside of His protection.

If God tells you to go outside and enjoy His creation, do it! Should He say to go for a drive and step away from life’s pressures by all means do so. He has a reason for everything He tells you and His goals don’t look at all like yours.

God was on to something when He instructed the Israelites to follow Him. He knew how to keep them moving at the right pace. God hasn’t changed. He still knows how to do that.

Keeping pace with God: More Thoughts

To accomplish any spiritual discipline you admit that He knows more than you! Trust Him.

The next time you feel the weight of life’s pressures check in with God. See how He’s moving and then follow Him. He may move fast or slow but keep pace with peace to stay in lockstep with God to run your race.

Philippians 3:14-15 (AMP)

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature [pursuing spiritual perfection] should have this attitude. And if in any respect you have a different attitude, that too God will make clear to you.

And remember. The moment you catch on to God’s pace He will take you higher so you enter a different spiritual season. The pace changes because we’re always in training.

I write “Books for Souls” that are revelatory, relatable, and refreshing—bearing witness to God’s Word and Spirit and reaching people for Christ.