At the time I have decided, my words will come true. You can trust what I say about the future. It may take a long time, but keep on waiting—it will happen!”
Habakkuk 2:3 (CEV)
What does it mean to engage slowly after a tough season? It means you shouldn’t be in a hurry. Go slowly. Just because you have the freedom to do something doesn’t mean you should be in a rush to restart it all.
When you are tempted to hurry back into life, here are two things to remember:
1. God is never in a hurry. There isn’t a single example in Scripture of Jesus running anywhere. When his friend Lazarus was dying, for example, Jesus was only a half day’s walk away. But it took Jesus three days to get to Lazarus. And when he got there, Lazarus was already dead. Why? Jesus knew that God was in charge and that he had a better plan—one that didn’t require Jesus to hurry.
2. God’s timing is perfect. When you get impatient during difficult days and want to speed things along, you need to trust that God knows what he’s doing. In the case of Lazarus, God had a plan that was even bigger than healing Lazarus. God’s plan was to resurrect him! But that plan required Jesus to take things slow and not hurry ahead of God’s schedule.
The prophet, Habakkuk, had a word for people who wanted to hurry back to the way they remembered their life. God said in Habakkuk 2:3: “At the time I have decided, my words will come true. You can trust what I say about the future. It may take a long time, but keep on waiting—it will happen!” (CEV).
Wanting to hurry up God’s plan has always been a problem. In the Old Testament, God often had to remind his people that progress is gradual, not instant.
One reason God moves slowly is because he knows that delays make you stronger. When the Israelites were headed toward the Promised Land, they met many barriers. But God said, “I will force out your enemies little by little and give your nation time to grow strong enough to take over the land” (Exodus 23:30 CEV). God knew they would only benefit when things happened slowly.
Teaching is a passion, and my experience as a teacher has been beautiful, emotional and fulfilling. Over the years, I’ve watched the student – teacher equation evolve: From Guru, as all-knowing to Guru as friend and equal, as someone who doesn’t always know the best. Today’s teacher and the learner are partners in the process of teaching and learning. We inspire, motivate and learn from each other; if I don’t know, I can admit it to my students. The teacher is only a facilitator; one who will help the student grow, become a self-learner. The teacher is only one of many sources. Not infrequently, there is a role reversal. With children being so tech-savy, often I am the student and they are my teachers. Has teaching changes the way I think ? Yes, most certainly. My students have shown me how to manage time. I marvel at how deftly they juggle sports, academics, dance, and theatre, for instance. I have learnt how to accept failure as I see my students taking success and failure with equan...
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