Joshua 9:14  The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. (NIV)

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Sometimes, you have to slow down to go faster.

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

Fast and far are not opposites. They are complementary truths. It’s important to know when to go fast and when to go far. 

A terrified horse named Bree and his boy, Shasta, were chased all night by a terrifying lion. Those who know C. S. Lewis’s classic, The Horse and His Boy, remember the scene fondly. Aslan wanted them to move faster and pursued them, driving them before him. 

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭17‬:‭1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
 all the days of my life, 
and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭23‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Sometimes, we walk with God at his pace and direction. 

Sometimes, he points us in the right direction and bids us walk before him faithfully and blamelessly.

Forever, he pursues us with his goodness and unfailing love. 

Forever, we will live, move, and have our being in him.

Since God is with us always, and since he never leaves us nor forsakes us, how then should we live? How now should we live?

Turn that voice in your head into a nonstop conversation with God. Rather than ignoring your Creator, engage him in Amen-less prayer. Seek his wisdom in all things, including those things we call small that we can most assuredly handle ourselves. 

Examining moldy bread and cracked wineskins didn’t require God’s intervention. Joshua, in one of his not-so-awe-inspiring moments, came to the conclusion that the evidence before him and the testimony of the people led him to believe. And he was wrong. If only he had asked God if everything was truly as it appeared. It appears he never gave that much thought. 

It doesn’t require an altar, candles, and incense to ask God deep and meaningful prayer questions like, “Our Father, am I missing something? Is everything here as it appears?” We don’t have to call a priest or pastor to intervene when we can simply pray, “Show me the way I should go.”

A simple prayer and a simple prayerful lifestyle can save us from a lot of unnecessary trouble. This kind of dependency and companionship with God empowers us to move farther faster with fewer distractions and delays. 

We have heard and said, “Make good decisions!” Here’s hoping we’re taking our own advice and listening to God about even the most mundane tasks of our days.

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I will walk with God and talk with God and seek his wisdom and direction always.

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Our Father, show me the way I should go. Redirect me as necessary. Place your thoughts in my mind. Empower me to move at the impulse of your love. Chase me when I move too slowly. Slow me when I move too fast. Keep me in conversation with you all day and in the awakenings of the night. Amen.