I want to be like Jesus and Paula Dean. I want to live with a calm confidence, never in a hurry.

I have a clear picture of Paula Dean carrying a cake pop on an episode of Iron Chef. I don’t know who her competition was, but she was taking care of business without the frenetic fuss and fretting of everyone else involved. They ran. They rushed. They dashed back and forth. Paula walked. I have held that image in my head ever since. She was unhurried. Everyone else felt the demand of the ticking clock. She accomplished everything she needed to without letting time push her in a way she didn’t choose to go.

One of my markers to know if something is from God or not is that if it’s trying to hurry me along to a decision, then it’s not God. Satan is pushy. God is never in a hurry. Jesus had desperate people pleading with him to save loved ones. He waited days after Lazarus was already dead. He didn’t hurry. He was always where He was supposed to be and everything was done on time.

There is much to be done. There is so much need in ourselves and in the world. We can know that the Lord will accomplish His eternal purposes. He will transform us glory to glory into the image of truth and grace, Jesus Christ. He will flood the nations with grace and mercy. He will bring His light to the nations and bring us safely home to Himself. He will accomplish it all. And I guess that’s the key. He accomplishes the work. If we just surrender ourselves and put all the work in His hands, then we’ll never be in a hurry to accomplish anything.

Can we trust Him with all things from work to home life, from ministry to getting dinner on the table? I don’t want to let the demands of the clock, the schedule, the deadlines, the people who are sure their demand is most urgent draw me out of calm confidence and into panic mode of rushing to get things done. I want to walk not run, unless the Spirit is moving my feet!

“In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.

Isaiah 30:15 NKJV (partial)