Do some Christians need to 'slow down'?

[Arlene89]

I've been at my church now for just over a year, I've been saved for over a year and a half. When I gave my life to the Lord, it was such an impacting turn around from my old life. I knew that I wanted to give everything I am to the God that gave me new life and called me His own.

I had been walking with the Lord for 6 months when I came to the current church I am attending now. My heart was so hungry to grow and to live an extraordinary life for an extraordinary King. My church family told me about miracles that have happened in their lives and their testimonies filled me with such faith and encouragement, the power of their testimonies was contagious. While in this place of child like faith, I prayed, and God gave me my own miracles.

In the space of a couple of months, such profound miracles were happening in my life. Whether seeing God's providential hand in my life with my job, car or financial situation, or witnessing Him set me free from thing I thought I would be bound to for the rest of my life. He gave me gifts of the spirit simply because I asked and prayed for it when no one was looking or listening to me. The Lord gave me beautiful revelations through His word that I loved to share with others. I was growing, I was hungry, I pursued the Lord with all my heart and the more He revealed His nature and ways to me, the more I sought Him and trusted and relied on Him.

But then came a day where my pastors sat me down and told me that this life is a walk, not a run. They told me I needed to slow down. I was scared because this was the first time I had a spiritual leader speak to me in such a way. From there on in, I tried my hardest to slow down. In my own stupidity, I put on 'false humility' and no longer shared my victories and the things I was learning, I made sure that I came to my pastors about my walk because I felt like I had to show them I was keeping it all under check. This soon turned into an unhealthy people pleasing behaviour.

I understand that having an abundance of blessing with immature character can be concerning, or that having knowledge without understanding can be an issue, but when I look back, all I knew was that I was on fire for God and wanted to dive head first in to Him, I wanted everything I do to be about Him. My question is, is it right to tell a Christian to slow down in their walk? Is their biblical scripture that supports this idea?

 

[JDecree]

I find scripture to promote the opposite of slowing down. Increasing more and more over the course of our lives. I'm not saying what your pastor said is wrong though because maybe in certain ways you did need to slow down...I don't know the specifics.

 

[GregoryC]

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

By all means stay on fire! Lord knows we have enough lukewarmness around us. Just keep in mind this is a long distance race therefore we must keep fueled up with much prayer and quiet communion with Jesus.

 

[NodMyHeadLikeYeah]

A person cannot keep up a sprinters pace for long. Eventually they will get burnt out.

Yes, we do need to slow down.

 

[just_monicat]

i would encourage you to seek further information about why your pastor said this. it seems there is more into that could be gleaned from a second conversation, and i'm not comfortable speculating on all the reasons he might have said it. i would ask if he could help you understand what behaviors he observed, or what led him to make this conclusion. i would also pray about it.

off the top of my head, there are a couple passages that might be of interest to you, since you asked for any verses that might be related to what he is saying (while they may not apply to you at all).

the bible warns us that new christians shouldn't be in a position of leadership:

he must not be a new convert, or he may [develop a beclouded and stupid state of mind] as the result of pride [be blinded by conceit, and] fall into the condemnation that the devil [once] did.
1 timothy 3:6

also, we are to show grace and love to those new (or lesser) in faith.

as for the man who is a weak believer, welcome him [into your fellowship], but not to criticize his opinions or pass judgment on his scruples or perplex him with discussions.
romans 14:1

never allow your pastor to diminish or discourage your eagerness and fire for God (or anyone else, for that matter). he is only a fallible human, subject to misunderstandings like the rest of us. satan (and his crowd) use people, circumstances to diminish, threaten, thwart and discourage the efforts and spirit of the christian.

however, you should definitely follow up for more info. i suspect there might be more to the story here.

 

[Misty77]

From my experience, I think this may have come from a place of compassion that was not well-communicated. I have volunteered at church most of my life, most recently singing in the church choir, editing the magazine, and working at the information desk on alternating Sundays. The head of the ministry branch that I spend the majority of my time with would occasionally check on me to make sure I wasn't taking too much on and to find out if I needed a break. She communicated her gratitude for my service and genuine care to make sure it wasn't having a negative impact. When things got to be too much about 6 weeks ago, I told her that I needed a break from other obligations. It's hard to smile at a few hundred people when you are just barely holding yourself together. She hugged me and prayed with me and continues to check in with me every week or two.

If the pastor was telling you to slow down, I agree with Monicat to find out more. Hopefully, he was just unclear in communicating that you have the freedom in Christ to enjoy Him at a different pace, if that is what you need. Burnout happens. A lot. But that just means that involved believers need our support, not a spiritual fire extinguisher.

 

[jandian]

The things you talked about as manifestations of your fire for Christ does not require slowing down. so maybe they are talking about stuff you haven't mentioned.
The bible actually encourages the opposite serve HIM with your all and keep your fire bright. So I endorse getting clarity on what they are speaking about

 

[Arlene89]

Thanks guys, your responses have been helpful. And as most of you said, clarity is definitely what I need. When my pastor said that statement to me, it was left very broad and very vague. He said that Jesus disciples walked with Him, that the Christian walk is just that, a 'walk'. It was actually a fair few months ago when this happened, but I remember that he didn't give me clear examples of my behaviour that was concerning him or why it was an issue, e.g. 'burning out'.

As far as burning out goes, I wasn't burning out, I was just simply 'burning' in this overwhelming state of passion. I wasn't in any way shape or form in any leadership role, the only responsibilities I had and still have at my church are to clean up the plates and wipe the tables down. I didn't do anything extra, or ran around over and abundantly for other people, I simply ran after God. It seemed the longer I was running to Him, the more my fire grew. The more I desired to be closer to the Lord, the closer He came to me, and the more I learnt about who He is and what He has done, the more I surrendered, relied on and leant on Him, and the more I did this, the stronger I became in trust and in faith. Learning about His love and nature drew me in further with hunger. Months and months of this didn't tire me, it only gave me even more energy and zeal.

I guess, either way, I shouldn't take his words to heart (as far as the way I thought it had meant), continue to be on fire for God, submit to my spiritual leaders, love them, seek clarity. Thanks, dudes.

 

[Pro7o7ype]

I think that being humble is a good thing but that you shouldn't slow down.
Im not well learned in all of this but i think its a good thing to strive to make your life as good as it can be.

im not sure the specifics of the reason why your pastor told you to slow down or what circumstances it was under but maybe with all your great successes and stuff going on he was telling you to stop and smell the roses perhaps? to enjoy what you have and appreciate it. maybe he felt as if you may have just been rushing through life and not taking the time to appreciate it. but i wasnt there so i cant tell you with certainty. thats just my interpretation of it.

 

[faroukfarouk]

I've been at my church now for just over a year, I've been saved for over a year and a half. When I gave my life to the Lord, it was such an impacting turn around from my old life. I knew that I wanted to give everything I am to the God that gave me new life and called me His own.

I had been walking with the Lord for 6 months when I came to the current church I am attending now. My heart was so hungry to grow and to live an extraordinary life for an extraordinary King. My church family told me about miracles that have happened in their lives and their testimonies filled me with such faith and encouragement, the power of their testimonies was contagious. While in this place of child like faith, I prayed, and God gave me my own miracles.

In the space of a couple of months, such profound miracles were happening in my life. Whether seeing God's providential hand in my life with my job, car or financial situation, or witnessing Him set me free from thing I thought I would be bound to for the rest of my life. He gave me gifts of the spirit simply because I asked and prayed for it when no one was looking or listening to me. The Lord gave me beautiful revelations through His word that I loved to share with others. I was growing, I was hungry, I pursued the Lord with all my heart and the more He revealed His nature and ways to me, the more I sought Him and trusted and relied on Him.

But then came a day where my pastors sat me down and told me that this life is a walk, not a run. They told me I needed to slow down. I was scared because this was the first time I had a spiritual leader speak to me in such a way. From there on in, I tried my hardest to slow down. In my own stupidity, I put on 'false humility' and no longer shared my victories and the things I was learning, I made sure that I came to my pastors about my walk because I felt like I had to show them I was keeping it all under check. This soon turned into an unhealthy people pleasing behaviour.

I understand that having an abundance of blessing with immature character can be concerning, or that having knowledge without understanding can be an issue, but when I look back, all I knew was that I was on fire for God and wanted to dive head first in to Him, I wanted everything I do to be about Him. My question is, is it right to tell a Christian to slow down in their walk? Is their biblical scripture that supports this idea?

Peter says: 'Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ' (2 Peter 3). We all have different metabolisms, but it's growth in grace and deeper knowledge of the Lord Jesus that really count.

Blessings.

 

[ji]

I've been at my church now for just over a year, I've been saved for over a year and a half. When I gave my life to the Lord, it was such an impacting turn around from my old life. I knew that I wanted to give everything I am to the God that gave me new life and called me His own.

I had been walking with the Lord for 6 months when I came to the current church I am attending now. My heart was so hungry to grow and to live an extraordinary life for an extraordinary King. My church family told me about miracles that have happened in their lives and their testimonies filled me with such faith and encouragement, the power of their testimonies was contagious. While in this place of child like faith, I prayed, and God gave me my own miracles.

In the space of a couple of months, such profound miracles were happening in my life. Whether seeing God's providential hand in my life with my job, car or financial situation, or witnessing Him set me free from thing I thought I would be bound to for the rest of my life. He gave me gifts of the spirit simply because I asked and prayed for it when no one was looking or listening to me. The Lord gave me beautiful revelations through His word that I loved to share with others. I was growing, I was hungry, I pursued the Lord with all my heart and the more He revealed His nature and ways to me, the more I sought Him and trusted and relied on Him.

But then came a day where my pastors sat me down and told me that this life is a walk, not a run. They told me I needed to slow down. I was scared because this was the first time I had a spiritual leader speak to me in such a way. From there on in, I tried my hardest to slow down. In my own stupidity, I put on 'false humility' and no longer shared my victories and the things I was learning, I made sure that I came to my pastors about my walk because I felt like I had to show them I was keeping it all under check. This soon turned into an unhealthy people pleasing behaviour.

I understand that having an abundance of blessing with immature character can be concerning, or that having knowledge without understanding can be an issue, but when I look back, all I knew was that I was on fire for God and wanted to dive head first in to Him, I wanted everything I do to be about Him. My question is, is it right to tell a Christian to slow down in their walk? Is their biblical scripture that supports this idea?

Ask your Pastor what made him say that to you?
If there is no answer,get back to the fast mode if you have a genuine relationship with God,no prob.Which Christian wouldn't like it?Don't give heed to what that Pastor says.False humility is bad,but there is the need of genuine humility and its not easy...