Some days feel like God personally signed you up for the spiritual version of the slow lane on I-75. You know the one—where the guy in front of you is going exactly four miles under the speed limit and seems to be fueled by pure determination and a deep commitment to ruining your plans. And as much as you want to pray for patience, sometimes what actually comes out is a less-than-holy sigh that sounds suspiciously like the beginning of a complaint.
But here’s the thing I keep relearning the hard way: sometimes God teaches us more in the slow lane than He ever does when life is zipping along at a comfortable cruise.
We all want growth. We all want wisdom. We all want to be spiritually mature. We just want it to happen… fast. Preferably without any inconvenience, discomfort, or that awkward spiritual stretching that feels like you’re being spiritually audited. But God rarely works on our schedule because His goal isn’t speed—it’s depth.
The “slow lane seasons” show up everywhere. Sometimes they look like unanswered prayers. Other times they’re long stretches of waiting, delays that feel like cosmic jokes, or quiet periods where you’re convinced God must be speaking through a frequency you don’t have the antenna for. And still, in His way, in His timing, He works on us there—quietly, consistently, intentionally.
The Bible is full of slow-lane moments disguised as life lessons. Think about Moses. Forty years in a desert shepherding sheep—basically the ancient world’s version of being put in spiritual time-out. Or Joseph, who went from dreams of greatness to a pit, then a prison, then waiting, waiting, and more waiting. And sure, eventually things worked out pretty well for him, but imagine what that waiting felt like on day 400. Or 900. Or year 12.
Even Jesus took time. He didn’t begin His public ministry until He was about 30. The Son of God Himself wasn’t in a hurry—so maybe it’s not the worst thing when our plans don’t happen overnight.
The truth is, when God slows us down, He’s rarely punishing us. Most of the time, He’s preparing us. And preparation feels slow because we want the finish line, not the training. But sometimes the most important spiritual growth is what happens behind the scenes, where no one can see it but Him.
And if we’re being honest, the slow lane is where God gets our attention. When everything is loud and busy, we’re basically walking spiritual emergency vehicles—lights flashing, sirens blaring, yelling “Coming through!” as we push forward. But slow seasons quiet us down just enough to notice things we usually blow past: our unhealthy habits, our need for control, our tendency to measure God’s love based on how quickly He answers our prayers.
In the slowing, He teaches trust. He teaches patience. He teaches reliance. And yes—He teaches humility, usually right around the time we realize we’re not nearly as in control as we thought we were.
If you’ve been in a slow-lane season—and let’s be honest, most of us are either entering one, exiting one, or smack in the middle of one—don’t write it off as wasted time. God does some of His best work in places that feel like “nothing is happening.” The roots that hold up a tree are invisible, but that doesn’t make them any less essential.
Sometimes God slows you down because He knows that if He gave you what you were asking for too soon, you’d treat it like a microwave dinner and burn yourself on the edges. His timing protects us, even when it frustrates us.
So the next time you feel like you’re stuck behind the world’s slowest driver in life—take a breath. Ask God what He’s showing you. Ask what He’s shaping in you. And maybe thank Him—reluctantly at first—for not letting you rush into something you weren’t ready for.
The slow lane isn’t punishment. It’s preparation. And if God put you there, you’re exactly where you need to be.
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