God Never Stopped Speaking—You're Just Moving Too Fast

It can be disorienting, deflating, and isolating. It’s hard to get your bearings, and it’s hard to hear from God. Is He still speaking? Still present? Does He still care?

I’m learning that, when my life hits top speed, God hasn’t stopped pursuing me. I’m just moving too fast to notice.

To slow me down, God asked me to do something incredibly hard and counter-cultural. I think He actually wants me to... (takes a deep breath)... drive the speed limit.

I know! The STRUGGLE is real. I’m sure there are plenty of good citizens reading this who always follow the speed limit. Feel free to roll your eyes right now. But for me, it’s incredibly hard to purposefully go 65 mph on the highway when you’re already running late.

Yet when I choose to slow down, something unexpected happens. Instead of more stress, I actually feel less. Anxiety gets turned down. I am filled with more peace. I hear from God more easily. I find myself better equipped to face whatever the day throws at me.

Can driving the speed limit change your life? I’m just as surprised as you, honestly.

Why Should I Slow Down?

On the highway, technically, it’s the law.

Yes, I understand that driving too slowly can be dangerous. It disrupts traffic flow, increases the risk of rear-end collisions, and encourages aggressive driving (mostly by making the rest of us furious). But speeding is much more dangerous—and fatal.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that speeding killed nearly 12,000 drivers in the United States in 2023 and was a significant factor in nearly 30% of all traffic fatalities. When compared to driving slower (you know, the speed limit), the numbers begin to drop dramatically.

For all the effort, according to science, speeding doesn’t actually help us get to our destination any faster. One study found that the higher the original speed limit on a road, the less time speeding actually saved. It defies expectations, and yet, it’s something most of us have experienced in real time. You’re cruising down the highway when a car suddenly zooms by you in the left lane, going at least 20 mph faster than you. Minutes later, when you exit the highway, you pull up to the light, and there’s that same car. All that speed for nothing.

On the road, speed kills—but the same is true even when we turn off the ignition.

Modern life moves at a frantic pace. Trying to do everything, be everywhere, and get there first—it’s destroying us. According to psychologists and health experts, the speed of modern life exacts a heavy toll:

• Physical - Speed leads to stress, and stress leads to a whole host of other unwanted guests: high blood pressure, fatigue, compromised immune function, depression, and burnout.
• Mental - Multi-tasking, the constant barrage of noise, and the unending influx of digital information lead to overstimulation, increasing everything from stress and anxiety to loneliness and sleeplessness.
• Hurry Sickness - Psychologists now recognize a “hurry sickness” in people who live in a constant state of urgency, causing them to feel like they are perpetually behind, even when they are highly productive.
• Loneliness - Relationships grow slowly through repeated conversations, investment, and listening. Speed robs us of the ability to engage, further feeding our loneliness epidemic.

Worst of all? Speed leaves God in the rearview mirror.

The Speed of God

When it comes to describing God, one word is used over and over in the scriptures: holy. Sometimes it’s a word we think means “perfect” or “amazing” or “powerful.” There are aspects of all those, but at its root, to be “holy” means to be “set apart.” To be different.

There are so many ways God is different from us—he is all-knowing, all-powerful, all-places-at-once. One way we tend not to focus on, though, is His speed. We move fast, while God moves slowly.

I don’t mean to say that he drags his feet, or has a hard time making decisions. Rather, God moves with purpose, patience, and at the speed of love.

Japanese theologian and author, Kosuke Koyama, wrote that God’s speed is three miles per hour. Why? That is the pace a normal person walks. It is the speed of connection, of engagement, of friendship.

Koyama wrote:

“God walks ‘slowly’ because he is love. If he is not love he would have gone much faster. Love has its speed. It is an inner speed. It is a spiritual speed. It is a different kind of speed from the technological speed to which we are accustomed. It is slow yet it is lord over all other speeds since it is the speed of love. It goes on in the depth of our life, whether we notice it or not, whether we are currently hit by a storm or not, at three miles an hour. It is the speed we walk and therefore it is the speed the love of God walks.”

This concept of slowing down is all over the Bible.

David, the ancient king of Israel, who scripture describes as being “a man after God’s own heart,” wrote often about the need to slow down:

• "Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him.” - Psalm 37:7
• “He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters. He refreshes my soul.” - Psalm 23:2-3
• “Truly my soul finds rest in God.” - Psalm 62:1
• “Be still and know that I am God.” - Psalm 46:10

We get other glimpses throughout the Bible too. Abraham walked with God and was called his friend. The prophet Elijah didn’t find God in an earthquake, fire, or a fierce wind, but in a still, small voice. Joseph recognized God’s good plans unfolding over a long period of time. Hannah prayed for a child for years, and God finally answered.

But everything hits a new (and slow) gear when Jesus arrives on the scene. God living among humanity, the biographies of Jesus’ life point to his intention, effort, and speed. Despite having the most important task in all of human history, Jesus made regular time to get away by himself and pray. He often moved away from the crowds and limelight. He chided his friend, Martha, for valuing productivity over relationships.

In a world that demands speed, Jesus offers rest:

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30

Monks and Fast Cars

Noticing how the speed of life was influencing me, I decided to do something about it. I found a monastery that offered overnight stays, and decided to take a week off to go on a silent retreat. No busyness, no chaos, no Google calendars, phone, or social media. I wanted to get away from the grind and put myself in a place where I could spend time with God and hear from Him without the constant barrage of getting to the next thing.

It was like running on a treadmill at full speed, and then someone pulling the plug. The change was jarring. The silence was deafening. The lack of something to do left me feeling jittery. I only brought two books with me (instead of my usual five). It turns out, I didn’t even get to the second book. Sure, I had the time to read, but I felt God tugging at me and reminding me this retreat wasn’t about consumption; it was to spend time with him. So each day usually looked like me forcing myself to slow down. I would eat meals, read for a few hours, then sit in silence for the first time in…forever. No agenda. Sometimes I would go on long walks and unpack things with God, things I hadn’t thought about in years. Because now I had the time and space to do it.

I had planned to stay five days, and I only made it three. I honestly couldn’t take any more. I packed up and headed home, feeling like a bit of a failure for not staying the whole time, when God got my attention. I was merging onto the highway, and noticed something felt off. I quickly realized that it was weird—almost wrong—to be moving that fast. Perhaps slowing down for the three days I was there had actually done something for me, internally. There was peace and patience I didn’t have before. I felt a desire, not to stop moving, but to move with intentionality. Rather than flying through life, I wanted to be wherever, and with whoever, God had for me that day. His to-do list became more important than my own.

I wish the peace of my days at the monastery lasted all year, but I’ll be the first to admit, the speed of modern life is a hard thing to just throw off. I still have to go to my job. I still want to play in my soccer league. I still want to go on trips with my husband, and go to Texas to see my family. Speed-induced stress can still get a grip on me. The difference now is I know how to deal with it.

I’ve made a retreat at the monastery a yearly habit—and I’ve slowly increased my stays to five full days as I’ve gotten more accustomed to the silence and stillness. On the daily, when speed tries to take over, I’ve learned to limit the distractions, intentionally notice my surroundings, and embrace the quiet. I often practice doing that by:

• Driving in silence. I’ll turn off Spotify, or podcasts, and just be.
• Spending time with God without the pressure to say, or do, anything. I put my phone on airplane mode and leave it in the other room. I roll out my yoga mat, sit down, and listen for whatever God might want to say. Hearing from him can take as little as five minutes.
• Spending time in nature. Touching a tree, smelling a flower, looking at the clouds—it all forces me to slow down and remember who created it all in the first place.

I’m definitely not perfect at this. In fact, sometimes a couple of weeks go by in-between doing any of those things. But when I sense my internal peace beginning to drop, and my anxieties and stress on the rise, I’m reminded that it’s time, once more, to practice slowing down.

And, yes, I am trying to be better at driving the speed limits. It’s the most concrete reminder I have to be more intentional, purposeful, and (yes, even) slow. Sorry if you pull up behind on the interstate, I’m just trying to hear from God.

Speed kills, but Jesus offers a better way—intention, purpose, and rest. That’s something worth getting out of the left lane for.

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Disclaimer: This article is 100% human-generated.

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