Setting the Pace

Posted on November 6, 2018 by America's Keswick in Freedom Fighters

“LORD, my heart is not haughty, Nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, Nor with things too profound for me.” — Psalm 131:1

One of the rules in my house growing up was that the children were not to partake in adult conversation. I remember many times walking back into the dining room and the talk would go silent. I would sometimes ask, “What are you talking about?” in which I was told, “nothing that concerns you, go out and play.”

We live in a world where it seems there’s not enough hours in a day, my biggest excuse is “I don’t have time” or I’m too busy.” I wonder how many things that I concern myself with would fall under the “nothing that concerns you” category.

There are too many times I have missed opportunities to serve the Lord because of my meddling in business I didn’t belong in. This short Psalm of David is a good reminder that it’s better for me to be about the Lord’s business than the things that don’t concern me. When I hear myself saying “I’m too busy” or “There’s not enough hours in a day” I have to take responsibility because the truth is I’m the one that is “Setting the pace.”

The idea of a pacesetter or pacemaker is to take the lead in a race or system. A good director or foreman will set the pace for his crew so that they won’t run out of steam at the end of the day. A pacemaker is used to control a person’s heart rate in order to function properly. Burn-out is a sign of being too burdened with the things that don’t necessarily concern us. Jesus said, “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:30).

We need to be able to discern what the pace should be and Who sets the pace. The Holy Spirit is the one who will guide and direct us, just like a pacemaker controls our heart beat our Spiritual Pacemaker controls our heart. Some well-known verses,

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, In all your ways ackowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.”

Speaks of the idea of a spiritual pacemaker, a pattern to follow when it seems our way is exhausting and there are too many missed opportunities. The verse in Psalm 131:1 Gives us direction to get in stride with the Holy Spirit,

“LORD, my heart is not haughty,
Nor my eyes lofty.
Neither do I concern myself with great matters,
Nor with things too profound for me.”

We ought to humble our hearts and not think too highly of ourselves. We’re not the answer to all the world’s problems and don’t concern ourselves with things over our head.

So, as we start our day let’s not get ahead of the “Pacemaker”, Amen!

Written by Rob Russomano: Rob Russomano is married to Terri, and serves with her on full-time staff. He is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and is also available as a speaker of the grace of God with a message of Hope for church events. You can contact him at rrussomano@americaskeswick.org.

The Daily Bible Reading: Mark 13| You can download our 2018 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here

Think About This: “When we spend time praying, reading God’s Word, and living in the Spirit our thinking begins to change.” – Unknown

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. — Acts 2:26