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Did you ever notice that the best things in life take time? Think of it: what's better: a hotdog or a long-simmering pork roast, a minute egg or a soufflé, a gourmet sandwich, or a slow-roasted barbecue one?

The Lord acts in a time-frame different than ours, and a key to right-living is to live not just in the "rhythm of life" -- as a number of books put it -- but in the "rhythm of God." Look how slow but what effect a glacier has!

From God flows all lasting effect and goodness. With that flow, and only with that flow, is health (and peace). Remember the adage we all know, that haste makes waste (it's literally true when we see the amount of waste generated by fast food).

Look how long it took the Lord to form certain natural formations. Look how long it takes the human body to gestate, then achieve adulthood. What is done quickly is often done poorly. There are times (and places) prescribed for you in Heaven. "From everlasting I was established, from the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth" (Proverbs 8:23).

And so we have to walk in lock-step with Him as Creator -- at His pace, never our own. He is the time-keeper. To Him, time is endless. He is the watch maker. Actually, there is no time. What's our pace like? Rush rush rush. Me, me. This second. No time to observe. No time to enjoy. We need everything right away -- instantly. Clocks everywhere.

Contrary to that is the way God works -- sometimes quickly, in an instant, sure -- quicker than an instant -- but mainly over time. He can be loud and sudden (especially if you believe in the Big Bang), but for the most part is low-key, unassuming, and gradual. The key word: gradual. Look here how plants unfold. Easy does it.

We should also be patient. It helps in many matters. In time, God will justify you, right the wrong, and heal all wounds. Did you ever notice that when you're patient with a persecutor and don't answer right away that God answers for you -- far better than you ever could have; "retribution, in due time" (Deuteronomy 32:35). The angels have appointed times. Don't function without them! "My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me" (Psalms 31:15). Time is on your side when you're at the side of God.

He is a Lord of Slow-Cooked Miracles. It is often only in retrospect that we realize them!

He writes in stone. To repeat: there are the "appointed times" of the Lord (Leviticus 23:4). "There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under Heaven" (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

No pre-fab Creator He! He is the God of rivers that take millennia to cut through rock. (Drip, drip, drip: over time, a trickle of water can cut through a cliff!) He is the God of planets that are millions of light years away. He is the God of acorns that turn into massive trees. His winding water formed the Grand Canyon.

Beauty often comes with time! Often He operates in the same way for us. He does things according to His Time. We lose our peace when we try to change His schedule. Look at your life and discern how God has brought you to where you are -- piecemeal -- and how many times you may have interrupted Him by wanting the Reader's Digest version of your life. No need to rush toward the end of it!

Awareness comes from remaining in touch with God and releasing all to Him. The keys to peace are:

-- Learning to do the best we can and then saying, "God will tend to it; it doesn’t matter." Leave the consequences to Him.

-- Learning to say, "I surrender all to God; I no longer need to control or be ambitious as the world knows ambition."

-- Learning to say: "I will be steadfast but will not rush. I know that God ripens His fruit slowly." (Remember again that the anxiety of the world makes us unfruitful.)

-- Learning to say, "I will put love where there is the first sign of negativity. I will see beyond a person to the spirit. I will judge no one!"

-- Repeating always, "I will confess." And making sure that there is regular Confession.

This means flowing in tune with God, letting go of material obsessions, and praying with faith no matter what happens, knowing “unanswered” prayers are placed in that "bank" for a future surprise at just the right time.

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[Further note: Tom Bohm posted in Prayerway to Heaven:

At the ending of the day,
in the darkness of the night
I seek an inner assurance of Your Presence.
My body is still
and my soul is silent
as I listen for the renewing springs of Your Spirit
deep in the ground of my being
and in earth's quietness all around me.
Guide me to the wellsprings of health
in the landscape of my soul
and to the hidden reservoirs of strength
in the people and places of my life
that I may be made well this night,
that I may be made well]