Pace Yourself and Run YOUR Race
- Demieta Keener
- Aug 26, 2021
- 11 min read
Updated: Sep 10, 2021
If you are an authentic Apostle, Prophet or prophetic person, then you can sense there is something happening beyond the world around us. Many sensed this "change" and time of unrest a time before even the start of the pandemic. Most are doing an effective job articulating the many dimensions of the heart of God -- all working to communicate what is occurring spiritually, and how it affects our world, our family, our local church, and THE church. Even if you are not one who believes in the prophetic, or that God's Prophets no longer exist, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see in the natural that something is taking place within the world around us and beyond. Many can see it with the natural eye. For some, they realize this is a great time for the believer. Never in history, have we witnessed so many prophecies of the Bible and the Word itself unfolding right before our very eyes. It's a great time to be aligned to the will of God.
I am not the type of prophet that releases everything the Lord downloads. I am very careful and prayerful with divine information and how it is delivered. Most times, I can hardly articulate what I am sensing and/or feeling, but oddly, I am completely aware of the many dimensions and what God is causing to occur within these dimensions simultaneously. I have learned to wait on Him concerning what needs to be released, when it needs to be released, to whom it needs to be released to; even how it needs to be released. I realize that it is but a small role I play in contributing to maintaining the integrity of the prophetic and maintaining the purity of what flows through me.
Among other things, we are currently in a long season of building. Many may already be building (or rebuilding) businesses, ministries, relationships, the next version of themselves, families, etc. The key during this time is not to stop, no matter how it looks.
I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. Ecclesiastes 9:13 (KJV)
PACE YOURSELF
"PACE YOURSELF" has been ringing in my spirit for some time now. As an intercessor, I understand how laborious it can be spiritually to birth something new, to pray things through, to war in intercession, or to even to plow something divine spiritually when it needs to occur on the earth. As a prophetic birther, Mary carried a whole move of God (Jesus) in her womb and birthed Him naturally into the earth. She mothered him naturally and watched over Him until it was time for Him to fulfill His total assignment. That was her assignment. There was also Jochebed (Moses' mother), Elizabeth, (John the Baptist's mother), and countless others who carried "moves" of God so He could carry out His will on earth. God needs vessels to manifest His heart here. There were also men "birthers" as well. Noah received a divine download from God, carried it, and executed an entire move of God. Needless to say, these individuals and many other intercessors endure laborious assignments, so I understood the context around PACE YOURSELF. Soon, I started to hear: "DEAR LEADERS..." as a precept to "PACE YOURSELF."
As I allowed what was on God's heart to penetrate my heart, I understood that we are currently in a building (or rebuilding) season. Many are building ministries, concepts, businesses, constructing complex principles, building new curriculums, architecting new words. Some are even architecting new spiritual pathways. So, it is one thing to unlock new dimensions and portals, it is another altogether, to venture through those dimensions; to access and begin to "build" spiritually; to construct new language to articulate what God is causing to occur in those new realms (but there are people that God has anointed to pioneer new moves spiritually). Leaning into that more, I heard His heart deeper and it revealed that this would also be a "long" season.
THE LONG SEASON
I have always been an athlete. In high school, I ran track, played volleyball, played basketball, and I even considered archery (don't ask). As a member of the track team, there were two groups of runners: 1) the sprinters and 2) the long-distance runners. I never had the lungs for long-distance running, but I was definitely a sprinter. The longest I could run at top speed was 200 meters - that was IT! In college, I later learned from our fitness director that I had "fast-twitched muscles" because I was a sprinter and I could jump really high. On the other hand, people that could run long distances without blinking had what was considered "slow-twitched muscles," meaning, they had strong endurance, but could not jump very high, and were not good sprinters.
I learned something very interesting about long-distance runners. At track meets, you had to stay all day, even though you only participated in a few events. This gave me a chance to watch the long-distance runners. The key to running a long distance for that long of a time wasn't how fast they ran, it was how quickly, they found their "PACE" in their race. Finding their pace depended on how quickly they could zone out what was going on around them and focus on their specific strategy for finishing. After they settled into their own pace, it became mental and nothing else mattered. They didn't care who was on side of them, who was behind them, or even who was in front of them.
HOW CAN WE FIND OUR STRIDE?
In the past few years, many authentic prophets and prophetic voices have been very grieved. At the amount of competition, greed, lust for notoriety, fame, and platform, that exists among the people of God, to the point it became very nauseating and heartbreaking to witness. Last season birthed many opportunists, marketing gurus, and networking opportunities. Unfortunately, this didn't happen overnight. As new leaders, emerging leaders, and reestablished leaders begin and continue our efforts to build and rebuild, we must remember to PACE OURSELVES. How can we do this?
Prayer and Communion with the Father - There has never been a time for leaders to get back in a place of prayer and intimacy with the Father. Here is where vision is birthed, vision is refined, and clarity is given. Here is where divine blueprints are downloaded. Here is where the focus is perfected and purpose is established or reestablished. Here is where divine wisdom is released, which is necessary for leadership. Think: Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Moses on top of Mt. Sinai after leading the children of Israel out of captivity, even Adam in the Garden of Eden. These were all leaders, and all needed communion time with the Father to receive instructions for their next move or steps, because of who God entrusted them to lead.
Intimacy with the Father should be a lifeline to the believing Leader, who understands that it is fruitless to move forward in anything without the Father; not because of you. Intimacy increases your personal convictions and provides the necessary strength to not only make good decisions but God decisions -- which are the only decisions that matter, especially now.
Access Divine Blueprints - Make sure your initiatives are divine. Make sure they have been given to you by God and your plan or strategies are Holy Spirit-led and not soulish. You should be partnering with Holy Spirit to ensure what you are building aligns with your assignment from Heaven, not trends or your "friends." It's ok to readjust and realign if they aren't. Make sure your initiatives/plans are not fulfilling carnal or fleshly agendas when they are supposed to be God's agendas. We can no longer afford to infuse divine plans with carnal execution. This creates a spiritual mixture and a dysfunctional atmosphere within a culture that is supposed to align with Heaven. Keep the plans of God on the altar. What if Noah had not built the Ark according to God's direct and divine specifications?
How can you tell when your plans are yours and not God's? They will usually satisfy some longing deep inside your soul. They will usually masquerade themselves as "GOALS." Don't get me wrong, goals are GREAT and are needed to keep us on track. But always be sure to run your "GOALS" by the altar, allow the Holy Spirit to stamp APPROVED. Usually, what we want and what God needs are at odds. The Bible states that the carnal mind is at enmity (an enemy) with God. However, the Bible is clear when it encourages us to delight ourselves in the Lord and He will give us the desires of our heart. In other words, He'll align our desires to His desires for us, if we submit to that process. Heaven's goals rarely look like ours and will cause us to be uncomfortable. This is necessary for our faith, which is Heaven's currency. We need faith to please our Father and to declare His agenda.
Accountability - The first line of accountability is the Word of God. It is a mirror. Your life, intentions, movements should align with the Word of God and bearing the fruit of the Spirit as well as natural fruit. Dear Leader, the Word of God applies to you first and especially.
Secondly, surround and connect yourself not only with people with whom you trust and that you are comfortable with, but also surround and connect yourself with people that make you uncomfortable. These are people you love, but you know they will not just tell you what you want to hear. Better yet, allow the Holy Spirit to orchestrate these divine connections. There may be people to whom you need to connect with that you don't know, only by way of the spirit. Don't be afraid to connect with other leaders (not for opportunities) with greater graces, different races, different streams, who have more wisdom, have more experience, and who can also hold you accountable. Keep your motives and your heart pure.
Ultimately, your time with the Father will continuously help to sharpen your discernment regarding YOUR circle of counsel. Understand that as your assignments go through various phases, and so will your circle of counsel. Be ok with that. It's never personal but always God's business and by His design, so that the spirit of religion, comfortability, and familiarity has less of a chance to creep in. If this happens, it may become harder for you to obey and do what God is calling you to do.
When constructing a house, there is a different crew that pours the foundation, a crew that sets up the frame, a crew that lays the roof, a crew that installs the electric, a crew that lays the plumbing, and so forth; why because the crews have certain "specialties" that are important to the building of the house. But, the main goal is to get the house built, under budget (in some cases), and on time.
Remain Humble - As a leader, we are looked upon with "having all the answers," or "having the right plan." A humble heart will help to remain true to the fact that you do not always have all of the answers, you are not always right, and you often time need help -- and that's ok. A humble heart allows you to be quick to repent, quick to say "I'm sorry". A humble heart allows you to see your part or contribution to an issue (especially as a leader), and not just everyone else's. A humble heart allows you to be transparent enough to admit mistakes or missteps, and maturity helps you to know that you are still the leader God said you were. A humble heart shows your own humanity and admits that as a leader, you rely on God's leading also -- in a major way because of a) the assignment you are carrying, and b) the people God has entrusted you to lead and steward. You are not Superman or Superwoman. However, through reliance on God and partnership with Holy Spirit, we can access the supernatural.
A humble heart allows you to walk in the truth and the authenticity of your call. They that worship must worship in Spirit and in Truth.
Keep Your Heart Pure - We can all agree that ministry is hard work. The enemy can often use the cares of life to weigh on us through grief, separation(s), rejection, abandonment, heartache, disappointments, betrayals, and etc. If left unchecked, unacknowledged, and undealt with the cares of life can often lead to insecurities, competition, jealousy, and envyings which can be deadly -- especially in leaders because of your sphere of influence. Instead of a covering, you could become a lid -- unintentionally limiting, suppressing, and in some cases suffocating, and harming the very people you were called to help, cultivate and lead. As a leader, you must be intentional about keeping the heart must remain on the altar, constantly allowing the Spirit of Truth to perform the necessary surgery so that it remains pliable in the hands of the Potter. Jeremiah 17 said that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? God does.
Quick to repent, and quick to acknowledge what's there is the best way to deliverance in the heart. It keeps you humble and in a constant state of being able to receive from the Lord. It doesn't mean that you are a bad person, or that God is displeased, it is just a constant reminder of God's grace and mercy, His love for us, and the divine perspective we must continue to move in.
Keep Your Motives Pure - When you partner with Holy Spirit, you are allowing Him to survey (a general view, examination, or description of someone or something) area of your life, including -- especially the "Why" you are doing something. On the surface, it may seem like a "no-brainer" - but allowing Holy Spirit to sit on every decision allows you to examine every decision closely - to make sure the "why" you are doing something is pure and is aligned to the blueprints of Heaven. If you are unsure about a decision, it is ok to say "no," or pause until you are sure and have peace with Holy Spirit. Not being sure about a decision is usually an indicator that something about that decision is impure. AND, should Holy Spirit reveal an impure motive, it is never meant to condemn but should serve as a constant reminder of the love of God that allows the grace to correct and reposition.
Work the Vision God Has Given YOU - God's vision for your assignment is just as unique as you are. Trust in that. This has so much to do with identity. Be confident in your grace as a leader (not just a title or position). Understand that everything about you God intended to use before the foundation of the earth. Be confident in the fact the God has chosen you to execute what no one else on the earth could execute but you -- leader. Resist the urge to follow trends or other leaders for the purpose of relevancy, influence, follows, or likes. Run YOUR race.
Partner with Holy Spirit. Allow God to emblazon His vision onto your heart. This is Heaven's vision, not yours. Continue to give it back to Him. God is glorified through YOUR authenticity. As you glorify Him, He will draw all men.
Create Healthy Boundaries - This falls in line with identity and knowing who you are as a leader. An unhealed leader will misconstrue "walls" (defense mechanisms) as boundaries if proper healing and deliverance from traumas haven't occurred or misalignment of true purpose has happened (i.e. you've been operating as a Teacher when you're really an Apostle. Or, you've been moving as an Apostle when you're really an Evangelist).
When you understand who you are and what season you are in, you can identify what your boundaries are. They are necessary for your continued growth, development, and ability to connect with people effectively. Knowing what your boundaries are will also enable you to be able to move in your assignment and calling effectively -- which is the priority.
Take Breaks and Catch Your Breath - Marathon runners will often stop or slow down while running very long distances to drink water or even recalibrate themselves for the rest of the race. It is ok to go on a vacation, take some time to yourself to connect with the Father, spend time with your family, come off of Social Media for a bit. It is okay to say "no" to an engagement or a ministry event. It's ok to set boundaries and say "no." Remember, this will be a LONG SEASON, so pace yourself. The goal is to endure to the end and execute God's complete vision for a particular assignment(s).
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