Proverbs 19:2b “he who hurries his footsteps errs”
Proverbs 29:20 “Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him”
Recently there was a worldwide security flaw found in almost all of the computers in the world. As a response, I'm hearing that many companies are trying to protect themselves by educating people about computer security. I recently heard a term that they are warning people not to be: a 'clicker'. They are telling people "don't be clickers." A "clicker" being someone who moves their mouse cursor around many windows and emails and websites clicking anything and everything, clicking all types of links and buttons without considering what is good to click, what is legitimate, what it will do, or what is safe. They just go ahead and click on. So many companies see that these 'clickers' are a security threat by which computer infections (viruses and malware) can infiltrate whole computer networks and cause a lot of harm to a company.
It's possible for a Christian to live similar to a 'clicker' – they live hastily. That's when they go forward in all their decisions and actions without considering what is the will of God.
THE OPPOSITE OF THE HASTY
What's the opposite of a hasty person? It's a person who inquires of the Lord.
This person always acknowledges that God’s will is best, and tries to live carefully and to seek God to be in His will all the time. The safest place to be in the whole universe is in the center of God’s will. A hasty person jumps around so much that maybe he will be in God’s will one second, but he’s jumping around and so he quickly falls out of the center of God’s will only to repeat the process again later. But a prudent person is patient and in frequent contact with God, always with a ‘listening’ ear in order to stay in God’s will, and away from evil.
Proverbs 27:12 “A prudent man sees evil and hides himself, The naive proceed and pay the penalty.”
THE EXAMPLE OF DAVID
We see examples of this all over the Bible - when a person seeks the Lord in a matter, they get victory. When a person is hasty and makes decisions themselves, they are defeated. See for example David in 2 Samuel 5 - we read there that he went repeatedly to the Lord at every step to 'inquire of the Lord'. "Should we go up against the Philistines here?" The Lord directed him and gave him victory each time. Not only did He give David victory, but He gave him direction on how to get victory.
2 Samuel 5:23-25: “When David inquired of the LORD, He said, "You shall not go directly up; circle around behind them and come at them in front of the balsam trees. ... Then David did so, just as the LORD had commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer”
I’ve found that when I bring a burden to God to ask for help (with His will being the most important goal), that He doesn’t just give me a quick answer, He gives me peace and lifts the weight of the burden, He gives wisdom and confidence on how to go forward, and He gives me patience until I can see the outcome.
PRACTICALLY WALKING IN HIS WILL
I don’t believe we can practically consciously be asking God throughout the day before we take any action. “God should I tie my shoes now? God how hot should I put the sink water as I wash my hands? God should I wear a blue tie or a yellow tie?” That would be burdensome, and God’s commands are never burdensome. But we’ve heard that inquiring of the Lord is like a police car radio – there is not always words coming every single second, but it’s ‘listening’ all the time, so when the word does come through the policeman is ready to take action. And when there’s a question, he can radio out to his boss to find out what to do.
Take the blue or yellow tie example above. There may be a time when we are picking out our clothes that when we grab a shirt we feel a hesitation in our spirit. The Holy Spirit is quietly speaking something to us. Maybe we have a wrong motive. Maybe we are trying to look particularly attractive that day, maybe we are wanting to impress someone for the wrong reason. That hesitation is like the radio that has just picked up a signal. And we can bring it to the Lord, “Father, is there a wrong motive in me? Please cleanse me of that! I’ll wear the most unattractive shirt today!” What a way we can enter into such a easy walk with God! It’s not burdensome at all, but a very natural and easy life with Him if we are truly surrendered to our own will.
THE GODLY ARE CAREFUL
I've noticed one characteristic of the godliest people I've met in my life is they live like this all the time. They live always eager and ready to hear the Lord and heed anything He’s putting on their spirit. It’s like there is frequently a 'stop sign in front of them. They are always so careful - they are carefully considering the way they speak, what they speak, the actions they take, the decisions they make, where their eyes are wandering, what their hands are doing. They are the opposite of hasty 'clickers' who hurriedly take thousands of actions a day without even one thought of considering what God wants. They've made such a habit of it, that it has become an attitude of heart in them. This lifestyle is part of them. They may not necessarily stop and say any specific words in the heat of a moment where they have to make a sudden decision. But their heart has a surrendered desire that feels 'Lord I want to go the way you want, help me choose that way in everything.'
"But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil" - Hebrews 5:14