I had this practice while in school. I usually didn’t rush my exams. I would take a few moments, sometimes, as much as 15 minutes to digest the questions, plan my answers, as well as have some drafts.
Initially, my classmates would look at me thinking I needed help or I was stranded in the exam hall. But with time, they realised it was my strategy for success. Most of the time, I ended up submitting my answer scripts before everyone and even had better results. I realised that I didn’t need to rush things.
Friend, you don’t need to rush things. Life is not about being the one who started first. It is about arriving at your destination (1 Corinthians 15:8-10). If you want to have lasting success, you must be comfortable with being wrongly tagged as slow. Truly, the future does not belong to the man doing it quick, but to the man doing it right.
Don’t rush things. Don’t jump into marriage because everyone seemed to be married. Don’t launch out into that ministry just to prove a point that you started first (John 7:1-9). Don’t forget Jesus’ prophecy that the first shall be the last, and the last shall be the first (Matthew 19:30). It is better to start late and finish well than to rush into things and crash shortly.
Strategy is better than energy. The time taken to prepare and perfect your strategy is not time wasted. It is time invested (Ecclesiastes 10:10). Some things are better thought out before the journey begins (Luke 14:28-31). You cannot be correcting the foundation of a building when it is already at the lintel or finishing point. You would have to start all over again (Psalms 11:3).
In this age where everyone seems to be doing something, making progress all around you, you must decide not to be put under pressure (2 Corinthians 10:12). I often tell singles in our church that everyone will eventually marry. But make sure you don’t rush into marriage and later regret your decision. It is better to be single, hoping to be married than to be married, praying to be single.
One of the ways you know that you are in God’s perfect will for your life is that you are not under pressure (Isaiah 28:16). While complacency is a thief of time, haste is a thief of destiny. Learning how to take your time under God without being complacent is the secret of destiny fulfilment. Like I did with my exams, take your time. Plan that business, ministry, marriage, career, relocation, etc., well (Proverbs 6:6-11). Don’t rush things. You will succeed!
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria