The Danger of Hasty Decisions!

Have you ever made a decision without examining the full facts and realised you had made a mistake?

Well depending on what it is, hasty decisions can sometimes be very costly.
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Yes we do have to make every day decisions, but things that can have a great impact need to be weighted very carefully before a decision is made.

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 1 Thessalonians 5: 21 reads “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good”.
 But test and prove all things [until you can recognize] what is good; [to that] hold fast.  (AMPC version)

There is a reason why the bible tells us to prove all things. How do we prove something? We carefully examine it, check the evidence, show what something is made of.

Above all, the first step we need to take is to ask the Lord for direction. The Lord will always guide us into all truth. In this case, truth as to what is the right thing to do.

There is an account in scripture that shows the consequences of a hasty decision. Why can this be assumed? Because it only took 3 days for their true identity to be revealed.

Joshua 9: 1-16, 22 - 24
And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof;
2 That they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord.
3 And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai,
4 They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up;
5 And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy.
6 And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us.
7 And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you?
8 And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye?
9 And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the Lord thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt,
10 And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth.
11 Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us.
12 This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy:
13 And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.
14 And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord.
15 And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.
16 And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt among them.
22 And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us?
23 Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.
24 And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the Lord thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing.
 
In summary, Joshua made a hasty decision.  Why? Because he did not ask the Lord and it only took 3 days for the truth to be revealed.

“ And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord “ (Joshua 9; 14).
It took only 3 days before Joshua and the children of Israel realised that they had been deceived (Joshua 9; 16).

This shows that it can be assumed that Joshua and the children of Israel made a hasty decision,  If they had waited 3 days, they would have known the truth.

Isaiah 28: 16 reads “he that believeth shall not make haste.”.

Let’s wait on the Lord, check our spirits, get counsel and advice where need be and  avoid hasty decisions, especially : where we have not got clarity about the matter

​Bisi Oladipupo