Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes. PROVERBS 19:2 (NLT)

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Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. This adage from the Navy Seals contains great wisdom. It has been a military axiom for centuries. Napoleon said, “Dress me slowly, I am in a hurry.” Solomon captured these ideas nearly three thousand years ago. Wisdom is like that. It endures. 

Sometime in my young adult years, someone told me, “Never rush something essential.” Sometimes we have to slow down to go faster. 

This lesson is easier for some to learn than others. I still have to remind myself to slow down. Frequently. 

I was a sprinter on the track team. One thing I really did not like doing was running long distances. One hundred yards? I could run those on repeat all day long. One mile? I would still shuffle along an hour later. Then I grew up. Those fast-twitch muscles and rapid breathing mechanics had to be replaced with LSD and more rhythmic breathing. (LSD means Long Slow Distance and not that other thing you were thinking.) 

Eventually, my bride and I were able to complete a half-marathon. We even planned to compete in a marathon two weeks later. Since we could barely walk for a week after running 13.1 miles, the marathon was placed on hold. Now the mean doctor says I cannot run at all. Slow is smooth (sigh). Smooth is fast (yawn). 

Hastelessness prevents us from jumping to conclusions. Tempering enthusiasm empowers us to think clearly before deciding or acting. Anything worth doing is worth thinking over. 

A dear friend is experiencing deep grief. Wise counsel tells us it is not good to make life-altering decisions in seasons like this. Grief is a temporary hold on everything else we believe is important. 

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. 

Never rush something essential.

Another friend has been placed in a metaphorical waiting room. Nothing can make the time go faster. Time may heal all wounds, but it does not get in a hurry to do so.

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. 

Never rush something essential.

Tempering steel can make it both stronger and more flexible. Tempering enthusiasm with patience accomplishes the same results in us. 

Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. 

Never rush something essential.

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I will slow down to go faster.

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Our Father, I belong to the clan which prefers to leap before I look. Remind me as often as necessary not to rush essentials. Teach me how to slow down to go faster. Embed in my heart and mind the truth that slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Amen.