See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 15-20)
Introduction: God wants his children to live their lives cautiously knowing exactly what to do and plugging their lives into the exact will for them rather than groping around in the dark. Many people who grope in the dark could eventually find a way in life but they would have wasted several years and may not get to the peak of their potential.
We should live circumspectly as wise people and not unwise (Ephesians 5:15). The word ‘circumspectly’ means ‘cautiously’, or ‘exactly the way you should live that will be best for you’. When you do the exact thing, you are supposed to do and achieve great results rather than wasting your time on unnecessary things, you are judged to be wise. The days we are living in are evil and Christians should be conscious of the fact that if we don’t act exactly the way we ought to, we might waste time and be behind God’s schedule for us. For example, let’s imagine that Segun and Olu who live at Redemption Camp along Lagos Ibadan expressway start a journey to Ibadan at 8 am to arrive there at 10 am. Supposing Segun goes through Sagamu trying to figure out how to get to Ibadan on his own while Olu asked someone who has been there before or checks his Google map for the fastest route, Olu will surely arrive in Ibadan earlier than Segun who may not be able to get there by 10 am.
Walk exactly the way you should walk
You should know the exact way to act in all aspects of life; including health, places of work, marriage, family life, raising children, finances, relationship with others and even ministry work. You should find out what wisdom means in each of these areas and live your life based on wisdom. For example, God says you will find Him when you seek him with all your heart. That means it is spiritual wisdom to seek God early in life and put him and his assignments before every other thing every day of our lives. Financial wisdom says ‘Don’t ever spend all the money that comes to you no matter how small it is. Do you save and give regularly? Health wisdom says ‘Eat right, exercise, rest and avoid stressful lifestyle. Do you? Family life wisdom says ‘love your wife, respect your husband and pay attention to your children. Do you? If you follow the principle of the word of God in every aspect of your life, you will behave wisely.
Make good use of the time.
God wants us to maximize the time available to us and be great achievers. No wonder, he said is Daniel 11:32b “Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. The word of God is the covenant between us and God. If you follow it, the power of God will mix with your efforts to achieve great exploits; if you don’t obey the word, it may seem you are succeeding at the beginning but it cannot endure.
Since the days are evil and you need to maximize the time available for you, then you must understand what God’s will is for you as a person. (Ephesians 5: 16) You don’t have extra time to do things just to please people or be like others. Concentrate your time and efforts on those things that are God’s specific will for you; thereby redeeming the time. If you don’t understand the specific will of God for you in a particular situation, then you are not wise because you may be doing something good but not necessarily correct for your life. (Ephesians 5: 17) By the time you realize that you are in the wrong way, time would have been wasted and you cannot reduce your age.
You need the Holy Spirit to reveal the word of God to you and enable you to do the right thing. Moreover, there are some specific practical steps you may not find directly in the Bible; you need to listen to the Holy Spirit each moment to know what exactly to do. The best way you can guarantee being led by the Holy Spirit is to ensure that you are filled with the Holy Spirit. If you are 60% full of anger or jealousy or any other work of the flesh, it will be difficult to perceive the voice of the Holy Spirit very well because He is a gentle person who doesn’t struggle to be heard. You must desire to hear and obey him.
Apart from baptism in the Holy Spirit, you need continuous refilling to stand as a good Christian. You are refilled when you thank, praise and worship God in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs either alone or in fellowship of other believers. You can also get refilled when you meditate on the scriptures and pray especially in praying in tongues. If you want to remain filled, you must also learn to maintain peace in your life because the Holy Spirit is the spirit of peace. He withdraws when we are not peaceful or disobedient in other ways. If you want God to lead you so that you can be on target; then commit yourself to continuous refilling with the Holy Spirit.
Whatever the Holy Spirit leads you to do would agree with the word of God. However, it may not agree with human wisdom in some situations. God occasionally leads us in such ways that what we are meant to do may not make sense to human reasoning but time will prove that God indeed has led us to the decision. For example, an average person may not understand why a professional like a doctor or lawyer or chattered accountant will spend most of his time preaching the gospel. However, God can lead anyone including a former president of a nation to spend the rest of his life just preaching the gospel.
Conclusion: If you really want to walk cautiously and wisely, then you must walk in the Spirit. Follow the principle of God’s word and be full of the Holy Spirit. You cannot conduct your life following what every other person is doing. You must keep on asking him for his specific will for you and be sensitive to receive it; otherwise, you will act foolishly in God’s perspective.