God gave us brains to use (Big Book)
When I am tempted or pressured into irrational behavior, I pray that I may stop and think before I do or say anything whatever. I ask God to remove these impulses and help me to grow into the person I want to be. (One Day At A Time In Al-Anon)
At times, I have claimed such reliance on God that I am quite sure that God's inspiration is infusing every thought, and all my actions are necessarily God's will. I wouldn't plan. I wouldn't stop to think. I wouldn't consider. I would just report God as the authority for what I thought and did and disown all responsibility for my beliefs, words, and actions. This is greatly disconcerting to others.
Sure, there's some inspiration and direction, but God won't do for me what I can do for myself. The things I can do for myself:
- Organise myself
- Scan my life for potential and actual duties, tasks, projects, and precautions
- Exercise critical thinking when considering situations or scenarios
- Practise self-honesty with regard to motives
- Restrain myself from, frankly, most 'good ideas' until real discernment occurs
- Consult with others
- Test ideas against spiritual principles.
There are many others.
Imagine a sea battle in which a ship fails to manage its sails and shoots its cannons in whichever direction it is facing: this ship is a greater enemy to its company than the real opponent, being closer at hand.
Calm, measured, deliberate, and intelligent beat mindless and impetuous every time.
There's no contradiction between God-reliance and maturity. In fact, real God-reliance requires the maturity to contain emotion and inspiration and allow them to be moulded and tempered in the direction God wishes, not merely discharged like built-up electricity. Slow and steady wins the race.