The Present Moment Has a Moral Extension

Impressions and impulses, which are not from the Holy Spirit, but from some other source, such as a disordered imagination, the world or the devil, are not of that peaceful and quiet character which has been mentioned; but are hasty and violent. In violation of the great Scriptural maxim, "HE THAT BELIEVETH SHALL NOT MAKE HASTE" the person, who is under this pernicious influence, thinks he cannot be too quick. He makes but little account of obstacles; he cannot take time for interior examination; he has no open eye to God's outward providences; he is too impetuous, too much possessed by himself or by Satanic influence, to engage in calm and humble prayer for guidance; in a word, he rushes blindly onward just as his great adversary, who is especially interested in his movements, would have him.

The great plea of these persons is, that the time is Now; that what is to be done is to be done Now; that the present moment is the true moment of action. This is essentially true; but there is a valuable remark of Fénelon, which places the doctrine of present or immediate action in its correct position.  It is, that THE PRESENT MOMENT HAS A MORAL EXTENSION. In other words, we are undoubtedly bound to fulfill the duty of the present moment; but it is the present moment, not in a state of barren insulation, but considered in all its relations to God, man, and the universe. But it is perfectly obvious, that the duties of the present moment cannot be fulfilled in their moral extension without calling in the aid of a calmly reflective and sanctified judgment.

 — edited from The Interior or Hidden Life (2nd edition 1844) Part 3, Chapter 4.