When making important decisions, especially when they can affect the lives of others, the Bible says you should do two things. First, count the cost (see Luke 14:28). That means you should evaluate and investigate, and you should seek guidance and counsel. “The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice” (Proverbs 12:15 NIV). How certain should you be before you move forward? In his book, The Next Generation Leader, Pastor Andy Stanley wrote, “Generally speaking, you are probably never going to be more than 80 percent certain. Waiting for greater certainty may cause you to miss an opportunity.” What are you waiting for? A guarantee that you won’t make mistakes? That you won’t be criticized or experience embarrassment? If so, you will get nowhere. When you have done all that wisdom demands, you must trust God and take a faith-based risk. If you don’t, you will end up living with regret. In a research study done by two Cornell University psychologists, they learned that time is a major factor in what we regret. We typically regret our actions over the short term. But over the long term, we are inclined to regret our inactions. The study found that in an average week, action regrets were somewhat higher than inaction regrets – 53 percent to 47 percent. But when people think about their lives as a whole, inaction regrets exceed action regrets 84 percent to 16 percent. In other words, you won’t regret the errors you made as much as you will the God-ordained opportunities you missed. So go ahead and take a faith-based risk.

The Word for You Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from Celebration Enterprises, Inc. Copyright © 2024