“The divine ‘go’ comes into every life, but we must be willing to leave before we’re willing to go.”- John Ortberg
In Chapter 2 of All the Places to Go, John Ortberg notes that there’s an entire field of study in the social sciences based on the psychology of regret. Regret changes over the course of our lives. When we’re young we have short-term regrets. They most often involve wishing we hadn’t done something, like getting a speeding ticket. As we age, we come to regret those actions that we did not take, such as the chance to serve.
Pastor Ortberg adds that if we make the wrong choice we’ll have short-term regrets, but we won’t wonder what might have been. If we say yes we may fail. But if we don’t, we won’t experience life with God and be a blessing in this world.
John states that when Terah and his family set out for Canaan, Terah didn’t complete the journey. He stopped at Harran. When Abram received his divine ‘go’, he willingly followed God’s calling to new land. John concludes:
“When a door is opened, count the costs, weigh the pros and cons, get wise counsel, look as far down the road as you can. But in your deepest heart, in its most secret place, have a tiny bias in the direction of yes. Cultivate a willingness to charge through open doors, even if it’s not this particular door.
Today’s question: What regrets have you had following your vocation loss? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Truths about myself”
