There is a time to be cautious and a time to throw caution to the wind. And it takes discernment to know the difference. If you’re waiting for perfect conditions before seizing an opportunity, you will be hesitating until you die. The Bible says, ‘He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.’ More often than not, the only thing between you and the fulfilment of your dream is an excuse: ‘I’m too busy…I don’t have enough money…I’m unqualified…I’m not ready yet…I have lots of problems.’ News flash: no one is ever ready. Immediately before Christ’s first miracle, he shows a hint of hesitation: ‘My time has not yet come’ (John 2:4 NLT). But Jesus had a mother who loved Him enough to persuade Him. In his book Jump In!, Mark Burnett writes about his path to TV-producer prominence. Burnett created hit shows like Survivor and The Apprentice. He writes: ‘Nothing will ever be…perfect, and nothing can be totally planned. The best you can hope for is to be about half certain of your plan and know that you and the team you’ve assembled are willing to work hard enough to overcome the inevitable problems as they arrive.’ Note the words ‘the best you can hope for is to be about half certain’. That’s a pretty good paraphrase of Ecclesiastes 11. So, don’t ‘observe the wind’, and don’t ‘regard the clouds’. After you have prayed and prepared, it’s time to trust God and take action.
