The guidance did not seem intuitive.
“Yes, accept the invitation. We should go early and crash the party the day before.”
“Ok.”
Sometimes I willingly take a lead, follow-it, and accept the outcome(s) that follow without regret. In this situation, good outcomes followed. The steps in between did not follow my expected script but the path ended with results and more revelations. As I think about why I was willing to jump, especially as I could see several potential negative results, I find myself coming back to the following notes.
One follows another’s lead when one has reasons to trust and believe. Without either, I doubt I would have been willing to proceed into the unknown. I knew what could go wrong. I understood what might happen. There were real reasons to be cautious. With this as a backdrop, my perspective of what I was willing to do pivoted on my relationship with the individual making the recommendation.
While the right or wrong outcomes do not accurately measure the strength of the advice, good outcomes do strengthen one’s trust and confidence. In each situation there are variables that you and I cannot control. These often have direct bearing on the outcome. While the influence of the uncontrollable responses should not negatively influence how we see wisdom and the individuals behind it, it is hard to say that there are no links between the two.
There are times when trusting and action go together, even when doubts are fighting for supremacy. I have a natural bias to give my doubts a bigger platform and more time than they deserve. It can be difficult to embrace trust and act, but it can also be the best thing one can do! The example of others before help. One writer notes that “He [God] spoke from the pillar of cloud. And they did what he said; they kept the law he gave them.” (Psalm 99.7) In that case, doubts did not dictate what followed. It is a good reminder in an age where cynicism and doubt often dominate.
Lead on.
