"I should have been wiser and stayed in my safe retirement instead of risking everything."
How it sounds in your head: Everyone told me not to start a business at my age. I should have listened. I was foolish to think I could build something new in my seventies. Safe and boring would have been better than this failure.
"He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap."
-- Ecclesiastes 11:4Source: world's wisdom of risk aversion + religious teaching to 'be responsible' + fear masquerading as wisdom.
The business did fail and the money is gone, making the safe path seem like it would have been wiser in hindsight. Risk feels foolish when the outcome is loss.
Peter stepped out of the boat onto water while the other 'wise' disciples stayed safe. He started to sink, yes, but he was the ONLY one who walked on water—risk produced a miracle the safe never experienced.
I REFUSE the lie that safety is wiser than faith or that my entrepreneurial risk was foolishness. IT IS WRITTEN that those who wait for perfect conditions never sow and never reap. I stepped out of the boat when others stayed safe, and even if I wobbled, I WALKED ON WATER. The BARAK blessing is on me—it protected Abraham when he LIED and Jacob when he DECEIVED. IT IS WRITTEN that I am blessed in the city and field, coming in and going out, and the Lord COMMANDS blessing on my storehouses. My risk was faith, and the Father is running toward me with restoration that will silence every voice that said 'play it safe.'
While you're regretting the risk, the Father is celebrating that you had the courage to step out of the boat. He's not shaking His head at your failure—He's applauding your faith and preparing the net-breaking catch that's about to fill your boat.