Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to him, “Make a treaty with us, and we will be subject to you.” But Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I will make a treaty with you only on the condition that I gouge out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace on all Israel.”
The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days so we can send messengers throughout Israel; if no one comes to rescue us, we will surrender to you.” When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and reported these terms to the people, they all wept aloud. Just then Saul was returning from the fields, behind his oxen, and he asked, “What is wrong with the people? Why are they weeping?” Then they repeated to him what the men of Jabesh had said.
When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger. He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent the pieces by messengers throughout Israel, proclaiming, “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel.” Then the terror of the LORD fell on the people, and they turned out as one man. 1 Samuel 11:1-7
The quiet, gentle man we knew as Saul didn’t seem to last long, did it? We see him making Godfather-type actions (cutting up the oxen) long before the Godfather was around. Prior to this, the last place we find Saul is just after many people found him hiding in the baggage. The Israelites had wanted a leader and now they have one. He didn’t spend time fretting over a threat by a man named Nahash. He took control of the situation before the people were able to fret longer.
Good leaders seem to be like that. Saul made a fairly quick decision based on the information he was given. There was room for doubt and error and misunderstandings, but he made the decision anyhow.
In most situations, you will not be 100% sure of the outcome. And rarely does anyone have 100% of the information needed. At best, we get 80-85% of the necessary information. But still decisions have to be made. If you’re right, you’re right. If you make a mistake because of a decision you made without all of the information, correct it and move on. If you’re like me, you can spend a lot of time fretting over mistakes made instead of letting go and moving on.