Choose
Joshua 24:14-15: Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
Each and every day that we draw breath we are faced with hundreds of choices. Some are simple and somewhat meaningless–what to wear, what to eat, etc. But some of the choices we make can have a huge impact–either positively or negatively–on our future. And some choices carry an eternal impact.
Choosing to walk in obedience to God’s Word is an ongoing challenge. It is not something we choose once. It is a continual process of choosing day in and day out to believe God and act upon his Word over and over again in every circumstance we face.
When we come to faith in Christ we choose to accept his gift of grace and forgiveness and to follow Him. When we are new in the faith we do not understand the depths of this choice–nor the challenge. When we choose Christ we acknowledge that He alone is the Master of our lives, and we yield our will to his. He becomes our Lord. He becomes our healer and our provider and our source of strength and wisdom.
Then life happens and that choice gets tough. We are slammed with trial or heartbreak or loss or temptation and we find that each situation places us at a crossroad. In that moment, who do we choose? Do we believe the enemy’s lies and think that the circumstance is beyond God’s reach? Or do we choose, moment by moment, to trust that God is in fact in the circumstance and working for our good and his glory.
It’s a tough spot–but God has promised that it will never get too tough. 1 Corinthians 10:13 reminds us that there is NO temptation facing us that is not common to all. And God is faithful–in his great love He will not allow us to face something too tough to have victory over when we follow Him. With every temptation, He will provide a way of escape. God always makes sure we have a choice that will lead to victory.
Of all the promises of God contained in his Word, perhaps the mightiest of them all is his promise to never leave us or forsake us. The Spirit of God is always with us, giving us discernment and wisdom and everything we need to overcome. Every temptation or trial we face has been sifted through his hands of love. Once we let this truth sink deep into our understanding, we are empowered with the strength we need to choose God’s way. We can choose to walk in love. We can choose to walk in faith. We can choose to obey his Word. We can choose victory.
