Choose Well!!

Then Joshua said to the people, “Now respect the Lord and serve him fully and sincerely. Throw away the gods that your ancestors worshiped on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord. But if you don’t want to serve the Lord, you must choose for yourselves today whom you will serve. You may serve the gods that your ancestors worshiped when they lived on the other side of the Euphrates River, or you may serve the gods of the Amorites who lived in this land. As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua 24:14-15 

 

Every morning when we wake up, we have choices to make.  What shall we have for breakfast or should we have breakfast at all?  Should we workout in the morning or evening?  Should we eat those dozen donuts or go for something healthier?  Is today going to be a good day or will it be one where I am grouchy and unapproachable?

 

We make choices!  We must learn to actually make CONSCIOUS choices rather than revert to our automatic responses!  God gave us the gift of a mind, and He expects us to use it wisely.  So....who will you choose today? 

Choices Aren't Always Easy

"If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you will give up your life for Me, you will find true life."

Matthew 16:25 

 

We make a lot of choices every day, some are good choices and some not so much.  But since God is God and is loving and forgiving, why should we worry about the choices we make? After all, didn't Paul write in Romans 8:28 that God works everything for our good and His glory?  So why should we choose to do the right thing and give thoughtful consideration BEFORE we make our choice?  Because we like things quick and easy!

 

Let me give you a premise: God gives us abundant life to the degree that we surrender our own life.   Think about this, suppose you are offered a promotion with a huge increase in salary and prestige...the only catch is you will be required to work lots of extra hours.  You know that your home life is already tense because you seem to be always at work and this promotion could be the breaking point.

 

If you refuse the promotion, chances are another promotion will not be offered any time soon.  If you accept the promotion, you stand to lose your family. What would be your choice?

 

God never told us that our lives would be easy and free from conflict.  He never promised that we would always have easy choices to make.  God gave us a mind with which to think and work choices through before we decide, but do we use that gift?