The man had a strange complaint. "I cannot decide. There are just too many choices!" He actually wished, (so he claimed) that his options in life were fewer, as he felt it would make things easier for him. Apparently he is one of the indecisive types, those people who delay making a decision either because they fear they will make the wrong one, or because they will not risk offending someone with the choice they make. I am grateful that God has given me so many options in life.
Everyday I awaken to an array of choices to be made - ranging from which cereal I will have for breakfast to whether I will choose to honor Him with my actions or go my own sinful way in life! I know this as well; the choices I make today have consequences, rippling out into the lives of others and giving shape to my future. While I recognize there are larger forces at work around me that influence my life in ways I cannot control, I also know that I have been given the gift of choice, that God allows me to make important decisions that build or destroy. I thank Him that He has placed in me some amazing and wonderful abilities to be a part of His creative work in the world.
The way that people make choices is a fascinating study.
Some are impulsive! "I want it. It appeals to me. I'll take it!" Such decision-making, if we can call it that, often leads to regret since even the important choices in life are made without consideration.
Some are intuitive! "My gut tells me this is the right choice!" They trust their natural instinctive guidance system more than they trust the counsel of others.
Some are cognitive! "Let's assemble the facts!" This person requires support for decisions, getting reviews, seeking advice, proceeding with careful thought.
Whatever our style of making decisions, as Believers we have God's promise that He will lead and guide us. The Word tells us "How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." (Isaiah 30:19-21, NIV) Jesus was even more specific. Speaking of the Holy Spirit Who lives in us, He said, "...when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you." (John 16:13-14, NIV)
Joshua, the general who led Israel after Moses' death, stood at the door to the Promised Land with the 2nd generation of Israelis who had been led out of Egypt in the Exodus. Reflecting on the wrong choices of their parents that had led to their wandering for 40 years in the wilderness, Joshua challenged them to "...choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15, NKJV) Hundreds of years later, when idol worship had nearly overtaken Israel, Elijah, a powerful preacher, demanded a choice be made. "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." (1 Kings 18:21, NIV)
Friend, if you have received Jesus as your Savior, then make the choice to serve Him as Lord! Declare yourself to be in His service. Make a bold and confident decision to live today for Him and in His ways. Such a choice will allow you to live in the joy of His grace and goodness. It may bring you the scorn of some who do not understand your choice to dethrone Self in favor of Jesus Christ. It will certainly bring you moments of inner conflict, when your sinful desires (and we all have them!) clamor for attention. But, if you have made the decision to crown Him Lord of all, then those desires will have to die that He might live. Know this, today's decision to serve the Lord must be renewed tomorrow, and the day after that, and ... you get the point. We live in a world that rebels against the will of God and that rebellion creeps into our own spirit, rising up against His reign.
Don't think that you are alone or that it is the strength of your will alone that wins the fight! Lean on the Spirit. Pray for His wisdom as promised. Pray for Him to come upon you and to defeat the Tempter's wiles. Worship regularly and draw on the life that comes from time with God and the instruction for the decisions that comes from knowing the Scriptures.
Here's a word from the Word to ponder today.
"Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun." (Psalm 37:3-6, NLT)
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