A choice that we make today will not just affect our tomorrow, but inevitably can change our entire future and our view of the world around us. Our family, job, freedom, and ultimately our relationship with God can all be gone in seconds. Think about it, if your consequences for sin were to be paid immediately, do you think you would still make many of the choices that you do? I have seen how some of the choices that people make, change them immediately, steal their joy when it had been so abundant and overflowing before that choice was made. Most people strive to make good choices but how often do we seek to make godly choices according to scripture?
Some of the poor choices that I have made were not because it was something that I wanted, but because it was something that someone else wanted me to do and I made my choice to go along with it not really taking into account that it was the farthest thing from God’s will for me.
Whenever I think about choices I think about perspective, where I can only see from an earthly one but God sees from the heavenly. There have been moments when I thought I knew exactly what I needed, only to discover later that God was protecting me from something I could not foresee. Sometimes the door we desperately want God to open is the very door He knows will lead us away from His purpose for our lives. We have to trust that His vision is greater than our sight, even when obedience requires us to walk away from what feels comfortable, familiar, or immediately satisfying.
I pray fervently over two specific verses when I am needing to make a choice that will affect my future and the future of those I love most. One is written in Proverbs 3:5 Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. 6 In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way]. And realize that to know how to make good choices that are godly, I need to pursue what is written in Jeremiah 33:3 ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ These verses remind me that I do not have to figure everything out on my own. When I acknowledge God, seek Him, and trust Him, I am allowing Him to lead me in ways that my own understanding never could.
Something that I wish someone would have told me when I was younger, in my teens and early twenties, is that I must be intentional to make choices that please God, wait upon Him to direct me, and not to make choices that please the flesh in the heat of the moment. Another piece of information that would have been helpful is that I should not be a people pleaser which can be not only unhealthy but toxic. Sometimes we make choices because we are afraid of disappointing people, afraid of being rejected, or afraid of what someone else might think, and we follow our own emotions and feelings without considering what is Biblical and pleasing to God. We cannot allow the desire to please people to become greater than our desire to please God.
With all that is going on in our world at this crucial moment in history, God is calling His children to make choices that glorify Him and put to death glorifying our own flesh, especially from the pulpits. I know that making the godly choice is not always easy, and sometimes it can hurt deeply when the choice means disappointing people we love or letting go of something we have held onto for years. But God is not asking us to make these choices because He wants to take our joy away; He is calling us to trust Him because He knows where the road ahead will lead.
There will be times when obedience feels lonely, and there will be times when doing what is right before God means standing apart from the crowd. There may be moments when saying no to what everyone else is saying yes to will make you question whether you are making the right choice. But when you know that you are seeking God and following His Word, you can have peace even when the choice itself is difficult.
If you have made choices that you now regret, do not allow shame to convince you that your story is over, because God is still able to redeem, restore, and redirect a heart that turns back to Him if we repent, be redeemed, and repeat as often as necessary. I often pray over what is written in 1 John 1:9 If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].
That is the compassion of our God: He does not tell us that we are beyond redemption because we made a wrong choice. He calls us to repentance, offers us forgiveness, and gives us the opportunity to get back up and walk with Him again. Our past choices may have consequences, but they do not have to become the final definition of our lives when we surrender them to our loving and gracious God.
Dear hearers, make godly choices or you will suffer the consequences. Before you make that next poor decision, take a moment to become still before God and honestly ask Him to examine your heart and motives on what you are about to do. Give yourself permission to wait when you do not have peace, and remember that saying “no” to the flesh can sometimes be the very “yes” that protects your future. And if you have already made the wrong choice, bring it before the Lord with humility and faith, knowing that His grace can meet you right where you are and help you take the next step towards godliness.
Do not make a permanent decision based upon a temporary emotion. Do not sacrifice your future because of someone else’s pressure, your fleshly desires, or your need to be accepted in the present moment. Seek God, wait on Him, listen for the direction of the Holy Spirit, and then have the courage to make the choice that brings glory to the Lord Jesus. In His precious and powerful name we pray, and all of God’s people say Amen.
My BeLoved, may the grace and peace of the Lord Jesus, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen. In Christ Love, douglas. HE>i. pastord.blog
Special Note: I want to thank those who read what I write and are encouraged to support the ministry God has entrusted to me either one time or have decided to give on a monthly basis. I am encouraged to see certain verses playing out before my eyes like what is written in *Philippians 4:16 For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account.*
To any who are interested, please feel free to reach out to me with prayer requests, questions, encouragement, or for information on how to come alongside me with financial support at pastord.blog@gmail.com or I do have a Zelle account associated with my phone number, 5202720387 last name Blaser. Thank you my Beloved for your ongoing prayers and support.
