Everyday brings choices. The Bible makes that clear.
I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you that I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore, choose life, that you and your descendants may live. (Deut 30:19)
I love how the New Living Translation says it.
Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!
Each day God gives us a choice – blessing or curses, life or death. Then He goes on to say, “Oh that you would choose life.” I just love that – He wants us to choose life even more than we want to experience life and blessings.
While we think it is an easy choice, it doesn’t always come easy.
For instance, if we choose life, we choose joy instead of sadness. If we choose life, we choose peace instead of anxiety or chaos. If we choose life, we choose forgiveness instead of bitterness. As we see, it is not as easy as saying we choose life today.
Some days, it is easy to choose the right thing – some days it is extremely difficult to choose the right thing.
I was having this discussion with a couple friends the other day when one friend shared with me how she had to choose joy at an extremely difficult time in her life. You see, there was a time, not too long ago, when her son went to heaven unexpectedly. He was a young man with a wife and two small children who adored him. He was her only son. It must have been devastating for her.
She shared with me how everywhere she looked during that time; she would see a sign or a message that said, “Choose Joy.” Over and over God placed an opportunity in front of her to choose joy instead of despair. Joy instead of grief. Joy instead of devastation. And choose joy she did.
Even when you hear her talk about it today, you can hear it in her voice, she overcame the hurt and grief by constantly choosing joy.
I cannot even imagine how she did that, but all her friends will tell you that the thing she consistently said during that time is, “God is good. God is still good.” She chose life in one of the most difficult seasons she has endured.
Choosing life has a great deal to do with choosing what the word of God says about our situation or what we are walking through.
It’s not easy to choose to declare, “By His stripes I am healed” when your body is hurting. It’s difficult to choose to say, “All my children shall be taught of the Lord and walk in His ways” when they seem to go the opposite direction. It’s not easy to say, “God provides all my needs” when your financial appear lacking, however that is exactly how you choose life.
My friends, whatever you are walking through today, I encourage you to choose life. Choose peace. Choose trust and choose joy. I’m reminded of a verse of scripture, this is what I will end today’s writing with.
Rejoice Always
Pray Continually
Give Thanks in All Circumstances
For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess 5:16-18)
