We make thousands of choices every single day.
How many of these sound familiar?
What to eat…
What to wear…
Where we spend our money…
Who we spend our time with…
Yes, No…
Do I, Don’t I…
Follow God, Follow the world…
Obey, Disobey…
Trust or Not…
Try again or Give up…
Pray or Complain…
I don’t know about you, but I can admit that my choices sometimes are built around the temporary vs. the eternal. I think that’s part of human nature. Our choices tend to be limited by our immediate perspective and usually how we feel in the moment.
I can hear a few of you saying, “Ah but Shahla, what if it’s not my choices but my kids choices, or my spouse choices or *insert* a loved one. First lemme say I hear ya and understand!
Now lemme say, there have been plenty of times in my life and I bet yours too when someone in your life was scared, frustrated and maybe just plain confused by our choices.
I have 100% fallen into the poor choices category during different chapters in my life.
During those times I believe others could see the road of destruction, the hurt I was causing, myself and others, but at the end of the day it was still a choice made by me. I definitely didn’t see all of the consequences to my choices!
Even when we logically understand, “all choices have consequences, but the level of consequence varies”, that doesn’t always prevent us from making poor choices.
Not even when those shouting to us (or we’re shouting to them), “Not that way!! Don’t! That’s the hard way.”
Was it easy to stop making poor choices? Not always. Sometimes I look back now and go, “Girl! What the world were you thinking!?!?” Sometimes I think we put undue pressure on ourselves and those we love. Trying to figure out the next five choices in life. When really, it’s one choice at a time, making one good choice, then the next good choice, and so on.
Thankfully, during my “poor choice” chapters, I believe God was still pursuing me, asking me to choose differently. I believe the prayers of others, even ones I didn’t know were being spoken, were influencing my choices in ways I couldn’t understand. I believe my poor choices, once admitted, and surrendered, either have been or will be used by God for good.
It’s why God gave us (me, you, our loved ones) free will.
It’s a decision to choose differently.
And once we do, or our loved ones do it doesn’t mean everything is immediately better.
What it does mean is that we’re now open to God, what He wants, we are more open to doing our part in making better, wiser choices, and the more we do, the better we can hear Him guiding us in our choices.
In the middle of all this, there is freedom in choosing, surrendering, and obeying God.
I’m thankful I’ve come to understand that it’s a daily decision to choose God. I’m thankful that God wants me and my loved ones to make choices that please Him. Let’s declare that!
I believe this for my loved ones too.
I pray they ultimately choose God.
I believe that what I see isn’t the end of the story.
I pray that I will choose to obey God even when it may break my heart.
I believe God is relentlessly pursuing my loved ones.
I pray they will desire to make wiser decisions and seek God in doing so.
I believe I have no control over their decisions.
I pray that I will surrender my desire to fix or control the choices of those I love, knowing God’s plan for them and for myself is always better.
I believe in the power of prayer.
These scriptures should guide our choices while we believe and pray.
Proverbs 16:20
“Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the Lord will be joyful.”
2 Peter 3:9
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
Galatians 5:16-17
“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want,”
1 John 5:14
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”
Lord, thank you for being a gentleman, for desiring me to choose You. Lord, I pray over my choices may they be aligned with Your will and pleasing to You. I choose You Lord. Please cover my loved ones, redirect them when their choices are not aligned with Your best. Thank you for the promise that when we seek You, we will find You.
In Jesus Name. Amen.
This weeks playlist:
Til I Found You
Phil Wickham
Its Your Life
Francesca Battistelli
Fires
Jordan St. Cyr
