05/25/2023
This morning we consider the decisions in our lives. Who makes our choices; are we making them based on logic and reasoning, or is God making them for us out of His wisdom? Have we turned our lives over to God, or are we still holding tight to the tiller of our lives and plotting our own course?
Do we allow God to guide our decisions? To see an example of yielding to Him versus maintaining control over our own lives, we only have to look at this Bible story...
Abram and Lot reached a point where their possessions were so great and the relationship between their herdsmen had deteriorated to the point where they had to separate. The elder and more affluent of the two was Abram, but he was also the most spiritual and led a godly life. When it came time to choose who would occupy which lands, Abram let Lot make the choice, and of course he chose the lushest and most advantageous lands... that is, if you looked at the decision he made by using human logic. The land Lot chose was perfect for grazing, but it also contained the city of Sodom... and we all know the ungodly nature of that city. Yet, this is precisely where Lot pitched his tent.
In this story we read that Abram chose to yield to Lot, just as God would have Him do, but that on the other hand, Lot chose using his own selfish logic and determination. Lot chose water and green pastures over the righteousness of the land. If we look at Lot’s decision through worldly eyes we would think that he made the right decision for a herdsman, but so often what appears right to us as worldly citizens is very wrong in consideration of our faith, or the will that God has for us.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV
Oswald Chambers wrote on this subject of allowing the Lord to steer our lives, and letting God make our decisions. This isn't a frivolous abdication of the right to choose, but rather we are allowing God in all His wisdom and goodness to direct us. When we let Him chose then we find that the outcome is always right. Here is what Chambers had to say on this subject…
"God sometimes allows you to get into a place of testing where your own welfare would be the right and proper thing to consider if you were not living a life of faith; but if you are, you will joyfully waive your right and leave God to choose for you. This is the discipline by means of which the natural is transformed into the spiritual by obedience to the voice of God." - Oswald Chambers
So how are our lives directed? Have we maintained control over every decision, and our future, or have we asked God to take the wheel and guide us? The world would say that we are of an unsettled mind to let anyone else control our lives, but then again, they don't know our God.
“Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land.”
Psalms 25:12-13 ESV
I have made choices in my life that proved to be wrong. I made them for all the right reasons... that is, if you used the world's method of determination. But, when I asked the Lord what I should do, or looked at the teachings of Jesus when deciding, the outcome was always good. The direction God sent me in might have seemed wrong or contrary to good reason at its inception, but in the end it was always what was best for me. I might have passed up opportunities for great wealth, but my righteousness and walk with Jesus was enhanced beyond my wildest dreams. I might have walked away from a "good deal" only to find out that it wasn't what it seemed and watched as other lives were destroyed or families of faith broken apart by the very success that they personally sought after.
“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”
Proverbs 2:1-5 ESV
God knows the beginning from the end; from His vantage point He sees the snares ahead and the hidden pitfalls. God doesn't simply guide us to a better life... He is directing our paths towards Himself. In this way our moments of choice will ultimately bring us joy and peace, but the first choice is ours and ours alone; will we chose to place our Father in the pilothouse? Will we choose to serve Him? Will we find rest in our souls or continue on towards the shoals that lie ahead?
“Thus says the Lord: "Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'”
Jeremiah 6:16 ESV
Have we given dominion over our lives to God, and are we allowing Him to make our choices for us? When God directs us do we heed His advice? Do we pick up our cross and follow Jesus despite the fact that our cross, like His, means enduring times of hardship and suffering when we do so? Is our faith strong enough to see beyond the logic of the world, and into the wisdom, love, goodness, and kingdom of God?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for guiding my life and steering me in your ways. Thank you Lord for directing my steps and leading me towards you... towards your kingdom… my home. Holy Father your will for me is paramount to a good and righteous life, and I trust in you to walk with me and turn me to the right and to the left as you see best. I feel your hand upon me; never let me slip from beneath it Father. Never let my path stray from yours because I took back control of my walk. Lord, let me hear your voice always and obey... even when the world tells me that I am of unsettled mind, and making the wrong choice. In you there is never a wrong way to travel; you might lead me contrary to the direction of the world around me, but it is always into a spirituality that this world can't understand. Lead me on Father, and as you do, hear my prayers of thanksgiving, and feel my love for you forevermore.
Rich Forbes