Choices
Now, I might know what you are probably thinking... "Joel, you are writing another post about decisions." While you are correct, that was about living with regret from those decisions we made in life that were not the best ones we could make. The difference between this post and "Living With Regret" is that this post is about when we are faced with choices. Choices can be terrifying at times. Choices can be easy at times. Choices can be difficult at times. If you do not believe me, then make sure that the next time you are with your friends, you have to choose where to go eat for everyone. Good luck not feeling like it is a hard choice! The intention of this blog post is to give you practical wisdom when it comes to making the right choice in life.
All that aside, I do want to say that we have choices because of something called "free will." God gave us this way back in the Garden of Eden when He told Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. No shocker here, Adam and Eve ate it (I mean, 9 times out of 10 when someone says not to do something, we tend to want to do it). If you want to get into a theological debate on whether that was already orchestrated by God, then let us toss that aside and still look in the Garden in the Book of Genesis. God gives Adam the CHOICE to name the animals what he wants.
"Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field."
- Genesis 2:19-20
This was a choice that Adam had to make, given to him by God. In life, we are going to be presented with choices: what to eat, what to wear, what to say, what college to attend, what person to marry, what sport to play, what car to get, what house to buy. These are just a small number of the choices we have to make in our lives. Here is the problem with choices sometimes in life: we can become so consumed with the choices in our lives that, in turn, it produces anxiety. This is what life is like for me—trying to think through a whole bunch of hypotheticals to figure out which choice I should make.
Let us take this thinking and throw it away. While thinking hard about choices is great, it should NEVER produce anxiety. This is not the way that Jesus would like for us to live our lives. In Matthew 6:27 he states,
"And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?"
The answer is obviously no one. None of us can add to our lives by worrying and being anxious, but we can take away from our lives with that mindset. A good rule of thumb when it comes to making decisions that people say a lot is, "If it will not matter in five years, do not worry about it for 5 minutes." Sometimes that is easier said than done if we are going to be honest with ourselves.
When it comes to life and determining what the best choice is to make in life, we first must go to God about it. We should always insert God into our situation because ultimately he knows what is best for us in life. Now I am not saying that God will open the heavens and you will hear this booming voice telling you what to do (but if he does definitely let me know because that is awesome and you should probably follow that immediately). What does this look like for us practically? It looks like going to God in prayer and asking God for direction.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened."
The next thing we should do is go to God's word and see what He says about it there. The Bible is full of stories of people who most likely went through similar situations that we go through every day. These stories provide answers to what we should do when it comes to these choices we have to make in life. Some stories even give us insight into what it looks like when we make the wrong decision and give us a warning about making the same mistake.
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness"- 2 Timothy 3:16
The last thing we should do whenever it comes to making difficult decisions in life is to get wise counsel from Godly men or women in our lives. People who have your best intentions at heart and seek God personally themselves. There have been times when I have given wise counsel and there are times when I have received wise counsel from others. Here is the catch though, we can receive wise counsel and still not follow it. I learned this lesson the hard way when I had a choice presented and received wise counsel and ignored it. Chances are, the wise counsel we receive is going to lay it down and sometimes it is not what we WANT to hear but what we NEED to hear. God placed them in our lives for a reason so we should listen to what they say if it aligns with scripture. The follow-through on the counsel is the most important part, if we do not proceed to follow through then we might as well not even ask them in the first place.
Remember that even if we make the wrong decision... it will be okay. It will not be the end of the world. If we still have breathe in our lungs then God is not done with us still, trust me on that. God's forgiveness, grace, and mercy will comfort us if we admit we made a mistake, ask for forgiveness, repent from the choice, and never make it again. God goes before us in all situations and He has all control in every situation. Decide to trust in Him today.
"And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
- Romans 8:28
Dear God, I pray that we can come before you and give our anxiousness when it comes to decisions. You know the plan in life that is for us and you deem it as good and that it will prosper us. If we make a mistake whenever it comes to choices God I ask that you forgive us and blanket us with your forgiveness, grace, and mercy. I also pray that we can have grace and forgiveness for ourselves. Amen.
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