The Choice is Yours

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.” Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing”.  I read that quote the other day by Laurie Buchanan, and it really resonated with me.  I started thinking about how many choices we have in a 24 hour period of time, and then how many choices we have in our lifetime.  It’s mind boggling, really.  God gave us all free will.  That enables us to choose our path.  Who will I date, who will I marry?  Where will I go to school?  Will I save or will I spend?  Will I take care of my body, or will I eat everything in sight?  Will I choose the easy path or the more difficult one?  

Will I choose the easy path?

Or the more difficult one?

Truth be told, I’ve always had a self-control weakness, and have had to learn over the years to make better choices, and not just go for the easy ones.  The easy choices don’t usually don’t end well. At the dinner table the other night my 15 year old son asked me, “Mom, did you smoke in high school?”  I didn’t want to lie, so I said yes, but quickly supplemented with the fact that I never bought any cigarettes and only smoked while I was drinking.  (Like that made it better….Oops...I just told him more than he asked.”  Ha!)  Those were easy choices, that didn’t have major consequences, but would definitely have consequences that were long term if I hadn’t stopped.  

The question that changed my life:

“You know you have choices, right?”

I then thought about a much bigger choice I had when I found out I was pregnant in my senior year of high school, and I was 100% abortion minded.  I had already registered for college, was going to room with my best friend, and I needed this “problem” I had created to go away.  My wise mother drove me to the doctor that had delivered 5 of her 6 babies, including me.  In one 30 minute conversation, Dr. Henderson asked me a single question that changed the trajectory of my life, as well as the life of my unborn son.  In regard to my pregnancy, he asked me, “You know you have choices, right?”  It sounds like it should have been clear and simple, but most of the time our choices are limited by our perception.  I never considered another option!  We don’t realize we have other options, because we make a quick choice out of emotion or circumstance.  Many times we don't take the time to think through all the options.  Sometimes because of ignorance, sometimes because of immaturity, and very often choices come from laziness and fear of taking the more difficult path.  

I was running this morning and listening to a Beth Moore sermon on “Choices”, and she made several really good points.  She talked in detail about the 30th chapter of Deuteronomy, where God gave the Israelites a choice.  The choice was simple, yet profound.   

God is saying here that He gives us the simple choice: To choose Him or not to choose Him.  In choosing Him and choosing to love and obey Him, He brings blessings and prosperity, and not choosing Him leads to death and adversity.  Simple, yet profound.  He can’t make it any more clear:

I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  NOW CHOOSE LIFE, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, LISTEN TO HIS VOICE, and hold fast to Him.  FOR THE LORD IS YOUR LIFE….

Deuteronomy 30:14; 19-20

Every single day we wake up we start with choices.  Do I get out of bed, or pull the covers over my head today?  Will I eat something that makes my body strong and healthy or something that makes me tired and irritable?  Will I exercise my body or choose laziness or procrastination?  Will I choose joy or bitterness when speaking to myself and to others?  Will I find time to pray or will I make excuses of why I’m too busy?  The choices go on and on and on.  Like the quote I started with, “Whatever you aren’t changing, you’re choosing”.  So, a lot of the time, when we don’t make hard choices, we are choosing to not choose.  That’s still a choice.  We want to lose weight but we don’t exercise.  We want to have peace, but we don’t spend time with the ultimate Peacemaker.  We want great kids, but we don’t find quality time to spend with them.  

So the question is, what will we choose today?  Every single day, God gives us a reset. Lamentations says, “His mercies are new every morning”. God is a God of patience and He loves each one of us.  Thank God for that! As for me, I need every morning for a reset. I am still a huge work in progress. He wants us to teach us how to make the right choices so that He can show us His abundant grace, and bring us blessings beyond measure.  When scripture says, YOU ARE CHOSEN, God is saying He made a choice.  He chose You, He chose me!  He chose to love us first.  He loves watching us grow into stronger, better people but that all begins with our choices.  Back in August of 1985, I literally chose life, and God turned my poor decision of teenage pregnancy into a miracle of life and an incredible son.  Just imagine what he’s got in store for you!

So the question is,

What will you choose today?

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”  1 Corinthians 2:9

“Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

The choice is yours!

Lysm - 

Sara