THE POWER TO CHOOSE

by Roy Todd

Some things in our lives are beyond our control. For example, none of us got to choose where we were born. Nor did we get any choice about the circumstances into which we were born. We didn’t choose our genetics & appearance either. However, no-matter what kind of background we’ve come from, we all have the God given power to choose the way we live our lives today. This is an incredibly powerful truth.

In the Old Testament book of 1 Chronicles, a character called Jabez is mentioned. His name meant ‘painful’. However Jabez chose to break free from the poor choices of his own mother – and believed for God’s blessing in his life. What’s interesting is that Jabez choice wasn’t birthed in rebellion – but in honour. It actually says that he was ‘more honourable than his brothers’. He chose to live an honourable life even though his upbringing was dishonourable. Here’s what we learn about Jabez:

He chose to put God first .
He chose to pursue God’s blessing.
He chose to live in God’s healing.
He chose to pray for God’s increase over his life.
He chose to believe for God’s favour.

Read about him for yourself – just two verses in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10.

The point is – no-matter who you are, where you’re from or what you’ve been through, God has given you the power to make choices. A smart person will think carefully about this and be sure to make decisions that are wise. A good benchmark when it comes to decisions is to think…..what will this decision look like in 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years etc. (I’ve written a blog called ‘The Path of Least Regret’ which you might find helpful HERE.)

Here are some things all of us get to choose TODAY

You choose your attitude
You choose your words
You choose your friends
You choose how you react
You choose to be mean or gracious
You choose how you spend your time
You choose to be offended or not
You choose to gossip or to speak well of others
You choose to believe or not

This list could go on. In his book ‘Live, Love, Lead’, Brian Houston puts it like this “If you put God first, you’ll never come second’. Yup, it’s ALWAYS a good decision to put God first.

CHECK OUT THE JUNCTION CHURCH LEICESTER HERE.