CHOOSING GOD’S WAY

 “…I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore CHOOSE LIFE, that both you and your descendants may live” – Deuteronomy 30:19b

Immense temporal benefits and eternal blessings abound in CHOOSING GOD’S WAY: “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to WALK IN HIS WAYS…I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore CHOOSE LIFE, that both you and your descendants may live” (Dt.30: 15,16a,19). Death in all its forms operates on earth because of the curse that came from humankind's rebellion against God. But we escape the consequences of the curse by choosing God's Way – the Way of Blessings, Life, and Truth!

The Psalmist testified: “I have chosen the WAY of TRUTH; Your judgments I have laid before me” (Psa.119:30). Actually, it is often due to Ignorance that human beings miss God’s Way in many of life’s issues. God's Way is exactly what we would choose if we knew as much as He knows. If we had all the information available to us that God does, we would most likely make the same choices. For example, God operates out of love for us, never out of selfish motives. God's instructions are not to deprive us, but to protect us and bless us. God knows and understands how things work, and He wants to share the truth with us – for our good. However, it is to the extent that we know these truths that we choose to follow His Way. Oh, that we would trust our Heavenly Father, knowing His Way is always best for us!

Man has the incredible Power of Choice! We make our choices and our choices make us. Choices are not occasional in our lives; we make hundreds every day. From the moment the alarm sounds in the morning until we sleep at night, we are faced with countless decisions – some minute and some life-transforming. We need God’s Wisdom not only to make life choices regarding relationships, employment, health, or a particular path to follow, but also seemingly minor issues that could produce major impact. We dare not choose without God! He assures us of guidance if we trust Him: “I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go” (Isa.48:17b).

Trust in God is fundamental to finding and choosing His Way: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Pro.3:5-6). God’s Way is the Way of Wisdom – the ability to see things from God’s perspective. Wisdom is available to all of God’s creatures; but the choice to receive or ignore Wisdom can be a tipping point or a tripping point in our lives: “Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding” (Pro.3:13). If we choose God’s Wisdom and His Way, He will illuminate a path toward the centre of His Will. But if we stumble in the darkness and continue on our own path, disappointment and disobedience await.

Wisdom is choosing God’s way over our own way; applying His Truth and Principles to our lives. It begins with the Fear of God: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Pro.9:10). The Fear of God is what causes us to run to Him, not from Him; and to find forgiveness, grace and mercy to live life as He intended it. The most brilliant, insightful, educated, talented, and trained person, without the fear of the Lord, remains a fool!

Joshua affirmed before the people of Israel: “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, CHOOSE for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of  the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Jos.24:15).