Focus: Power Of Choice

Text: Dt.30:19

"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live."

God created man and gave him the ability to make choices. What makes man what he is, lies in his ability to freely think, responsibly decide, and voluntarily act. This power to will makes man into a little sovereign. Every day that passes man decides his destiny. Choices have consequences. It is said that as one makes his bed, so he lies on it. Life depends on what we make of it. We make or mar our lives by our own choices.

One amazing thing about God is that He respects our choices, even when those choices are against Him and detrimental to our own lives. God does not force, coerce, nor manipulate people. For those who have already come under the authority of God, the Spirit does often moves us to action. He projects or puts us on the stage for a great display of character. 

The Scripture says, "And immediately the Spirit DRIVETH him into the wilderness" (Mk.1:12). The word 'driveth' literally means 'to thrust forth or thrust out, to throw or cast out.' The Greek word is 'ekballo.' God is like saying to Jesus, 'You are my man, my servant, my son, make me proud even amid temptations.' Paul says, putting it another way, "For as many as are LED by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (Rom.8:14). Also, he says, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Phil.2:13). 

The Spirit within the believer guides, nudges, urges, and propels him. He makes him decide and do the will of God.

Man is his own sovereign in the little space he occupies. As his life on earth was coming to a close, Joshua tells all Israel, "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, CHOOSE you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Josh.24:15). We seal our doom or boom by our own decisions. 

We are free to choose against God, but are we ready for the aftermath of our own choice?

One thing man must know is that he only has power to make choices, not to set the rules. God alone makes the rules. God's sovereignty is supreme. God made everything in the universe, not man. God owns the whole universe, not man. God created man; man did not make himself. The life man possesses is given to him by God. At creation, God breathed life and spirit into him. Man lives in God's space, for the Scripture says, "The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein" (Ps.24:1). God owns all space including the man that occupies a little part of it.

The power to choose makes every human being a little sovereign on earth. God makes room for whatever decisions we want.

The thing is that the God who made us also knows what is best for us. He configured, constructed, and constituted our very nature and existence. He understands our system and knows our limitations. We are limited in our knowledge, in our power, and in our presence. On the other hand, God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere present. He knows the consequence of each decision or action we make.

The noblest choice or action of man is surrendering himself to God, and saying yes to His will. The best form of worship to God is that of a yielded will. Jesus Christ is the best thing that ever happened to God. From start to finish, He was totally dedicated to doing His Father's will. He says, "I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart." Again, he says, "Lo, I come…to do thy will, O God" (Ps.40:8; Heb.10:7). He said while living out His earthly life, "For I do always those things that please him" (Jh.8:29). He lived a life of total dependence on His Father. Christ is the highest example of life as God designed and intended it for all men. Christ lived life as it was meant to be, not life as He met it.

Making God's will your own is truly life at its best. Choose life and blessing; reject death and curse. Choose to serve the Lord our God; reject all the false gods of this world. Don't let your human will clash with God's will. You are a little sovereign living under the control of the sovereign God. Choose rightly, wisely, and humbly. The bottom line is: obey God and play by His rule. You are better off being on the side of your Maker and Master - Jesus Christ.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter