The POWER of CHOICE

Most of us know that it’s not circumstances that direct our destiny, but what we decide to do in face of the circumstances. God has given all of us the same gift of choice. And that means that we’re the ones who can make or break our dreams.

Proverbs 22:13 says, “The lazy man is full of excuses” (TLB).

Militancy starts with commitment and whenever we want to see a change in our life, we must first decide to do something about it. Eighty percent of the victory is in the acknowledgement of the problem and the rest is in the commitment to do something to rectify the situation. Compromise is basically not doing what we know to do. “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17).

There’ll be two siblings in the same family who’ve witnessed parental abuse, or have lived around drinking, and bad habits and behavior, and one sibling will commit to never drink, or never swear, or behave like his parents, etc., and yet the other one sibling will blame his bad habits or behavior on his upbringing. It proves that circumstances are only part of the problem. And a small part at that.

Self-help books and talks can only help so much, why? Because it is the Word that strengthens the inner man. Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13). Plus, only the Word can discern the intentions of the heart. (Heb 4:12).

And there’s one more reason: God doesn’t like us to go to the world for answers. Look what happened to king Saul. Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance. (1Chro 10:13).

One of the first choice requirements that Jesus presented to His disciples is, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself.” (Mat 6:24). Not only deny oneself but to also deny the world and to press into the things of the kingdom of God (Mat 6:33). James put it to us bluntly: “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (James 4:4).

All the principles and the rules for success are in God’s Word. Jesus said, “Abide in Me and I in you; as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” (Jn 15).

That’s the secret right there. The Word is the secret of victory or of defeat! It’s the secret of success or failure! It all depends on how you respond to the Word, & how you live in it & live on it, or try to go on without it!–THAT’S the secret! The secret of power and victory and overcoming and fruitfulness and fire and life and warmth and light and leadership is the WORD!–And the lack of the Word is the secret of backsliding and failure and coldness and compromise and weakness & dying spiritually.

God’s Word is solid and filled with TRUTH. It is a dependable standard to go by.

So the first choice, when desiring a change of any kind in our life, should be to go to the Word and let it change you from the inside first.

God’s given us the POWER of choice and the first choice, the best choice and in fact the only choice for a Christian should be to go to God’s Word first. That’s why Word studies are so AWESOME. Because they can help you exhaust a subject from all sides with God’s Word and then you have ALL you need to commit to the CHANGE you want in your life.

So first, always choose God’s Word.