The Choices We Make

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. (Proverbs 3:5-8 ESV).

 

Sometimes I really hate making choices. I suppose it’s the “taking responsibility” of making choices that off-puts me. It can be little things or big things. It just seems better if somebody else is responsible. We’ve seen how that plays out in recent months in a very dramatic way with Covid-19. Regardless of our political affiliation, I think we can all agree there have been plenty of choices that have not turned out to be good ones.

 

Each of us has probably already made many decisions today. And for the rest of the day, we’ll continue to make conscious and not-so conscious decisions. The choices we make say something about who we are and whom we serve. Is life “all about me,” or am I aware that what I do is really my response to my Creator and Provider? Our reading from Proverbs today begins with a simple admonition, a choice to make: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding (v. 5). That calls for trusting that God’s ways are good, and that following them leads to living life to the full, as God intends for us.

 

One of my favorite Old Testament passages is the story of the Exodus and ultimate settlement in the Promised Land. When Joshua challenged Israel, he said, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15). He knew that his decision to serve the Lord shaped all his other decisions. When we trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, all our other decisions are based on following His teachings, example, and direction. We are not making a decision to rely on our own understanding. It becomes the guidance of the Holy Spirit and Scripture that we know what to do. We know that God’s Spirit will not tell us to do anything contrary to the Scripture. This kind of trust leads to obedience whatever the cost.

 

There is another part to this “choice” in our reading. Solomon also says, “… and lean not on your own understanding” (v. 5). That requires the decision to be a disciple, a student-follower. I’ve often heard people say, “I’m just trusting God to show me what to do.” Well, that’s partially correct. The part that’s left out is our responsibility to learn from Him. That can only happen as we actively seek the teaching of Jesus. That means reading the Scripture and interacting with other believers. We must continue to be students. That produces healing and refreshing to our lives! What’s your choice today?