MAKE A DECISION

DAY 90
Fear File: Israel
Scripture: Joshua 24:14-15

Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! 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.”

Today is the continuation of the conversation and farewell speech Joshua gave to Isreal. Yesterday we talked about how he told them that they needed the courage to obey and stick to the Word of God. Today he presents to them a decision. An option to choose between the Almighty God or the gods of the land they dwelled in.

Now, if you know anything about decision-making, you will know that it is a courageous act. Most people are crippled by indecision because they are afraid of what might happen if they chose wrongly. They can’t seem to make up their minds and stick to one side because they want to have them both. They are afraid that choosing will mean rejecting one side for the other and if people are involved, someone will get hurt and they don’t want that.

It’s Inevitable

However, every phase of life starts as a decision. You make decisions about when you want to go to school, what school to go, and what to study. Or when you want to pick a job, a house, or a spouse. You even make decisions about when you want to have kids; if you want to have kids and how many kids you want. You make decisions on where to live, what car to buy, what dress to wear each day, what clothes to buy, and what brand of beverage to drink. Point is, decisions are in the fabric of our everyday life.

Making decisions is almost like breathing because whether we want to or not, we’re making a decision and this makes it even more difficult. Because our indecisiveness is a decision on its own. See, what makes a person courageous is the ability to choose. To rely all hope on one option rather than the other and to stick with that option no matter what. You can’t live a life that is plagued by indecisiveness, you can’t be in between. God does not even want us to be in between.

“I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth” (Rev. 3:15-16).

He wants you to be able to choose a side and stick to that side, even when it comes to a relationship with Him. He wants you to choose Him because you’ve come to realize that that’s the better option for you. Not because that’s the only option. God is gentle and He does not want to force us into loving Him. He works with us based on love and love does not impose its will on others. Love doesn’t seek its own way.

Remember Your Lord

So Joshua is telling the children of Isreal, Now you’re in a new land, you’ve left the wilderness, you don’t have to be eating manna. You have options here. You’ve gotten to where God said He was going to get you to. Now that all that was said is done, don’t forsake him. Because people do that. People choose God when they have problems to solve then change their minds when all is well. They think to themselves “now we’re not as desperate as before. We don’t feel like we need to rely on God so we don’t have to pray as often or anymore.” But in those times, God is telling you that, now is when you have to make a decision. And it’s in those times that your true love and value for God will be tested.

So this was what Joshua was trying to get them to see. That God is the only option they had, even though they technically had to choose. He was trying to get them to choose the Lord. However, the decision is still theirs to make.

A lot of people have chosen the decision not to serve the Lord. They have chosen the decision to go with their flesh or even other gods. But courageous people know that choosing the Lord is a better option. And in case you missed it, choosing God is a courageous act.

It takes courage to stay on God’s side. It takes courage because the side of the Lord is narrow.

“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which. leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it”(Matthew 7:14).

There are supposed principles, rules, and regulations that scare most people. You don’t get to live your life according to your flesh and that takes courage. As people, we want to live carefreely and go with every whim. But some of those ‘whims’ will lead us to death. So God has set a path that looks narrow and difficult in our eyes, but it is the easy choice.

So let me suggest to you today, if you’re struggling with indecision, choose Jesus.

Choose Jesus.

Jesus is love; 
Jesus is light; 
Jesus is freedom; 
Jesus is certainty. 
Jesus is hope. 
Jesus is healing. 
Jesus is peace. 
Jesus is the absence of anxiety and trauma. 
Jesus is everything.

There is nothing that you cannot find in Him, and I want to lead you to that.

I want to give you the opportunity today to say, Jesus, I choose you. I choose you with all of my heart. I believe that you are my Lord. And so I choose you. I choose to be with you, to go with you. There are other options. But, God, I’m choosing you because you are the only option that makes sense. I wouldn’t want any other option but you. Thank you, Father. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Shalom