As I write this my youngest grandson is 18 months old and he bosses the large family dog around. Really, he bosses any dog available, practicing his “no” and “sit” commands. He will walk by their dog, then loudly command “no” for no reason and usually the dog ignores this (“he’s not the boss of me”) with her typical good-natured acceptance. But Thomas just keeps practicing on her. When he’s doing something he should not at my house, he shakes his head yes while saying “no, no” and testing to see what I will do. It’s adorable in a little one, but eventually he will have to mature and learn to say a real yes or no.
God has given us the capacity to make choice after choice, and to direct our own thoughts and lives with a real yes and no. This human freedom as to where we put our mind determines all other freedoms. We not only have the capacity and the freedom, we also have the authority to make our own choices. When we act as if we have no choice, we are caught in a victim mentality. And if we believe we are powerless without choice, we will end up reacting, usually with either passivity or aggression, instead of choosing. What action we choose and where we place our thoughts really is our choice; whether we build the true and the good. As Dr. Henry Cloud suggests, we are “ridiculously in charge” of our choices and what we create by them.
To choose what is right will take everything we’ve got and all God gives us. When our heart says, “I choose the good way, I walk forward, but I can’t do it without your strength,” He helps us choose, infusing us with His empowering grace. He meets us in this place of choice as we reach forward to cooperate with Him. And each choice in the right direction changes us, strengthening our will by obedience and grace.
We choose:
--whether we persevere or not;
--whether we live by design or default, response or reaction;
--whether we come to Him with our hungers or just give in;
--whether we keep surrendering or manage on our own;
--whether we choose life, creativity, initiation, maturity or live timidly;
--whether we languish or exercise the authority we have in Christ.
Choices build habits and habits build character. Choices help us become established in Christ, steadfast, stable and mature. (Col. 1:23; 2:5-7). A lifetime of growth in maturity comes from our choices when choice after choice we become firmer and surer, emerging as victorious, confident people, the beloved of the Lord.
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