Often times we do or say certain things that aren’t so right and we find ourselves making statements like; ‘I had no choice’, ‘I was forced to’ or ‘compelled to’. Well did you really have no choice?
Everything you do is actually because you chose to do it. If you do it one way instead of the other, then you inherently made a choice. You chose to do it the way you did it. If you felt compelled or forced to, then you chose to give somebody the power to ‘force’ or ‘compel’ you to act in a certain way. Bottom line is, you have the power and ability to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’, and your actions are actually a result of the choices you make.
Often times I’ve gotten into a disagreement with a friend or family member and I’ve said or done things I probably shouldn’t have said or done. When I think about it later on, I often would like to ease my guilt by telling myself the lie that I acted the way I did because I was pushed to, or made to. In actual fact, I could’ve controlled my emotions and reacted in a different way – because the Spirit God gave me is a Spirit of self-control (2Tim 1:7) – but I didn’t, so inherently, I chose to act the way I did.
Choices are not only necessary in the big decisions of life such as salvation, choosing a career, choosing a partner or investing in a business. Every day is actually filled with choices to make; your words, actions, behavior, your approach and reactions to situations, the places you go to, how you spend your time or even how you feel are all choices you have to make – you could choose to be happy or sad, you have control over your emotions, you could choose kindness and gentleness over violence, you could choose purity, choose to act, dress and behave in a way that is honoring to God even though the culture in which we live in now doesn’t really promote that. You have the power to choose for yourself.
Letting the truth of God’s word, love and the Holy Spirit guide you in every choice you make will help you make the right decisions. That’s why it is extremely vital and absolutely necessary that you study the word of God every day!
Here are three examples of people in the bible who were faced with situations that could’ve prompted them to act impulsively out of anger, revenge, spite or simply because they were ‘compelled’ or ‘pushed’ to but instead they kept a sound mind and rather chose to act in a way that was honoring to God. I hope we can learn from these people and also choose to make God-honoring decisions in our lives.
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Jesus – Making choices out of Love and obedience to God
The story of Jesus is just phenomenal and exemplary. The amount of restraint, patience and love he demonstrated in every situation was just incredible. But everything Jesus did was because he chose to. He totally could’ve chosen not to go through the torment of the cross because he had the power to make that decision but instead he chose to obey and follow the father’s will and also because of the love he had for us, he chose to go through all that suffering.
Sometimes, we are faced with difficult and painful choices to make just like Jesus was. It could be choosing to help someone even though they’ve hurt us many times or maybe spread false rumors about us, choosing to forgive even when it’s so hard or choosing to love even those who do not love us. Our human nature is naturally not going to want to do any of these things! But when we submit to the Spirit of God in us, we will gradually become like Jesus and we will make the right choices out of love and obedience. (Luke 22:42)
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David – Making choices out of wisdom and the fear of God
In the book of 1Samuel in the bible, we are introduced to David. He does a great thing, defeats a giant who had been challenging the people of Israel with nothing but a sling and stone. This makes everyone honor him and sing praises to him… well everyone except Saul. Saul who was king at the time grew Jealous of David and wanted to kill him. David had to live a life of a fugitive, running away from the king, living in caves, on mountains and away from his family. However, David had two opportunities where he could have taken Saul’s life without any struggle, but he chose not to, even though everyone around him was encouraging him to. Honestly, it would’ve looked like the best thing for him to do at the time because Saul had a huge army after him, seeking his life. David made a very difficult choice and didn’t kill Saul those two times because he didn’t want to harm one anointed by God – He feared God.
Sometimes we, like David are faced with similar situations where we can take very rash decisions based on anger, a desire to take revenge or just for self-gratification. In moments like that, it takes a strong and wise woman who fears God to make the right choice, just like David did. That strength and wisdom comes from the Holy Spirit. (See 1Samuel chapters 24 and 26)
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Stephen – Making choices under the influence of the Holy Spirit
In the book of Acts 6, we meet another incredible man called Stephen. Stephen was described as a man full of God’s grace and power (Acts 6:8). He was a faithful servant of God and he preached the gospel boldly and fearlessly. Many people didn’t like this and they opposed him. They dragged him out of the city and stoned him. But while they were doing this, Stephen was so filled with the Holy Spirit that he looked up and saw Jesus in heaven and as he was dying, he said something incredible…he asked God to not hold the sin against them! Stephen was so filled with the Holy Spirit at that time and I wonder if he would’ve said those same words if he was led by the flesh. I believe the Holy Spirit led him to say those words. I don’t think there is any way Stephen could’ve chosen to forgive those people who were hurting him so badly – killing him actually – if it wasn’t because he was under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
In life, we could come across people like that too who will hurt us and do painful things to us and honestly, if we are not being led by the Holy Spirit, there is no way we are going to forgive them because the human nature innately wouldn’t want to forgive. The Holy Spirit however will always lead us to make the right choices.
So I’d like to remind you that you are responsible for the choices you make daily and these choices determine who you are and how your life will turn out. So make a conscious effort today to choose wisely, letting the word of God, the love of Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit lead you in every choice you make.
Remain Blessed
Apiseh Ngesang
Quite inspiring. Thank you sister