What Are You Choosing?

Joshua 24:15, "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (NIV)

I've spent the last few days driving around the city to look at different cabinet styles and colors for the new kitchen cabinets that will be installed in our home after the holidays.

Who knew there were so many shades of white? Choosing just the right shade of white has proven to be educational and frustrating at the same time. If it's too creamy, then the white trim molding in my kitchen clashes and the new cabinets will look dirty. If the white it too white, then the kitchen will appear cold and stark.

In all honesty, it's been tempting to just close my eyes and point to a style and color in the stack of ever growing samples.

But... that would be fool hardy and dumb.

You know, life is filled with decisions. What clothes to wear? Which roads will I take to get to my destination? Most of these day to day decisions are made out of habit.

On the other hand, there are some decisions that you spend time thinking about. What will I eat for lunch? Which email should I answer first and which ones will I delete without ever reading them? While these decisions seem small and insignificant, they form the tapestry of our daily lives.

Then there are life-altering decisions that cause you to struggle. Which career fits best with my skill-set and calling? Which church offers the best opportunity to grow and minister to others? These are often hard choices that deserve a great amount of thought.

So... how do we choose wisely? What criteria should we use to evaluate, to make the best choice?

Certainly we must gather information and carefully analyze our options. Next, we need wisdom and clear thinking in order to make the best choice based upon the facts at hand and our understanding of God’s will.

Many times I make bad choices because I move through the decision-making process too hastily, basing my conclusions on emotions, bad information or impulses.

While my “gut reactions,” plays a part in making choices I've learned the hard way not to base every purchase on feelings. Doing that has lead me to many instances buyer’s remorse.

Making decisions should not happen in a vacuum either. It's important to seek counsel and advice from others who are experienced and godly.

The only basis for really good choices is correct thinking. This kind of wisdom is given to us in four ways –

God’s Word, God’s Spirit, God’s Providence and God’s people.

Simply put, to make certain I'm using good habits for good choices, I need to be intentional about being renewed through God’s Word... every day.

I must also walk in step with the Spirit of God, paying attention to his prompting and leading. I've learned when I get ahead of His will or fall behind, my choices end up costing me unnecessary frustration.

Joshua told the Israelites to choose who they would serve.

They had two choices. They could choose to serve the true God or idols.

Every day you and I choose to do things that please God, or we do things that displease God.

So ask yourself this question:

Are you making the best possible choices for your life today?