The trail we choose, will greatly determine who we will become on the journey.”
–Dan Arnold (Bear Creek)
“So Lot chose the entire Jordan Valley for himself. Then Lot journeyed eastward, and they separated from each other. Abram lived in the land of Canaan, but Lot lived in the cities of the valley and set up his tent near Sodom.”
–Genesis 13:11-12(HCSB)
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Choices are always with us. There are always crossroads to take, forks in the road, situations that arise in the journey where we must make more choices. One thing we find in reading the Psalms, especially in Psalm 21, is that David always chose to trust in the Lord.
1 – Lord, the king finds joy in Your strength. How greatly he rejoices in Your victory!
2 – You have given him his heart’s desire and have not denied the request of his lips. Selah
3 – For You meet him with rich blessings; You place a crown of pure gold on his head.
4 – He asked You for life, and You gave it to him—length of days forever and ever.
5 – His glory is great through Your victory; You confer majesty and splendor on him.
6 – You give him blessings forever; You cheer him with joy in Your presence.
7 – For the king relies on the Lord; through the faithful love of the Most High he is not shaken. (HCSB)
Paul wrote that nothing can separate from God’s love. His love is divine, His love is secure, a covenant love, His love is faithful. Our obligation and requirement is to obey and trust. Frederick W. Faber wrote,
“For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of a man’s mind,
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.”
Too often we look at the immediate, the need of the hour. We often do not take the time to look at the larger picture, the long-range view. We want our needs met and we want them met now, and in that thinking we make choices. Many times this choices prove to be bad, but then, there is the wonder of God’s love. Even in the bad choice He is still with us.
We let others, whether friends or family, peers, society itself dictate what is true and right instead of trusting God. I was talking to someone yesterday about how faithful God is. Divorce is bad, no matter what people say today, and I lived with my Dad, my Grandma, and Aunt. My Mother wasn’t bad by any means but she was not a Christian, neither was Dad, but Grandma and Bern (my Aunt) were and they made sure I was in church. If I had been raised by my Mom I most likely would not have become a Christian, but God had other plans. See, He was faithful in His love.
God in omnipresent; He is already in the future and He sees the results of our choices–the good and the bad. David was a person, the leader of the country, and his trust was always in the Lord. My, my, wouldn’t it be nice that our leaders would turn back to Him instead of dismissing Him, or mocking Him.
In the midst of your traveling down the road of life you will find yourself in all sorts of situations with all sorts of choices to make. You will have dry places, and then at times the rains will come and the winds will blow. You will struggle to climb mountains and you might find yourself in a valley of despair. Get into God’s Word. Seek Him. Remember, don’t be short-sighted, but look at the circumstance with eternity in mind. “Eternity gives us perspective on all of life’s valleys and mountaintops.” (George O. Wood)