LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil
Friday 15th October 2021
CHOOSE YOUR ACTIONS
Scripture Reading: Psalm 119:25-32
I have chosen the way of truth; Your judgments I have laid before me. Psalm 119:30
The choices we make in life are ours to make. Each one of us has the burden of intentionally doing things that will enable us to live for the Lord and fulfil our high calling. Whether we serve God from the pulpit or the pew, the Lord requires that we follow His path. Along the way, we will be offered many options. Some of the options may seem appealing but end up drawing us away from God’s tried and tested way.
Here are some guidelines to help us properly ground our decisions.
1. Choose based on godliness. This is where we should start from. Our choices must rest on godly values. God chooses based on His eternal purposes. He also looks at the heart; He looks deeper. Beauty is vain. Stature is deceptive. Whether we’re choosing a marriage partner or business opportunity, we must go beyond the surface attraction. We must go beyond self-interest.
2. Choose to work towards your desires. Work is not a curse. We must be wary of anything that promises us great reward without effort. Apart from salvation which God freely gave us because of what Christ paid on the cross, all other pursuits in life require work. God gave Israel a promised land but they had to fight to possess it; the Lord gave them a land flowing with milk and honey but they had to cultivate the land and reap its fruits.
3. Choose to go the full distance of your journey. When you choose the narrow gate, you will travel a difficult path. You will have struggles. You will have setbacks. You will have disappointments. You will see others on the broad way who take the easy way out. That realisation will make you also want to take the easy way out. However, if you choose to enter through the narrow gate, you must stay on track to the end of your journey.
4. Choose to magnify God through your story. The end of the road for those who choose the narrow gate is good. If you stay faithful to the end, your life will be a testimony to the name of the Lord. Choose to honour God with your life.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, you reward those who diligently seek you. Magnify yourself in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
