Managing Your Choices

Our sermon this weekend at Coastal Church is on “Managing Your Choices.”  We are living in a part of the world where we are bombarded with decisions, each and every day.  It has been said that the average supermarket carries 33,000 different products.  You may think, “That’s great to have so many choices.” Some studies however point to the fact that too many choices can lead to anxiety and indecision.  In this blog, I want to address the thought of “how to make right choices.”  Just to be clear, I’m not going to give you suggestions on which kind of toothpaste to choose. 

Most of you reading this could probably quote Proverbs 3:5, 6 by memory, as it is one of the most memorized Scriptures.  Proverbs 3:6 in the NLT says, “Seek His will in all you do and He will show you which path to take.”  You may be reading this and saying, “I am seeking Him but He’s not showing me the path to take.”  I want us to look at three  points that will help us to make wise choices. 

1. Clear the Path 

We don’t get a lot of snow here in Vancouver, but where I grew up, you could get up in the morning, and so much snow had fallen during the night that you couldn’t even see the sidewalk that had been in clear view the day before.  The snow covered the ground and the path was totally obscure.  God says that if we seek Him, He will show us the path to take.  I propose to you that perhaps God has revealed the path He wants us to take but our sin has obscured it.  Back on the prairies, we would have to get a snow shovel out and “clear the path.”  Sometimes God is trying to show us the path, but our actions, your sins, are causing His path for you to be obscured.   Isaiah 59:2 says, “Your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”  It’s not God that needs to change – you have to make a conscious choice to clear known, unconfessed sin from your life.  There are so many clear boundaries God has set and if we willfully choose to ignore or move the boundary, it will affect our ability to receive direction from God.  Just last week in her sermon, Pastor Cheryl said, “Choose to do it God’s way.”  When it comes to dating, she said “you have no business getting into bed with someone that is not your spouse.”  We could look at many other areas where our culture may say, “God said this, but the Bible is old fashioned and it doesn’t apply today.”  You can choose to believe that, but it will cloud your path and keep you from making right choices.  Proverbs 3:1, 2(NLT) says “Store My commands in your hear.  If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying.”

The second thing we need to do is clear away the “strong desires” that compete against the Spirit.  In Romans 8:6 (NLT), Paul says,

“So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”

Paul was writing this two thousand years ago, but it’s amazing how relevant it still is, and it’s a battle we all deal with.  Paul goes on to say in Romans 8:6, “letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death.  But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”  God has created us with strong desires, and no one understands that better than Jesus.  In the Garden, He was battling His desire to avoid the cross, but He prayed, “Not my will Father, but Thy will be done.”  Jesus had to make a conscious choice to not give into His fleshly desires, and if you think it was easy for Him because He’s the Son of God, let me remind you that in the garden that night, the Bible says, “He prayed more fervently, and He was in such agony of spirit that His sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.”  It is a battle that you must be prepared to fight.  It’s getting your fleshly desires under control and saying, “I want God’s blessing and direction for my life more than I want to satisfy my fleshly desires.

2. Exercise Patience

A second reason we can miss God’s direction and find ourselves making choices that fall short of God’s best for us is that we fail to trust God when the timing isn’t according to our plans.  God promised Abraham a son, and then Abraham waited. . .and waited. . and waited.  But Romans 4:18-22 says:

Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abraham’s faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb. Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous.

One of the most dramatic examples of the cost of not exercising patience was in 1 Samuel 13.  Saul and his army were preparing for battle and they wanted to offer a sacrifice to God so they would go to battle knowing God’s blessing was on them.  This is a very good choice, but the Prophet Samuel who alone was permitted by God to offer the sacrifice, told Saul to wait and he would be there in seven days.  The seven days came and went and with no sign of Samuel, Saul decided to offer the sacrifice on his own – a very bad choice. He willfully disobeyed God’s command because he lacked the patience and confidence in God that He would come through for Him.  Many of us have been given promises and commands by God, and when we begin to question if God is going to deliver on His promise, we take control of the situation and actually step out of God’s will. Choose to have the patience and faith of Abraham and don’t question God’s timing – don’t settle for good and miss God’s best.    

3. Don’t Let Pressure Guide Your Decisions

Pressure that can affect our ability to make the right choices can come both from within, and can also be imposed on us from external pressures.  A famous example of the latter in the Bible is in the lives of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.  These three young Jewish men had been taken captive by the Babylonians and found themselves servants to the King.  King Nebuchadnezzar erected a statue of gold 90 feet tall, and ordered all to fall down and worship it.  When these three young men refused, the king was outraged, and ordered them to worship his statue or be thrown into a fiery furnace.  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’s response is one we should store in our hearts for those times we’re tempted to bow.  Here’s what they said to the King:

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you.  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” —Daniel 3:16-18 NLT

This happened more than 2,600 years ago and we are still talking about these three young heroes of faith today.  Why – because they made some hard choices and refused to bow the knee to the enemy, even if it cost them their lives.  To make wise choices, you have to be prepared to make hard choices.  God worked a miracle for them because they chose to do it God’s way.

Clear away any unconfessed and ongoing sin in your life, choose like Abraham to be unwavering in your trust that “God is able to do whatever He promises,” and refuse to bow the knee to anything or anyone but God and His way for your life.