Becoming Part 4: The Role of Our Personal Choices…Get Out of Bed!
Psalm
40:8 – “I delight to do Your
will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.”
Oh,
that every choice we made showed evidence of this verse within our hearts! If you are anything like me, this verse may
not be indicator of every personal choice we make from day to day. Some days, my heart is completely (or almost
completely) in tune with the Lord, and I really do delight to do His will. Those
are the days that I am not angry when the alarm clock sounds because I desire
to be in the Word in the early morning hours. Those are the days that my heart
is inclined to pray for my husband if my feelings are hurt rather than “give
him what he deserves”….(as if that is my place
or my judgment call anyways!) Then, there are other days where the last thing I
want to do is His will. I want to do my “own thing”. I want to be lazy and
sleep a few extra minutes instead of spend time in God’s Word. I want to say
that cutting, critical remark to my husband instead of holding my tongue and
responding with grace. I want to waste time watching movies and viewing Facebook instead of cherishing time with my family and the Lord. The choices I make each day – whether in pursuit or
neglect of my relationship with the Lord – affect who I am and shape who I am
becoming. If I desire to be a mighty
woman of God but fail to make small choices every day to become that woman
(i.e. sleeping past my quiet time instead of making the small sacrifice to get
out of my warm bed), then I am in effect making the choice NOT to become that
woman instead. Rather, I am making choices to become more self-centered, even
though I wouldn’t come right out and say that. In the moment, those extra few
minutes in my warm bed seem extremely appealing, but in the right perspective
of my life with the Lord, what is more important? What do my everyday choices
show about what is important to me? What do my everyday choices show about who
I want to become?
When
I was considering a good Biblical example that illustrates this point, my
immediate thoughts were of Noah. I have always loved reading the story of Noah.
There are only a few short chapters in Genesis devoted to this narrative, and
in the grand scheme of the Bible, his story doesn’t receive very much
spotlight, but there are some key words about his life that speak volumes.
Imagine yourself in Noah’s shoes. Lets examine some key verses and consider how
they apply in our day.
Genesis
6:5 – “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually.”
This sad reality was the world in
which Noah lived. EVERY intention of the thoughts of the heart of men was only
evil all the time! Noah could have very easily succumbed to the pressures of
ungodly living. He would have looked like everyone else, which sometimes seems
a lot easier than standing out. Genesis 6:6 goes on to say that God regretted
that He had made man because of the evil they were committing. This verse could
be applicable to a lot of the evil intentions of man that are carried out
today. In our world, we are faced with a multitude of personal choices – we can choose worldliness or godliness.
Let’s look at how God saw Noah
(despite the fact that He regretted creating mankind because of its wickedness).
Genesis 6:8 – “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”
Why? Because…
Genesis 6:9 – “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah
walked with God.”
Noah walked every day with the Lord
– every small step –
every seemingly unimportant personal choice. Because of Noah’s consistent
faithfulness to God, He entrusted Noah with a massive task: building an ark to
save his family and the animals. Noah’s task could have seemed impossible. He
was 500 years old when he started his building endeavors! The earth had never
seen rains before so it took a lot of faith for Noah to even believe that an
ark would be necessary. He could have experienced ridicule from those who
thought his endeavors were ridiculous. But, how did Noah respond to this task?
Genesis 6:22 – “Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.”
Genesis 7:5 – “And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.”
Genesis 7:16 – “And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in
as God had commanded him.”
Noah was obedient every time, even
when the task seemed crazy or impossible!
What if these few verses were described
your life?
“She found favor in the eyes of the
Lord, despite the great wickedness all around her.”
“She was a righteous woman,
blameless in her generation. She walked with God.”
“She did all that the Lord
commanded her.”
Wow! Every small choice matters!
Who do you want to be? Who do you want to become? What are you doing in pursuit
of those desires? Are you actively pursuing become a woman devoted to the Lord
or is it a passive, distant “warm fuzzy idea” that you never actually pursue?
Ultimately, God is the author and finisher of our faith and is in control of
all things, BUT we still play an active role! What small choice can you start
making today in order to become a woman who is more devoted to God?
APPLICATION:
Read over Genesis 6-8, the full
story of Noah’s obedience and blessing.
Make a small goal to pursue in your
relationship with the Lord.
Make prayer a priority in your
pursuit of God. Pray to be a woman who fears the Lord, trusts the Lord, and
obeys Him no matter the cost!
Stay tuned for Part 5: The
Conclusion to “Becoming”!
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