Ever get the feeling that something you read was meant exactly for you? I sure do.
This morning’s scripture reading is a perfect example. It was the passage in Psalm 32:9 where it says, “Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.”
Sometimes I feel like the horse or more appropriately, the mule.
Free will gets me in trouble more often than not. I want to go MY own way and forget about trying to be who God wants me to be.
My selfish desires run rampant and I get lost on a path that was not meant for me. YIKES!
Now, I’m not going to pretend that I understand why God made us the way He did, but I do know that He wants each and every one of us to choose HIM.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live. Deuteronomy 30:19
Sadly, for me it depends on the day whether or not I choose life.
Hindsight is 20/20, but I’m pretty sure I honestly choose the wrong path sometimes because…well, I just want to. ARGH.
I’m forever grateful that God believes in second chances and hopefully a gazillion chances for people like me.
I would be a great and obedient horse or mule if I was led around by a bit and a bridle, but instead I’m wild as a buck when left to my own devices. However, the more I disobey, the less content I become. And it’s only when I’m at my wits end that I surrender to my Heavenly Father.
What I fail to realize on a regular basis is that God wants me (and you) to enjoy life, live freely and be blessed. WE are the problems, not Him.
He is a God of love and it’s because of His love that we aren’t already just a memory.
His love teaches us to be selfless, patient, wise, and generous. My humanness absolutely resists these characteristics because it’s not about ME. Sigh.
This will be a continual struggle for the rest of my life. The good news is that Jesus Christ has already won the battle FOR ME…and YOU!
Hallelujah!
So, God has left the choice up to us. He wants us to choose Him, but loves us enough to allow us to deny His presence. I pray for your sake and mine that we will wise up and follow Him wholeheartedly because we really aren’t truly living until we do!
Some Wisdom for Today: Proverbs 14:12 – There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
To err is human. That is why we must do as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:31. To paraphrase, we must die to our own desires daily. Forget the failures of yesterday and decide each and every day that we are going to die to ourselves and live for Him. Jesus says in Luke 9:23, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me”. Again, the use of the word Daily. Jesus knew how unreliable we were and how easy we throw in the towel when we fail. Yes, we are going to fail, but we just have to decide every morning that yesterday is gone, repent, and die to ourselves today. That is not easy, especially when something gets you on the wrong path first thing in the morning.
Thanks for the encouragement.