Whom Will I Choose?

    

     Joshua 24:15  "Choose this day whom you will serve... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."  This is a common verse to see in many Christian homes.  Yesterday morning as I washed dishes I read this from my daily calendar by Billy Graham.  He writes, 'God commands man to make choices, but only after providing him with sufficient information so that his choices will be informed ones.  The choices we make have the potential for affecting our lives for better or for worse.'
     As I considered his words, the verse hit me in a new way.  Sadness (and even frustration) from missing my family, friends, and church back in Minnesota is sometimes an overwhelming feeling.  Yesterday was a hard day for me.  When I read Billy Graham's words, God showed me something.  It is not just battling the other 'gods' in our lives in the way we usual think: money, power, etc...
     Today I will choose to serve the Lord and not self-pity.  Today I will choose to serve the Lord and not allow my circumstances to dictate who I am.  I am who I am because God the Father created me.  I will choose HIM to write my story and not myself.  Today I will choose to serve the Lord by loving on my children and my husband.  Today I will choose a heart of patience and grace and not the qualities that Satan would love to see.  Colossians 3:12 "...clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience... Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."
     I can not please both man and God.  If I choose to please man then I choose Satan, and a life of misery.  I choose to please God.  It can seem like a daunting task at times but with God all things are possible (Philippians 4:13) and I cling to that hope!  John 12:42-43 says, "Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God."
     "Thank you Lord for being a God full of mercy.  You created my inmost being.  Help me, Lord, not to waste this life you've given me.  Help me to choose you every day, every hour.  I know you don't need me to complete your work.  But I thank you that you delight in using your creation to fulfill your plans.  I am willing, but I can not do it on my own.  I need you."