Will You Choose God?

It’s been a while since I last posted. Life has been really busy and my mind has been all over the place. As I was pondering some ideas for a new post, a note that I had written to a young lady many years ago, made its way back to me. I had written this note to her at a time when she was seeking God’s will about a relationship. I am blessed to have the trust of many women who have come to me over the years to share their hearts. There were many times that I did not provide the responses that they wanted to hear. But, I always endeavored to respond to them as I believed the Lord was directing.

As a mentor, you must always guard your heart against the subtle tendencies of control, especially when you see dangers ahead. No one wants to see someone they care about making a costly decision. But God has given us free will.

Although I knew the answers to her questions, a good mentor doesn’t make decisions for the mentee. S/he guides them to God to obtain the answers for themselves through their relationship with God. In my conversations with Dad about this young lady, I felt impressed to write a note to her. I love to write personal notes to people. They can read them during their quiet time and re-read them as many times as they like. I guess I got that from the Father, as I love to read his letters to us. They give us direction, encouragement, strength, and whatever else we need. We can open them up and read them anytime we want.

So, here’s the note that I wrote to the young lady.

“Wherever God is, there is peace. Wherever God is, there is joy. God’s love for you is not aggressive, loud, or boastful. It is gentle and peaceful. It doesn’t make you beg or wonder. You cannot fear losing it or being hurt by it. It settles in your heart with such blessed grace that you do not doubt what you are experiencing. If there is no peace, no joy, no grace, it is not God. Will you choose what is presenting itself or will you choose God?”

Although I wrote this note specifically to encourage her to choose God’s best, I think the question I posed has been relevant to me at various points in my relationship with the Father. I have often been faced with a “crisis of belief” (Blackaby, Blackaby, King, 21) or a situation where I could’ve either chosen to go with what presented itself or go with God. Either I believed that what God had for me was worth waiting for in faith or I could lean on my own understanding.

I believe it is at these junctures of life, that the Father wants to reveal himself relationally. John 14:21 reads, “The one who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me. And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father. I also will love him and will reveal myself to him.” The word “reveal” means; to cause to be visible, exhibit, make known, appear, be obvious, and communicate. When we are presented with a “crisis of belief” and we choose God, we are confident of the Father’s love for us and that he will show up for us.

Abba Father, You alone are all-knowing and you are always right. My desire is for the Holy Spirit to help me to cooperate fully with You and to yield to your leadership and lordship in all things, at all times.

Vladislav Babienko - Unsplash

Blackaby, Henry, Richard Blackaby, Claude King. (2007)Experiencing God.

Nashville, TN. Groups Ministry Publishing