Yes I do! And I have chosen to follow Jesus!
Have you ever had this comment thrown at you? Or….perhaps, even made the comment yourself?
When I mentioned to an someone that we leave family planning and spacing to the Lord, I was told that I had a choice. A friend was recently told the same thing about her larger than average family.
Ahhh!!!! Why do people say that? To justify their own choices, perhaps? Or to imply that there is no need to follow in blind faith? That God gave us brains to think things through?
Yes, we do have a choice. And God did give us brains to think. But what are we basing our choices on? God’s Word or man’s “wisdom”? The Bible tells us twice “There is a way that seems right to a man but in the end leads to death.” Proverbs 14:12 and Proverbs 16:25
And “…the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom” 1 Corinthians 2:25
What do all these mean? Just this – we CAN trust God. He alone knows what’s best for us. But what’s best cannot be had if we fight Him tooth & nail.
Just think about it – maybe He wants you to be blessed with 4 children but you if you refuse to even consider having one, then the blessings He wants to bless you through the children will be forfeited.
As a friend once said – we can plan and think with our God-given brains so well, that we plan God right out of the picture!
When we trust God, we get onto a wonderfully exciting and scary ride. BUT we also come out of it drawing closer to Him. Isn’t that wonderful?
Yes, we do have a choice. We do not follow blindly. Our faith is not blind. It is based on the Word of God. It is based on the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and not by our feelings.
Remember, “The heart is deceitful above all things” Jeremiah 17:9.
And yet, it is not easy. Every time we feel fear, doubt and even weariness, we need to turn to God’s Word and ask ourselves – what does God say about that?
In this case, His Word says children are a blessing. “Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them” Psalm 127:5. Blessed is the man, not cursed, not burdened, not stressed.
BUT if we feel that way, then we need to ask ourselves – where have we gone off track? Is it because we are doing too much or perhaps everything on our own strength? Then no wonder we are stressed and burned out. We need to go back to Him and ask Him for wisdom.
Then only can His Word be true for us. And then only can we truly experience the joy of the Lord.
We have chosen to walk His way and trust in Him. What about you?