CHOOSE

My hubby has this sign up on our ceiling above our bed. It says "CHOOSE". I believe God has been teaching us for a long time what that means. And it's only been in the last while that I wake up to see the sign and actually understand what it means to walk in choice.
Last year, something incredible happened to my hubby and I. We had gone Christmas shopping all day, dropped hundreds of dollars, and at the end of the night, we stopped off at my parents house to pick up some things before heading home. When we got back into our car, we realized someone had been in it. Our cd's and our faceplate had been stolen. My hubby reluctently popped the trunk, where the hundreds of dollars worth of presents were tucked away. We looked inside to trunk to find that they were gone. As we drove away in utter shock and dismay, a complete divine thought came to me. The Holy Spirit ministered to me in a supernaturel way. He said, you have a choice, right now. I looked over at my husband, and voiced those words to him. We sat in silence for a while, and in unity, decided to choose faith.
Now, had it not been for God's abounding grace, there is no way that I could've walked that out, and even now, there are still more times than not, that I fall and give in to fear and doubt. But God has used this story for us to fall back on, to be encouraged by what comes out of following in faith and obedience. I trust that what happened to us last year was not about us. It spoke to all of our non-christian family, the faithfulness of God. It was a testimony of trust, a testimony that would not have been seen to the same degree had that not happened to us. It was also something that was used to build up the body, and to encourage our brothers and sisters that God is faithful, and that His body is amazing. The next day, an annonymous brother gave us a card that held money inside. We didn't need to ask who it came from, because we knew it was from God.
God got the glory in that situation. Unfortunately I don't give Him the glory in all situations, but I want to walk in that direction. The enemy always tries to tell me that I don't have a choice. That what's happening around me is out of my control, so I might as well complain and pout, or at bare minimum, entertain thoughts of self pity. Just the other day, another jab was made at me in my personal battle ground. I reacted out of anger and frustration. I went right back to my old ways of thinking, and fell right into the enemy's trap. Luckily my husband was able to recognize my sin, and was bold enough to point it out. "Snap out of it! Get up! You're healed! You're new!" (*revised with my own words, my hubby is a little more gentle) I'm so glad the Holy Spirit corrected me, as much as it was annoying, it was relieving. I do not want to go back down that road. I walked that road for so long, and it sucked the life right out of me. I used so much energy and strength on being mad, that I had nothing left for God, and in turn, He had nothing for me. I have a choice, everyday, every moment. I will make wrong choices, but I will get back up, and carry on with endurance to run this race we call life.
What I have learned through the awful thing that happened last year, is that the cross roads is now, not later. I always want to give into my flesh, just for a little bit, before I choose to walk in faith. Let me say, if that's the way we choose to walk, we are not choosing faith. To choose faith means you will not give in, you will not bow down, you turn your eyes up, now. This fallen world wants us to believe that we have rights. We have the right to give in to our sinful nature, and harbor thoughts of resentment and anger, we have the right to act out of immaturity for a short time, because of what has happened to us. I thought I had these rights, until I realized how much my thoughts conflicted with what the word says. Jesus says quite the opposite to us, and He requires us to pick up our cross no matter what the cost. He died to me, He shed His blood for my sins. He requires alot more of me than I'd like to admit sometimes. But the amazing thing is, is that I do not have to rely on my sinful self to walk it out. All I have to do is choose Him, and He does the rest.