Making the Right Choices

Philippians 4:6 (The Message)

 ^6-7Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

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Making the Right Choices

Life is a series of choices. It’s difficult to make wise decisions when you’re hurting, angry, confused, unforgiving, or bitter. But you can. How you respond to disappointments can destroy your life or strengthen you spiritually.

Too many people leave God out of their tragedy. Maybe they don’t believe in Him or understand His ways. Instead of turning to Him in their need, they look for a human solution.

They might ask, Why would God do such a thing? Is He really in control? There’s nothing wrong with these questions, but if your answer is that He has turn away and left you to fend for yourself, then you are looking in the wrong direction. This kind of thinking leads only to anger and guilt. In some cases, people are searching for a way to blame God or someone else for their misfortune. But this never brings healing.

What right choices should you make in tragedy? You can choose to believe that God is sovereign over all. Job was selected to become am example pf righteousness, through whom the Lord would display His faithfulness (Job 1:6-22). Doesn’t He have the right to do that in your life? Choose to believe that because God is in control, He will comfort and assure you (Job 42:2). Trust Him in your hardship, though you may not understand it (Isaiah 55:8-9), and believe that He will bring something valuable out of the heartache.

God can produce good from even the worst circumstances. Instead of dwelling on what you have lost, focus on blessings for which you are grateful. Don’t waste your pain and sorrow. Rather, learn something to better yourself and also help others. Meditate on Scripture rather than feed on the pity others have for you. The best person to turn to in tragedy is not your neighbor or even a close friend – it’s only the Lord.

God doesn’t deny our pain; He wants us to turn to Him for healing (Romans 8:31, 35, 38). When we trust the Lord and walk in the center of His will, we will be blessed (Job 42:10, 17). If you make the right choices in the midst of painful situation, your heavenly Father will see you through.

(By Dr  Charles Stanley)