“Thousands upon thousands are waiting in the valley of decision. There the day of the Lord will soon arrive. The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine. The Lord’s voice will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth will shake. But the Lord will be a refuge for His people, a strong fortress for the people of Israel.” (Joel 3:14-17 NLT)
Have you ever made a decision you regretted? Yeh, me too. We all have, but why? Might we make better, more informed decisions if we made them in light of eternity? So many of our decisions are made as if there would be no end to our day, month, our life, the end of time. We make decisions as though time were not an issue when it seriously is and always will be as long as we’re in these bodies of clay.
Our decisions, even thoughtless, seeming “spur of the moment” considerations can have lasting impact on our life. I’m reminded of the story I watched where a person decided to take one cab rather than wait for another cab. The scenarios played out and had extremely different outcomes. Granted, life is not always that dramatic, but it reminded me of scenarios in my own life where I’m left to wonder what might have happened had a made a different choice.
Craig Groeschel reminds us: “Your decisions today, both big and small, determine the direction your life will take tomorrow.” “What if?” becomes the recurring theme of our wasted lives, especially if we forget there’s a God who loves us and has called us to become His own. Most people in the world today never pause to consider at the beginning of their day: “What if I die today?” Or “What if Jesus returns today?”
Do we not realize that either of those scenarios is possible, yet it’s as if we don’t really believe it, or worse, we don’t care. One day we’ll awaken to our last sunrise, but none of us know what day that will be unless we’re on death row and our day has been decided. But here’s the truth – we’re ALL on death row, but only the Lord knows the day of our death.
The Lord spoke to the Prophet Ezekiel in chapter 33:10 instructing him: “Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?” How much more attentive should we be as we stand at the precipice of the Lord’s return? How much more concerned should we be about the way we live, think, move, and have our being?
Do we dare live as though our decisions don’t matter? That the sin we commit has no consequence? That our unkindnesses and thoughtlessness go without God’s holy notice? Who do we think we are, saved or unsaved, to believe we can live as we please? Decisions have consequences for good or evil. We never make neutral decisions because they always take us in one of at least two directions: They move us closer to the Lord or further away!
In which direction are your decisions moving you today? If you know Jesus, then live like it! Think like it! Pray like you really know Him and are expecting Him to move powerfully on your behalf and on behalf of those for whom you are praying. But if you don’t know Jesus, if you’re not certain that when your eyes close in death they will open in the Savior’s presence, then please don’t delay, tap ANewStory.com and allow Ron Hutchcraft to walk you through a clear and helpful illustration of how you can give your life to Jesus today while you still have opportunity. It will literally be the best decision you’ve ever made in your life.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
