The Gift of Free Will

God has given us one of the greatest gifts. That gift is called “Free Will” and with this gift comes the “Power of Choice”.

This is a major component that most Christians miss. Not just Christians but anyone of faith. We tend to think that if we believe in God then EVERYTHING we go through in life is a product of what God wants to happen to us. Through the good or bad, if we have a success or failure, every trial and tribulation we are asking God “Why are YOU allowing this?”, or praising God in “Thank You”. Now don’t misinterpret what I am saying. God IS involved in ALL that we do but ONLY to the extent that we allow HIM to be. And one thing I have noticed is that God is NEVER at fault or to blame regarding ANYTHING that we may be facing or dealing with.

God is a gentleman and He is NOT a God of control. He gave us the gift of having a “Free Will”. He gave us this gift BELIEVING IN US to use this gift wisely and to make the right choices along with one of the best manuals to help steward this gift which is HIS WORD. He gave His ONLY Son to bear our sins, He gave us the Holy Spirit to help guide us, He gave us His Word to help instruct us and He gave us the opportunity and the HONOR to have relationship with Him and Seek Him and See/Hear Him respond. However, He gave us ALL of this and then gave US the POWER to CHOOSE if we want to partake in it.

We must start maturing within ourselves and begin to examine where we are at in the present moment. Everything you see around you is a product of what you CHOSE or are CHOOSING! Whether it is something good or something bad it is a product of your CHOICES! It seems so easy to place the blame on God or other people for our own failures. Whether it is a relationship, something with our career, an addiction, financial difficulty, bondage or whatever else one may be facing. It ALL came about through choices we made. And some of us KNOW better. Some of us KNEW or KNOW the Lord, have relationship with Him, were raised in the Faith, study the Word and yet we still CHOSE “Free Will” and did things our own way only down the line to now look at God asking Him how HE is going to get us out. So here we are again, facing choice.

Yes, God can deliver instantly and He does still work miracles but what are you going to choose when He does? When He delivers you and that which you were delivered from presents its self again are you going to choose to stay delivered? When He releases you from bondage and bondage comes back to bunk with you again are you going to choose to stay free? When He performs that miracle are you going to choose to do what is right after receiving that miracle? And lets be honest, sometimes CHOOSING Him and His way may not be popular at the time, it may not make sense to others, it may seem that you lose some material things or relationships but in the end CHOOSING Him and His way will be popular, it will make sense to others, and that which you lost WILL be restored. It may or may not be the same things or relationships being restored but what is restored will be that much BETTER.

We live today in a world where there are so many choices around us. Choices to make in belief; food; careers; housing; finances; investments; health; entertainment; and relationships to name a few. We also live in a world where change is rapid. Everything around us is constantly changing and sometimes we may have to make a choice in a matter of seconds. I believe that if we can remain balanced between our everyday lives and being in the Presence we will be more prepared to make those choices that need to be made in a matter of seconds. We will also become more confident with who we are and what we have been purposed to do which means when the opportunity to make a choice comes we will be less likely to make the wrong one.

I’m reminded of a time I went to the Lord to commune over some opportunities that had been presented to me. I remember being concerned and fearful of making a mistake. His response was, “Daughter, there is My PERFECT WILL for you but I can NOT going to push My perfect will on you. I gave you “Free Will”. I gave YOU the POWER to CHOOSE!” He then showed me in His Word regarding the good, the acceptable and the perfect will of God. Some settle for the good, some settle for the acceptable and others desire the perfect. I want the perfect will for my life. I want to be right where I am supposed to be when I am supposed to be there. He then began to give me insight on if I chose this or if I chose that what I would face, what I would have to do and where it would lead. He gave me what I needed but it was still MY CHOICE! I could either take heed to the instruction I was given or do my own thing. And I have found in doing my own thing it only prolongs and wastes time. So now I take heed to the instruction He gave, believe that I receive it, trust Him through the process and obey His instruction. Most people think God is like a genie, they think they can run to him ONLY when they are in trouble or need and He will continue to bail them out. He may do this when you first start your walk as your natural parents do but eventually even God will look upon us and tell us to GROW UP, to take responsibility for our own choices. What I also know is unlike people when He does do this He does it ALL in LOVE. How many times has God given us counsel and yet we still do our own thing and then when the moment is over we are looking back wondering why we didn’t listen to His counsel and then asking God to help get us out of our situation when we could have just received His counsel, BELIEVED His counsel and moved forward in it.

Now please understand. This walk, again, is about growth. We will always be going through some event to help build character and to help us grow. To help us grow IN Him and IN His Word. And yes, some situations are completely out of our control but even in those situations we have the power to choose. As I heard one individual say, “Don’t make a life long decision in a temporary situation”. How true that is. Something at the present moment may not be going right or may even “appear” to be right BUT seek God out before making any choices. He knows best where He is taking you and He knows best what choices being made now will get you to where He is taking you with fewer obstacles. I believe if we seek Him out and His Word before making our choices, especially major ones that can affect not just us but those connected to us down the road, then we can lessen the pain or hurt that we could experience.

Of course the best part about this is it is NEVER too late to choose Him or to make the decision to choose His way. Even if you are smack in the middle of a situation you can turn to Him, choose Him and His way and watch His power unfold. CHOOSE God and His Way and walk this thing out. People are counting on it!