I think one of the negative impacts of religion sold to Christians is the concept that God is in absolute control of our lives and He determines the events and outcomes of our lives. What this has done is raise a body of Christians who are praying, waiting, and hoping for God to do something on the outside. We are waiting for Him to step in and change the outcomes of our lives because we believe He’s the one in charge. This belief system is not consistent with God’s word. It has made us weak as believers, taking away from us the responsibility of our lives.
Popular sayings like – If it’s God’s will then it will happen, if it’s not His will then it won’t, stem from this belief system, because it takes the responsibility of the outcome out of my hands and places it in God’s hands. This belief system has worked hard to put a vagueness between the works of God and the work of the devil. so, when a certain unpleasant event happens, we are not sure if it is God or the devil because remember God is the one responsible right? It makes it so easy to blame God for the outcomes of our lives.
I must confess I was not very comfortable when the Holy Spirit started confronting this wrong belief system in me. Do you mean all these years I spent waiting for things to change, I had the power to make a decision that could change the outcome in my life? I had a burst of emotions from anger, to regret to many more. But is right, the bible says:
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; Deuteronomy 30:19
I have the power to choose, I can choose life! I can choose God’s will for my life, I can choose to go my way, I can choose to leave my life to chance, but ultimately the power lies with me. The same is true for you too.
God has given us the power to choose, the power to make a decision. A decision brings clarity and focus. A decision affects your actions, your words which ultimately affect the outcome of your life. I want you to think about some of the miracles of Jesus in the bible –
And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Mark 10:47
Jesus did not decide that Blind Bartimaeus should be healed on that day, blind Bartimaeus did. Once he heard Jesus was coming, he cried for help, he desired to see and made a decision to pursue that.
And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. 21 For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” Matt 9:20-21
It is interesting to see here that Jesus was not the one who initiated this deliverance. The woman did. She decided to go touch Him, believing she would be made whole and it was unto her according as she believed.
Each decision made gave permission to the power of God to find expression. Each decision made was matched with the corresponding action. There is victory on the other side of indecision.
It sometimes makes me uncomfortable when I think about this, I decide the outcome of my life? For me, it would be easier and it would feel much better If God was the one who made the decision not me. But I am responsible for my life and you are responsible for yours.
You may not be able to do anything about your yesterday but you can do something about today and tomorrow. You can choose joy, you can choose gratitude, you can choose to change your life. You can choose to believe God, you can choose to stand on God’s word until it is made manifest in your life. You can choose to LIFE.
What decisions do you need to make today?
