Choices are one thing we all have in common. We make choices every day in order to live. Choices are one of the greatest gifts God has given us. Choices like, do we want ice cream or brownies for dessert, who we get to marry, where we live and work, but especially the choice to accept the love and sacrifice that Jesus offers us. God loved us enough that He created us and then gave us the gift of choice. God desired a relationship with each of us. A relationship means that each chooses the other. Accepting Christ as Savior is one choice; it is another choice to live out our daily lives with Him. The choice to love Jesus is a gift. Choosing to live a life that grows daily into a deeper relationship with Christ is a level of living that He wants so desperately for us to begin. The choice to choose God with our every decision is sometimes made daily. At desperate times, chosen one minute and one breath at a time. When we grow and deepen our relationship with God, we build our own history with Him. When we choose to love, obey, forgive, sacrifice, trust, and surrender control, we begin to see His faithfulness in every detail of our lives.
Life is full of events. There are many joys and many sorrows that you will experience throughout your life. Have you ever felt like you were on your very own roller coaster of life? There are ups and downs and curves that you aren’t prepared for. There are times when you want to get off and times when you want to stay on and ride again. Riding alone on a roller coaster can be quite scary. Fear is often amplified when we are alone, but so is the thrill when we are able to share it. The experience can be totally different depending on whom you’re with. Your story is something you share with others when you return. If you have to ride alone, then you could miss the connection with others as they share their experiences. You might have been on the same ride and the circumstances could be the same, but the feelings you experienced might be different from the others. You felt alone in your journey.
We often feel alone in life, but the reality is there is someone in the seat in front of you, who took this ride just a little ahead of you. You can choose to share your seat with someone who can support you and guide you along the way.
This is what the Bible is all about. It’s the story that was written about people just like you and me. They may have lived in an earlier time, but experienced the same feelings, actions, and decisions as we do today. Satan tries to convince us that we are alone in this world and that no one knows what we are going through. Just like on the roller coaster, Satan blinds us to those who are in the seat in front of us. When we open our eyes in the sharp curves and look ahead, we realize there are people on this ride with us. God chose to give us a book full of other peoples’ stories so their lives could guide us and encourage us to stay on course. He wants us to know we are not alone and that He is the reason so many people of yesterday made decisions freeing them, and the generations to come. The Bible is full of people who made some very hard choices to go with God on this roller coaster called life. Our choices become the crossroads between yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
This is the introduction to Tecia Janes’ Bible study, Choices. If you are interested in this study, it’s available on Amazon and you can order it by clinking the link below!
