Monday Morning Devotions- November 11, 2019

Handling Choice-Points

The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone for I always do what pleases Him.

                                                                                                John 8:29

     What's the best way to handle the choice-points that crop up in your daily life?  To answer that question first you must know what a choice-point is.  In seeking an answer to that I caution you not to enter "choice-points" on the internet.  That will result in your being bombarded with every choice-point deal from a multitude of hotels and some airlines as well.

Each one has its own special plan to generate revenue. 

            If you spend so many nights, or take so many trips, etc. etc. you get so many choice points.  After you have accumulated enough (usually a lot) of choice-points you get a free night's stay or a free flight, blah, blah, blah.  Now that's not all bad especially if you travel a lot.

            But those are not the kind of choice-points being addressed in this devotion.  Let Psychology Today tell you what we are talking about:

                        Choice-Point:" It is the act that moves us from purpose and meaning through deliberation into choice and action.  Right in the middle, between purpose and action is the Choice-Point. There is always a fraction of a second, or a minute or days and years, when we are poised at the edge of a decision.

            Let Sarah Young ("Jesus Calling) tell you about choice-points: "There will be many choice-points along your way today.  Most will be small decisions made quickly.  Some rule of thumb is needed to make good choices."

            Success Magazine says: "Everyone comes into the world with a hand of cards that was not of their own choosing---it is the hand they were dealt."

            Sometimes, if we are feeling down and having problems we might assume a poor-little-old-me posture and think we have been dealt a bad hand.  Robert Louis Stevenson wrote: "Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well." 

            Sometimes in a game of cards a wild card can make all the difference in the outcome.  It can turn a losing hand into a winning one by the way we choose to use it.  In life using the wild cards well when choice-point time is upon us can make all the difference.  The key to success consists of the choices we make and influences all the other cards we play. 

            In other words, life has continuous forks in the road.  As Yogi Berra once advised:  "When you come to a fork in the road take it."  Ahh yes.  But which fork. That is the key question.

            Here are five things that Success Magazine suggests will help with those tricky choice- points:

            1) Always start with the end in mind: We make decisions, and those decisions turn around and make us. So, when the time to make a choice-point arrives first go out in time, look ahead as best you can, and try to determine the outcome you desire.

            2) Make sure your choices are adding up. Next focus your energy on now and what it will take to get to that end point.  What path does it look like you need to start out on so the choice you make today will matter tomorrow and the next day and on down the road.

            3) Always be yourself.  No role-playing when making key choice-point decisions. Be honest with yourself and determine what really works for you.

            4) Simplify your choices.  We live in an option-rich environment.  Information is addictive but too many choices make it more difficult to make the right decision.

            5) It's never too late to make good choices. Don't let the past immobilize you.  The choices you make are the wild card you hold that is capable of changing the world within you.

www.success.com  (5 Reminders for Making the Right Choices in Life.  Mick Ukleja.

Oct 10, 2018)

            The key to making sure those choice-points you make are the right ones is to seek the Lord's way.  Sarah Young in "Jesus Calling" says; "His way is for you to strive to please Him in every decision not just the major ones."

            Proverbs 3:5-6 advises as follows:  Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths."

            The Quest Study Bible commentary on this verse asks the question: "Does trusting God mean ignoring our own common sense?"

            Answer: "God's wisdom is not at war with common sense. But often common sense alone isn't enough to give the needed direction for a particular decision.  That's why filling our minds with the perfect Word of God is so important.  By grounding our common sense in God's Word, we rely on Him, not ourselves."

            Psalm 18:30 As for God, His way is perfect.  The Word of the Lord is flawless.  He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him.

            When struggling with those choice-points entrust them to the Lord.

Prayer:  Lord help us make the wise choice to take each of those choice-points, big and small, to you for guidance.    Amen!