Encouragement for Today - October 25, 2011
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October 25, 2011
Choosing Well |
"A wise person chooses the right road..." Ecclesiastes 10:2a (NLT)
There are times when I do not choose well.
I watch things on TV that tarnish my heart. I behave in ways that erode my marriage. I spend money I do not have, say things I do not mean, leave things undone that need to be finished. I react in anger and it misrepresents Jesus.
I have holes: internal voids that limit and define me...and it shows.
If that were the end of my story, I would be in deep trouble. I would break things that couldn't be fixed. I would destroy things that couldn't be restored. I would damage relationships, beyond repair. I would live, unfulfilled and prideful, without my soul feeling settled. Left alone, sometimes my holes have produced such things.
But there is another element to my story, and it brings me great hope. Jesus...with the supernatural ability to fill even my broadest of gaps...draws me into Him, asking me to choose the thing that will make my soul well. It is an important choice to make, for every believer. It is one that results in wholeness.
The decision to choose what will make our soul well is not always easy. Sometimes it will require us to break from something we love that has become a toxic habit. Often it will ask us to give up our will for the will of the Father.
I love today's verse in Ecclesiastes that talks about this choice, "A wise person chooses the right road..." This verse shows us that even when things happen to us without our permission or by the choice of another, we still have a choice in what we will do next.
In my book, {w}hole, I share the story of my family being involved in a scandal that turned our lives upside down when I was in college. In the wake of our turmoil, I did not choose well...acting in ways that ultimately hurt me and others.
But at a certain point I decided I wanted to be different. I wanted to be better and allow God to change my course by committing to truth, even if it hurt. It was a choice I have never regretted, a choice that set me on the "right road" — a road that led to healing and wholeness.
Wholeness—soul wellness—does not come to those who are only halfway committed to it. It is for the person who is tired of living for themselves or as a victim to their experiences...the one who desires to find their true identity...the one with worldly success who still longs for more. Wholeness is available to the person who wants to no longer be defined or limited by anything and is willing to do whatever it takes to change.
Any sacrifice we must choose to make our soul well is always worth the price. Abundance of joy, richness of God's favor, stability of truth and completeness of fulfillment are ours when we decide we are no longer willing to live with holes but instead, desire to be whole.
When we offer our holes to Jesus, we give Him the opportunity to fill them up with Him.
And that, my friend, is always choosing well.
Dear Lord, I want to choose well. Help me not to stand in my own way of wholeness and healing. Where habits need to be broken, I ask that You give me the strength to break from them. Help me not to invest in things that erode my hear; instead, help me press into You and draw from Your deep well of wisdom, peace and love. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
{w}hole: An Honest Look at the Holes In Your Life and How to Let God Fill Them by Lisa Whittle
Behind Those Eyes: What's Really Going on Inside the Souls of Women by Lisa Whittle
Be among the first to read Lisa's new book, {w}hole! Visit Lisa at www.lisawhittle.com and leave a comment to win a free book, plus a personal phone call with Lisa!
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Application Steps:
How have you chosen well in your life (things that have brought you freedom, etc.)? When you have not chosen well, what has been the difference, and what can you learn?
Reflections:
What do I need to do to position myself to make better choices? Is there something I need to break from that prevents me from this choice for wholeness?
Power Verses:
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, "May God Himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together - spirit, soul, and body - and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If He said it, He'll do it!" (MSG)
Isaiah 56:4, "For this is what the Lord says: I will bless those...who choose to do what pleases me and commit their lives to me." (NLT)
Isaiah 9:6, "His names will be Amazing Counselor, Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of wholeness. His ruling authority will grow, and there'll be no limits to the wholeness he brings." (MSG)
© 2011 by Lisa Whittle. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
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Matthews, NC 28105
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