I used to think of free will as a sort of choose-your-own adventure kind of thing. Remember those books? I always had the sense that maybe the stories would be stronger if the real author were to just choose the best ending for the protagonist, because surely they knew the best outcome and most “adventurous” route to get there.
When I applied that logic to my own life and relationship with God, a game of chess came to mind. If God knows all, including how this whole story ends, and will accomplish His ultimate will in the end, then do my choices really matter? Do I matter? (Incidentally, I don’t recommend pondering these things with the dawn, before that first wave of caffeine hits.)
Applying this flat, and admittedly, flawed logic to Scripture only weakens my relationship with God because there’s no relational aspect to it—and our God is very relational. That’s true today, and it was true when Moses and the Levitical priests were imploring with Israel to obey God and keep His commands. They laid out the blessing of choosing God and the utter destruction of choosing anything apart from Him (Deuteronomy 27–28).
Even in giving the provision of His law, He offered further provision: a way back to Him, should they choose wrongly and suffer the consequential curses of their choices. And should they “come to [their] senses” (Deuteronomy 30:1), returning to God and obeying Him “with all [their] heart and all [their] soul by doing everything” commanded of them, then He will “restore [their] fortunes” and His compassion will find them, no matter how far away they have strayed (vv.2–4).
Which begs the question: If one path resulted in complete blessing and the other utter destruction, what was the point of giving Israel the choice in the first place? Wouldn’t things be better if God just made them do what was right to avoid the curse altogether? In short: no, because that option is not consistent with who God is and who we are as His image bearers (Genesis 1:27). He is relational, and we are created to live in relationship with Him. We get to choose because things like real faith, love, devotion, and obedience cannot be forced; they must be freely given. He chooses us, and He wants us to choose Him back, to love Him in return.
So it was with Israel. The command to follow God’s law wasn’t “too difficult or beyond [their] reach” (Deuteronomy 30:11). They could choose life, not death, for themselves and future generations (vv.19–20). He later promises to give them, and us, a new heart that beats for Him, and His Spirit to help us choose Him over and over again (Ezekiel 36:26–27). He’s the path to righteousness and life (Romans 10:10). When we choose our loving God, that’s when the real adventure begins.
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49 thoughts on "Choose Life"
”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.“
Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV
I needed to be reminded as I struggle with obedience, that if I turn to Him, our loving God sent that Holy Spirit as my helper. I can’t obey understand my own strength but I can choose to love Him!
❤️
@Madison Choosing life doesn’t mean everything will be butterflies and rainbows it means that God is WITH you through it all. It doesn’t mean that if you choose the world only bad things (punishment/consequences) will happen – it means you will have that comforting friend to hold you when you have given up or the friend to cry tears of joy when you see your baby sucking his thumb inside you (@victoriae)- it’s the best friend you will ever have!!
I saw God’s love more in today’s Deuteronomy reading (than in the last few days, especially). He wanted the Israelites to love Him, follow Him and be blessed. We know Israel will later fall away and come back and fall away again and come back, etc., but God WANTS to bless them and hopes they choose wisely. I also want to choose wisely too… Help me to do that, Jesus!
Consequences and punishment… Rough! I had a preschooler in class today that struggled with that. We (as grownups) are wise to remember there is a difference too.
Victoria… I have boys too (now 25 & 27 and one with a March birthday!) An adventure awaits! Praising Him for that good appointment!
Wow I needed to read this today. Thank you God I hear you…
When we choose life with God, and when we choose to obey his commandments, we will receive miracles, and be given success from God. That’s why I always want to choose LIFE with God, instead of choosing my own way of life apart from Him
Thank you Mari! ❤️
Choose life. Choose God! So good
Moriah I will be praying for your cousin and family
Thank you Mari V!!
Today’s Ezekiel scripture reminded me that i dont have to do it all on my own. I often find myself being discouraged at my mistakes: I didnt worship enough today, I didnt pray enough…how is my heart going to change if I dont do these things enough?? But GOD! Gods says I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances.
On my ow i could never do it! But he Can! I just have to be willing
Victoria E your post just now, moved me to tears. A baby boy!. Boys are wonderful. Mine is 20 years old and he still hugs his mama. I’m so happy for you!
Aw….Cindy Hanna it’s a pleasure and an honor to be praying for you.
I choose God. There is no other way or better way. And I’m glad He waits for us patiently because he does not want to force himself on us. It’s our choice. And I choose God.
I have had many an adventure through God and Christ, some good and some not so good. Through these adventures I always knew the Lord was with me. I know all I have to do is call for Him and He’s there. If I truly need something God will provide it some way.
Be blessed sisters.
Madison, listen to the podcast for this week. I think it will help answer some of your doubts and questions. The weekly podcasts give a lot more explanation to our weekly readings. Everyone take time to listen to them sometime during each week. You will find the podcasts at the website shereadstruth.com in the menu.
Dictatorship leaves people no choice. But Love always gives a choice.
Jo Philipp, a Bible is on its way to you!
Blessings
Amazing comments here today. I loved the baby learning to walk analogy. As we prepare for our first child to be born in March by God’s grace sometimes I think about how much I love this child so much already and then I realize that Our Father loves us so much more than any earthly parent has ever loved their child. Growing up I used to be a little bit afraid of God, especially from OT readings like Deuteronomy, but now I am able to see the love that is there. I am even more grateful for Jesus who fulfilled every aspect of the law and gave us an easy yoke instead of the OT law which can never be fulfilled by any human. I just thank Him every day of this study , can you imagine trying to follow the hundreds of OT laws that exist??? Again thank you to those who have been praying for me and the baby, the ultrasound yesterday went well and we found out that the baby is a healthy boy who happened to be sucking his thumb when we saw him. Praise God for this miracle ( a lot of you know the journey my husband and I have been on to get to the point!) and thank you sisters for your fervent and effective prayers on our behalf.
Madison I hear your confusion on this matter. I believe in an earlier devotional the author wrote that the consequences of not choosing God were just that, consequences, like the consequences of any of our questionable actions here on earth- choosing junk over true life and love. It is not so much that God is punishing us though He does discipline us too for our good like any good parent would, but that the consequences of not choosing Him are naturally bad and lead to destruction. For example would we think someone who chooses to use drugs is being punished for their choice if they contract hepatitis and loose their job and family? I don’t think so, we would not be surprised at that natural consequence. Sorry so long I hope this makes some sense.
Sisters, I am asking for prayer for my cousin. Her school district recently took away pretty much all of the covid safety measures and is not requiring masks, contact tracing, or quarantining even though cases are rising. She is too young to get vaccinated so she and her parents are very worried about her safety. Please pray for her health and for them as they decide on their next steps. Thank you.
@Madison hopefully today’s reading helped out with that a bit. It’s just like a parent telling a kid not to play in the street. There are two options, but there’s only one choice that preserves life. The child has free will, but choosing to play in the street will ultimately result in death. The wages of sin are death, and God’s law and obedience to Him preserve our life. So often we think of the outcome of sin as punishment when in reality they are consequences. He, just like a good father, gives us the boundaries and rules to protect our bodies, hearts, and minds and to lead us down paths of righteousness that lead to blessings and joy and eventually, eternal life with him. On the other hand, the devil, our adversary, is out to destroy us. It’s up to use to choose. Thankfully, even when we stray the Father is there with open arms.
Melanie, that’s such a great reminder to lean on and trust in God. Hard to do when I want control and I need to remember his awesome love for us all. Praying for this tough time for you, that you’ll rest in his love and care for you!
Thank you God for chosing me!
Amen!!
So Thankful this morning for God’s promises, for His Word and for all He gives me through SRT and you my Sisters. I learn from you daily and it is so apparent the living word as you share your insights as there is so much to glean. It strikes me today as this past weekend I gave my grandaughter some choices for a treat, and she refused wanting what she wanted which was not one of the choices she was given. I am trying to give healthier options and really she wanted Skittles. I have no idea, ha ha being diabetic why she would want candy over a fruit slushy, go figure, but when I think of free will I think we really have two choices that which brings life, and that which brings death, to draw closer to God or away from Him. Thus the consequences of sin or the salvation and blessings of our God. Bit God, is compassionate, loving, kind, full of so much grace that He doesn’t withhold the Skittles, but let’s us choose the blessings, and finds us when we are stuck in our wrong choices, much worse than tooth decay, and as the Prodigal Father runs to us to wrap His love around us and bring us back to Himself. So many distractions to pull us away, my prayer is that I always choose to stay in the grace and extend it to others. Love you so Sisters. Angie, Absolutely Lovely, I had to copy. Kelly, thank you. ERB, such a blessing daily. Taylor, He’s holding you in His love. Blessed so by you all. Praying His peace like a river for you all my Sisters.
God finds me, chooses me, blesses me and wants me to be close to Him. I choose to love the Lord my God.
I am so thankful God is all about relationships. I have never really pondered that in the context of free will but I think it is a really good point.
So, I’ve been struggling lately with the concept of God’s free will for us and any time I am trying to understand how God might operate I put it in the concept of a parent telling their child something. To me it seems like God gave us free will to choose Him or to not but then went around and punished anyone who didn’t choose him. To me that looks like a parent giving their child 2 options and making it seem like its free will and their choice but then using coercion to get them to make the choice you want them to. I have been a Christian all my life and it still just doesn’t make sense to me.
Thank you God for this reading. I pray you help my heart become closer to you, and shed off the access of any other idols in my life ❤️
Amen!
KELLY what great reminders! As I baby step towards God my Father my attempts are cheered and my failures forgiven. AND a set of verses God knows I need regularly: “Come to Me all you who are weary and heavy laden…”
Too often I feel the weight of the choices before me. Will I go the right way? Am I doing it wrong? Have I done enough? Did I not think this through?
Exhausting!!!
Oh to trust in the Father’s heart! To trust Him as He says “come to Me” and “I will make a way back.” He desires my obedience but He’s still calling me even when my path veers away from Him. Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!! ❤️
I love the title of today’s reading CHOOSE LIFE!!!! It reminds me that every time we make a choice or have a thought, that we are either choosing LIFE or we are choosing death. It really is that simple. ….God wants SO much for us to choose LIFE, to choose HIM!!! Over and over again through scripture, stories and testimonies we can see Him calling, showing and telling us HOW to choose and follow Him. We just need to make the choice!! For me, this choice is made daily, sometimes hourly, and even minute by minute…I stumble quite frequently…but this reminds of David, and how God called him a man after His own heart!! God sees our hearts, not our mistakes. He lovingly and most faithfully guides us… we just have to be willing!!!
Here are the scriptures that stood out to me today:
Deuteronomy 30:6 …God is the one who circumcises our hearts. HE is the One who cuts away, sets apart, and helps us choose!!! I needed this reminder.
Deuteronomy 30:14 ..near and dear…
Deuteronomy 30:16-20 ..know God. Choose life!!!
Ezekiel 6:26-27 …new heart and new spirit within.. Amen!!!
Romans 10:9-10 …confess, believe, be saved ❤️
Feeling very grateful today and SO blessed to be a part of this community!!! Love each of you ladies dearly!! Xoxo
Thank you for all of your comments. I always look at them and learn from you and appreciate the fellowship with so many believing women.
Once again, I am humbled by the fact that God chose me. There are days that I feel most undeserving of God’s love, so unworthy. The fact is I don’t deserve it, none of us do. But God gives us freely what we don’t deserve – salvation through faith in Christ, forgiveness of sin through the blood of Jesus that was shed for us. Today I am also reminded of God’s love & compassion – He knew way before the time, that the Israelites would forget Him and worship other gods, and even still – He made a way for them when there was no way, He does the same for us and He will do it again, and again and again. Thank you God for choosing us and for loving us so much that You pursue us even when we’ve walked away from You!
After all the hard parts of Deuteronomy we are ending with beautiful visuals and beautiful promises!! Love the devotion today and the baby walking analogy. What a great future we all have with our God teaching us to walk in HIS was and ending up in heaven together!! Just beautiful.
Alllllll the way back in 1999 I went to a Big Tent Revival concert instead of going to the Prom. They played one of my then-favorite songs, “Choose Life” and the Holy Spirit would frequently call the words to mind whenever I was facing decisions. I remember one day, about 8 years later, reading this chapter in Deuteronomy and finding these verses that the song draws from. Yes, this is an old, 90s song that is dated, but I think y’all might find it fun to listen to this song that coordinates exactly with today’s reading! I think you’ll have to copy and paste it but it’s a great way to remember what we read today! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xlS8TpxHQw
Loved the Ezekiel passage about God giving us a heart of flesh. My heart has been feeling like stone lately. Thankful that God never gives up, that He pursues us, that He loves us even when we mess up!
Father God thank you for choosing me. Jesus thank you my Savior for making a way for me to have a relationship with my God and Father. Amen
Thanks Charlie for sharing that contrast! I really enjoyed in today’s reading verses 11-14… It’s so clear that God WANTS to be found and makes himself available to that end
Love the baby learning to walk image Kelly. :) I’ll carry that with me today, as I step forward, as I wobble…and as my Father stabilizes, and guides me…also for my students as I get to be the hands of Jesus is their day as they are learning.
As I read the scriptures today my heart was full.
“When all these things happen to you-the blessings and curses…and you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and all your soul by doing everything I am commanding you today, then he will…restore…have compassion…and gather you.” “The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants and you will love him with all your heart and all your soul so that you will live.” Later on, “This command that I give you today is certainly not too difficult or beyond your reach. It is not in Heaven, not across the sea,…the message is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may follow it…Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, love the Lord your God, obey him, and remain faithful to him…”
Then we go to Ezekiel where God’s promises, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you…you will be my people and I will be your God.”
Finally the Romans verses, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.”
The message of salvation. The promises of God. A choice for Life. A circumcised heart. A love, hope, faith, confidence that pours out of our mouths, hands, and life as His messengers in this present wilderness. Because one day, yes, one day soon, He will gather us together, we will go Home to our promised land. Today his Holy Spirit lives in us, we are not alone, but one day we will gather together, a multitude (sisters together – able to give each other real hugs) we will worship Him face to face. What a day that will be! And yet today, Jesus, guide my wobbly steps as I learn to walk this path you have for me. I love you Lord. Amen and Selah.
The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love him with all your heart and all your soul so that you will live. This is my prayer today. *really walking through a hard time in life. Trying to lean on God and to trust Him
I’m teaching ancient literature right now and we are, in fact, discussing free will vs. fate today in class. The gods, while relational, are fickle and manipulative in Greek literature. They are sulky, possessive, and vengeful. How different is the one true God, and what a relief the concept of a loving, steady God must have been to the ancients. While we should fear Him, we should not be afraid of him. We can trust him, trust that his way is the best way. Our God is faithful, loving, and kind, and he truly wants the best for us. What a difference, and what joy we have!
I’m teaching ancient literature right now and we are, in fact, discuss free will vs. fate today in class. The gods, while relational, are fickle and manipulative in Greek literature. They are sulky, possessive, and vengeful. How different is the one true God, and what a relief the concept of a loving, steady God must have been to the ancients. While we should fear Him, we should not be afraid of him. We can trust him, trust that his way is the best way. Our God is faithful, loving, and kind, and he truly wants the best for us. What a difference, and what joy we have!
What a wonderful realization, God loving us so much that He is constantly perusing us. We doubt ourselves, we don’t feel lovable, but in God’s eyes and mind, as our proud creator He does and yes each and everyone of us is. Oh thank you God what a great day it will be.
Fantastic reflection, Kara!
The image of a father helping a baby learning to walk came to mind. He is cheering the child to move toward him while the wobbly little one starts. Something catches the child’s eye and she looses her balance and tumbles to the ground. The father is right there to pick her up and she trys again.
Lord, help me to always walk toward You, choosing life and the adventure You have planned for me.
What Moses said here also reminds me of what Jesus said “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:29-30