Every day we make choices based on what we believe.
We choose how to respond to others.
We may respond harshly or kindly to our children, our spouses, our friends and even that driver who cut us off last week.
We may think it’s good to respond kindly to others, but when it comes down to it, will we do so because we believe that other person as just as valuable and created by a loving God?
We choose to trust or to take.
We may trust for provision by actively waiting on God when we don’t know what else to do. Or, we take it upon ourselves to make things happen without forethought or care for possible outcomes. We take what we want.
We may agree it’s good to trust, but will we wait patiently when God says its not time yet because we believe that His plans are better than our own?
We choose how we view circumstances in our lives.
We may look at harsh realities in our life and tell ourselves there’s nothing we can do. Or, we can pursue hope & look for what lies beyond the things we see before us.
We may think that God has good for us, but will we look beyond our crummy circumstances and believe God is always working for our good & His glory?
We choose to stay stuck in a downward decline or move forward towards health & freedom.
We may realize that things are just not like we want them to be, and they haven’t been. What then? Will we do nothing or try something?
Will we seek God for guidance and take active steps of faith because we believe He invites us to walk with Him in freedom?
We choose to look at the things we can change, or focus on the things we cannot.
We may find ourselves stuck in life when it comes to relationships & pursuits because we’re focused on external factors out of our control, rather than the things we can change, like our own attitudes, thoughts & actions.
If we know God is in control, will we experience the rest and peace He offers because we believe it so deeply that our hearts can not be shaken?
We choose to be leaders of our lives or followers of the One leads & instructs us.
We may think we follow Christ, but in the day to day do we seek to hear His voice over the din of the noise around us? Because we know that He speaks and we can learn to listen? Will we lay down our impure motives and selfish desires to seek out the will of God over our own?
At the core of every decision we make is our beliefs.
The ones that lie deep within us, not just at the forefront of our minds. Not just what we think we know.
We think we’ll respond one way because we ascend to the knowledge of things we’ve learned. In reality, we react a different way because we haven’t experienced the intimate knowing of Christ deep in our hearts. We aren’t living from a place of truly believing.
How many times do we not even realize the deeper beliefs we hold onto? The ones which keep us from knowing the heart of God and experiencing his heart for us. Instead, we act out ungodly deeper beliefs when confronted with trials and testings.
When it comes to believing in a way that impacts lives for our good and God’s glory, we must allow our ungodly beliefs to be tested, tried and uprooted. Then replace them with His truths.
We make split-second decisions every day that impact our well-being the well-being of others around us. My prayer for each of us is that we would seek the Lord with an honest and open heart for revelation of beliefs which oppose God. That we would seek His truths and remind ourselves of them often.
I am confident that He will reveal these to us, if only we ask & listen.
With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sign against you. ~ Psalm 119:10-11
Join me for #31DaystoBelieve as we continue to pursue what we believe and how it impacts our lives.
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May we learn to #livewell.
Wow Jolene, these words, this message, the truth that ‘we choose’ are certainly resonating. “At the core of every decision we make is our beliefs.” Thankful to be here today! Blessed by your #31daystoBelieve!
Thank you so much, sweet friend.
It’s like you are speaking my heart. I seek and seek and still defeated.