Sometimes choosing to think a certain way or choosing to say something that we don’t feel can be the difference between life and death. Yes, really, life and death. Some of our decisions are not life threatening or life changing but some of them are. When we are crippled by anxiety and weakness and we don’t think we can, or even want to, go on; when we make an active decision and choose life, as the Word of God instructed the Israelites to do in Deuteronomy, it can open the door to life and life-giving thoughts. It might be instantaneous, but it also might not be. It might just start the process.
This is another example of something that only works and is only helpful when we come to that place where we have truly placed our trust in God. As it so often is with many decisions, placing our trust in God is not a one-time decision. There will always be an opportunity to give up. There will be times when it looks like God is not there and we are desperately reaching out to what feels like thin air. That is a major part of learning to trust, a lesson in walking in faith. When things look bleak or impossible, we choose to trust.
When Jesus walked the earth as a man, it obviously took everything he could muster to trust God in the garden of Gethsemane. He was so terrified of what He was about to face that He sweat blood! But He chose to trust. At other times during His ministry on earth it was easy to trust God. His Father spoke so He could be heard by others although Jesus didn’t need Him to do that in order to hear him. At those times when it is the hardest to trust but we still choose to do so, that is when we walk in the steps of our saviour. Don’t give up. Giving up is never an option if we want victory in the end. Choose to trust and always choose life.
If you need to, get someone else who is full of faith to come along side you and support you when you do this. It is your choice alone but having someone there to support you and take your hand, helping you in your time of need is something we all need at some point in our lives.
This is where the local church can show its strength. It is a community where the ones who feel strong can support those who are struggling and we all take turns being the strong and the weak party at at different times.
