If you could travel in a “time machine” through the “years of your life”, would you go forward or backward? You know the past... so let’s say you would fast-forward 20, 30 or even 40 years into the future of your life... what would you see?
Imagine if you could do that... looking forward over the choices you will yet make, and feeling a deep sense of joy and satisfaction about what you have done with the time God has given you. Wouldn’t it be grand if we could actually do that!
We can’t and that makes “now”, our present, the most important time in our lives. The choices we make today, tomorrow and everyday of our lives going forward... will produce something in the future.
Who wouldn’t like to turn back the clock and retrieve a bad choice, a hasty decision or try that “thing” again, only differently. Our “freedom of choice” possesses incredible power and consequences... good and bad, sometimes both.
How can a Christian minimize the negative consequences of personal choices and decisions that can have such dramatic impact on life? First, you must be engaged in a deeply intimate relationship with God, constantly in prayer about every aspect of your life. You must be patient and learn to wait on God, living your life on His schedule as much as possible. You need to “reflect” on the possible outcomes of your desired choices and planned decisions. Reflective thinking... “if I do this now... what might the this choice yield in my future?” That’s a question most of us don’t stop to contemplate, in consort with God through prayer and patience... we simply make decisions and go, hoping for the best.
Here are some "reflective thinking" principles in the form of questions that you can use now to help you live a life that will culminate in experiencing a sense of joy, not regret, about what you have done and will yet do with your life.
Are you able to ask God to bless your choice? Would your decision be something that you can take before God with a good conscience and ask Him to bless? Or is it something that you know the Lord would not be enthused about you getting involved in? “The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it” (Proverbs 10:22).
Could you thank Him for it? Would your decision be something that you can openly express gratefulness and thankfulness to God? Or would it be something which would seem inappropriate to thank Him for? Is your decision selfish and self-centered or is what you decided to do... “other directed?” “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Col. 3:17).
Would it be a stumbling block to others? How would your decision affect the lives of your brothers and sisters in Christ? Even if you don’t feel it’s wrong, could it offend or harm the sensitive faith of those who don’t share your perspectives? “...beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak” (1 Cor. 8:9).
Would it be a weight or hindrance to you? Would your decision be something that would drag down your Christian life or influence you toward disobedience? “...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).
Would it edify you? Would your decision or actions bring you closer to God or pull you farther away? Will it edify (build you up) in the Lord, or will it weaken your confidence of the Lord’s strength in your life? “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify” (1 Cor. 10:23).
Would it promote love? Would your decision or actions express love and harmony, or would it reflect retribution, divisiveness, jealousy or injury to your brother? “Owe no one anything except to love one another... Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rom. 13:8, 10).
Have you prayer earnestly to the Lord about it? The Lord promises to give leadership and direction to the lives of His followers. Consult Him in prayer. Remember, God will never speak something to our heart that contradicts his written Word and Commandments. “In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths” (Prov. 3:6). “There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel; that will stand” (Prov. 19:21).
Have you sought Godly counsel or advice? Ask the advice of those who live Godly lives and have a track record of experience and wise decision making. Avoid the counsel of those whose Christian life is questionable or who have experienced repeated failure in making sound decisions. “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety” (Prov. 11:14). “Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly...” (Psa. 1:1).
We don’t get an unlimited amount of time in this life and we don’t get rewinds. We need to make the very best of the time we have... going forward. We can do that by being more reflective about the choices and decisions we make.
Life picks up speed. The first half of life is about getting prepared and getting established. Then time shifts gears. You hit the second half of life, and everything moves faster and faster. Days, weeks and months fly by at warp speed and all of a sudden, you're 59, or 65 or 76 years old. Looking back, you realize that “time” has been the most precious currency in your life.
The hurry-go-go world is against us. Taking time to reflect and think about our life and what we are doing is counter-cultural. We are conditioned by everything around us, that we don’t have time to wait... especially on God for assistance in making choices. We may ask Him in prayer... but we charge ahead without waiting to hear His thoughts on our desires.
Take the time now to understand what really gives you fulfillment. Ultimately, what will give you the deepest fulfillment is becoming the person God created you to be and doing the things He designed you to do. Discovering and living this calling takes time, courage, resourcefulness and the willingness to confront new and unfamiliar challenges.
Design frequent "time-outs" into your patterns of living. Use this time to think about why you are doing what you are doing, or why you want to do the thing you are contemplating. Involve God in your periodic analyses... through prayer. This is essential if you want to appreciate the things that God wants you to do with your life. Taking time regularly to assess what you are doing and where you are headed can help you avoid problems in your marriage, family and career.
Our decisions and choices make all the difference in how well we run the “race God has set before us.” Our choices and decisions about what we do in life bring us closer to God, or drive us further from Him. What you do today, everyday of your life, determines your tomorrow. Let God be part of your everyday life, involve Him in every decision and choice. then you can be confident that you will one day hear those longed-for words, "Well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your Master." What more could any Christian desire than to know that you finished the race God set out for you to run... that you finished the work He called you to do... and that you did it well.
When was the last time you took an extended "time out" to reflect on what you are doing, where you are going, why you are doing what you are doing. Life in step with the Lord is a single journey, Don't waste the time you have.
