You choose

There are things in your life you can't control, but it is your job, your duty, your gift, to change what you do have power over. That change comes with a simple choice.

Maybe life dealt you a hard blow. Perhaps things haven't been fair to you recently. When everything is going wrong and everything you love seems to be crumbling away, isn't it ok for you to complain? To be selfish? To cry and scream and sink into despair because of what has happened? Is it even possible to be happy and grateful despite what life throws in your face? In a world where we want control so much, it's frustrating to see people refuse to control simple things that they should be able to. Because I would say that yes, you do have a choice to be happy and grateful and humble no matter what happens. And yet, so many people insist that they simply can't help it if they are in a bad mood. We don't control everything, but what we can control we must. In the face of adversity, you don't have to be sad or selfish or a victim. You can have joy.

You choose your attitude

No matter who you are, I know there are people around you. Friends, enemies, teachers, coworkers, peers, students. We surround ourselves with different groups of people that influence us every day. And maybe you're a busy person, maybe you're not any good at stopping and having a real conversation, but have you ever considered your influence on others? Whether you know it or not, you are impacting people. Those people may be struggling, even more than you are. Those people might wish they could just get a smile or a kind word. Those people may need someone to remind them that they are loved. And despite how busy you are, despite how many of your problems you're occupied with, you can take time for others. You are in a place that you need to be in for a reason. Be you and change the people around you the way you are supposed to.

You choose your influence

You have people around you, but you want something more. A hand to hold, a person to be more than just friends with. It would just be nice if that person liked you back. Maybe it feels like you can't help but be sharp with everyone else because you're nursing a broken heart. No one understands how you're feeling and you just want to be let alone if they won't take the time to solve your problem. So you brush people aside, thinking you deserve to be terse with those around you. And yet...you won't find a solution in being harsh with those already in your life. Seeking after one particular person to the point that you brush others aside will only hurt you later. You can instead choose to be grateful for the people you do have and give your love to them. Despite how you may want to treat those around you, you don't have to push them away. 

You choose how you interact

You're stuck with your family. You didn't ask to be put in the house you are in with the parents and siblings that surround you constantly. You didn't get to choose where you were placed. And at times, they annoy you and anger you to the point that you just don't want to be around them. Maybe you're just ready to stop even trying to be nice to them, maybe you think it would be better if you retaliated. That's not what your reaction should be though. Love is harder than hate. Yet we are commanded to love. When your emotions seem to be getting the best of you, remember God's command to love. He hasn't given us an impossible mission either. It is within your power to react correctly. You cant control who your family is, but love or hate them, its up to you.

You choose your emotions

Ever find yourself wanting a break? Wishing the world would just stop throwing things at you? In those moments it feels like the only solution is to escape, to crawl back in bed and hide from the problems that bother you constantly. Ignoring the work you have to do is easier. Procrastinating is comfortable. But the ability to solve your problems is in your hands. You can act and address the challenges that are facing you. You rarely have power over your circumstances, but you always have power over the way you behave in them.

You choose your actions

Are you a perfectionist? Are your standards for yourself so high that you constantly find yourself "not enough"? Have you been chasing the worlds idea of beauty and fame? It's tempting, I know. We crave approval from people and search for praise. As humans, we simply want to be accepted and so we tend to seek after that whole heartedly, even when it's unhealthy. Doing that makes us slaves to the world, slaves to our own sin. There is good news though. We serve a Master who says we are enough. We are servants of a good and perfect King who loves us unconditionally. But we can't serve Him and the world. The world's ideas of perfection, fame, money, beauty, and success will call to us and try to draw us away from God. We can't stop that. We don't have power to make the world stop tempting us. There is a choice that we do have though. You can't serve two masters, so will you follow God or the world? Will you chase after the acceptance that you will never get enough of, or serve the Lord who already accepted you for who you are?

You choose your master

They hurt you. They let you down. Your trust and your heart are broken. You tell yourself that this is why you don't trust people, why you don't let them in, why you don't even show them any favor to begin with. Who cares if they apologized, forgiveness won't happen. How can it? How could anyone forgive someone that horrible? And moving on from it? Forget it. This hurt enough that you're sure you can never get passed it. Trust me, I understand that point of view. I know what it's like to hold on to injuries, to cling to my anger, and refuse forgiveness. I've felt the sting of a broken heart. I've suffered from my trust being broken. People have hurt me. But responding incorrectly only hurts worse. It may seem like you can't forgive, like this person doesn't deserve it. But you know what? We don't deserve it either. And yet forgiveness was freely given to us. None of our wrongs are counted against us because our sins are forgotten by God in light of Christ's sacrifice. So who are you to refuse forgiveness from someone who hurt you? If God, who is completely just and holy, forgave us, we can and must forgive. Your anger will only weigh you down and become a chain around your neck. It is for freedom that Christ set us free, so be free by returning evil with good and forgiving those who let you down. Yes, you were hurt, but yes, there is hope.

You choose your response

You have power over certain things, how will you choose to use it?