Now Choose Life!

“Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so you will have to ask, ‘Who will ascend…to get it or proclaim it..?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it..?’ No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction…But if your heart turns away…and if you are drawn to bow down to other gods and worship them…you will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life…” Deut. 30:11-20.

I would give anything to be one of those people sitting along the hillside as Moses beautifully spoke this message. This is one of the final speeches in the life of Moses right before he died. He and the Israelites had been through so much together and had learned first-hand about the character and faithfulness of the great I AM. Moses had been the mouthpiece of God and had served as one of the most faithful servants throughout time. But goodbyes are always difficult and Moses knew this one would be no different. He was burdened to make sure that his audience knew that the time had come for their blessings and fulfilled promises. They found themselves on the border of their promised land. Would they recognize what would be the manner in which God would fulfill their wildest dreams? Or would they bow down to fear and worship their own agenda? Would they look at the horizon and fail to act because of their own inability to see the plan and trust the process?

God assigns us our own borders between life and death, blessings and curses. We look to others or to circumstances to find solutions in our trials when really everything we need we possess through Christ. Christ dwells within us and beckons us through the Holy Spirit to choose a life of hope and faith instead of a life of anxiety and joyless living. We always think that joyful living is out there ‘in the heavens and across the sea.’ We chase this illusive ghost which constantly slips through our fingers like a vapor. We must turn our hearts back to Jesus and embrace His assignment in life. We must choose spiritual life instead of spiritual death to receive His blessings in both this life and the eternal life.

In every situation that I face, I must ask myself ‘Am I choosing life or am I choosing death? Will I receive the spiritual blessings of peace and hope or the earthly curses of fear and unbelief? Oh Father, help our unbelief! In You, we have chosen life for our eternal security now help us choose life for our earthly existence. In Your name, Amen.'