It seems like everywhere you go today you get to make choices. We can get our burgers, “My way, right away,” we can get 1,063,953 fountain drink combinations at Sonic, and I hear there is even a secret menu of choices at Starbucks. America is a great country and choosing things for yourself is a great thing.

I love having choices. If I want a triple, grande, half caf, sugar-free, mocha, iced coffee with extra ice, then so be it! For $5.50, I can have my coffee however I want. I am in charge. I am in control. I am drinking a ridiculous, but tasty coffee. Life is good, right?

Now I don’t care how you take your coffee unless I’m fixing it for you. I think you should order it the way you like it. When it is a simple thing of personal preference like coffee, you go ahead and order however you like it best. But I wonder sometimes if our human desire to make choices has gotten a little out of control? I feel like it has seeped into our culture to an unhealthy level. It isn’t just about coffee anymore y’all, and that is scary. As humans, we like to be in control and have independence, I am no different, but I think we need to remember that we are not the ultimate authority. That power rests solely with God. As Christians, we can make any choice we want but it is our responsibility to vet each choice using a supernatural lens. Is my personal choice glorifying to God? Is my choice going to be a stumbling block to my brothers and sisters? Will my choice showcase Jesus to lost people or will it damage my witness before them?

These sound like easy questions, but they represent a hard way of life. Choosing to put away selfish desires is the opposite of our human nature. In fact, we can’t do it…not apart from the power of the Holy Spirit. But God is so gracious to us. He sent His son, Jesus, to die for our sins, so that all who love Him and ask Jesus to forgive their sins and to be Lord of their life can be save. When you ask Jesus to be Lord of your life, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of you. Now you have the living God helping you when you make choices. Now listen, making choices God’s way will not become a natural thing overnight, but if we spend time reading the Bible, praying, and learning to listen to the Holy Spirit within us, we can align our choices with what God wants for us.

Of course, I still struggle with this concept, and I know I fail as much as I get it right, but I want to live within the will of God. I want to make choices that please our Heavenly Father, don’t you? Choosing to live life God’s way won’t always be popular, easy, or even allow us to make the choices that we ourselves want in the moment, but I promise that if you make earthly choices by obeying Godly wisdom, your choices will be good, and pleasing to your Heavenly Father. Philippians 2:13 says “For it is God who is working in you, enabling you to both desire and to work out His good purpose.” Isn’t that what we all desire? So today, instead of “My way, right away,” let’s live life “God’s way, right away.”