Daily Devo
It's Your Choice
By: Lisa Boisvert
Thursday, October 31, 2024
But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15
It isn't likely that anyone still worships the ancient gods from pagan culture, but many people are still being deceived by the false gods of our modern world. The modern false gods I'm referring to are wealth, power, selfishness, and the gods from false religions. Most of us haven't actually bowed down or worshipped a false god, but at times we may been overly focused on ourselves, our riches, or the world. Modern Christians must make the same choice ancient Israel faced and answer the very same question Joshua asked... Will we serve the Lord, or will we serve the "gods" of our world? Will we accept God's wisdom, or will we pursue the foolish ideas of the world?
As Floridians, each year we must prepare for hurricane season. When a storm approaches, we purchase extra food and water and make sure our flashlights have batteries. Why? Because we know we might be without electricity and fresh water for days. If a Hurricane is predicted to hit our area, we want to know what category will it be, a Cat 1 or a Cat 5? This information helps us decide to either evacuate or board up and hunker down.
Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment. Proverbs 4:7 (NLT)
Most Floridians know what to do, but not everyone takes time to prepare. When a hurricane hits, some are unprepared because they were unwise. It's tragic, but each season lives are lost due to unheeded warnings, poor preparation, or refusal to evacuate. Others are fearful that looters will take their possessions, so they stay put and lose everything. This is a great example of letting material possessions cloud our judgment. Excessive worrying about our "stuff" is a way of serving the god of money instead of seeking the Lord's wisdom.
When we make the choice to put God first (over our possessions) He gives us His wisdom and discernment. Therefore, it's critical to determine who you will serve. Serving the Lord of the Universe means accepting godly wisdom from the Lord and from others. Serve the gods of this world means relying on our own wisdom to pursue foolishness.
Christ follower, as Joshua said in Chapter 24, today is the day to choose whom you will serve... Choose wisely by choosing to serve the Lord!