Choices: There’s a Fork in the Road Ahead

Choices: In this article by Barry Voss, originally posted via Faith Life Ministries, he highlights the extreme importance of our day to day decisions.

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”

Proverbs 14:12

In life we all have many choices to make. We choose where to go to college, where to work, what career to pursue, where to live, who to marry, etc. Some choices we make can have a big impact on our lives, such as those mentioned above, while some are minor and only affect our day to day living, like what to eat for lunch or what to wear today. But underlying every decision we make is the most important choice we must make every moment of our lives. That choice will determine our earthly future as well as our eternal future as well.

Two paths:

You see, ultimately there are really only two paths in life we can choose. We can choose either to follow God or we can follow Satan. That’s it. There is no third option (following ourselves or following the world is really following Satan because his aim is to convince us not to follow God). Following God means to follow His Son Jesus, obey what He taught, and to serve others as He served us. Following Satan means to deny God and Jesus, obey our own intellect, and to serve ourselves. Many people try to follow both paths, but that doesn’t really work. It’s like trying to mix ice cream (holiness) with manure (evil). No matter how you do it, the ice cream will be impure and not worth eating!

The choice to follow God:

Following God is to follow the path of holiness, goodness and righteousness. God is good and all His ways are good (Psalm 119:68). Jesus said in Matthew 6:24 that “we cannot serve both God and money.” Money often represents the world or our own desires. When we try to please the world or ourselves we are not serving God. The Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 5:13 that we are “not to use our freedom to indulge in the sinful nature, but rather to serve one another in love.” The pathway of God is submission to His ways and His commands (James 4:7).

Any other path does not lead to God and only leads us to death as Proverbs 14:12 above states. And any path that does not lead to God is from Satan.

God’s Word also teaches us that Satan’s path is wide and God’s path is narrow (Matthew 7:13). In other words, it’s often easier to follow Satan’s path because there’s plenty of room for us to maneuver around life’s obstacles to obtain our self-indulging goals. But we are left on our own to figure that out. However, God’s path is narrow and more difficult to navigate and so we must submit to His leadership and trust in His will for our lives. He keeps us on the path to holiness and righteousness and leads us around and through life’s obstacles. And as Jesus said in Matthew 7:13, God’s path leads to life but Satan’s path leads to destruction!

So, which path are you on? Are you on God’s path or Satan’s path? Is the path you’re on leading to life or destruction?

It’s not too late to make the choice to get back on track:

The good news is that there’s a fork in the road ahead! The path to God is just a step away and is always there for us. We don’t have to continue down the wrong path. We don’t even have to walk backward along the path we’re on to get on God’s path. No matter what choices we have made up to now, we can still choose today to follow the path to God and experience the life we were meant to have and all the fullness of life He has to offer! Though the world does not recognize it, God’s path offers hope, freedom from sin, and a life more rich and abundant than we can imagine!

So don’t let Satan deceive you with his offering of all the treasures and trappings of this world. It’s an illusion. It’s a bait and switch deal. He seduces you to follow his path with promises of riches and fame. You may get them, but they won’t last, they won’t fulfill you, and there is a cost! If you listen to him and follow his path, in the end you will end up in hell (separation from God). Is that really the result you want? If it is, you are free to make that choice and God will not stop you or force you to follow Him.

The truth is that God does not send people to hell. Instead, people choose hell by refusing to follow God. But I doubt that anyone would really choose Satan’s path if they knew that hell was where they were headed. They end up there because they chose not to follow God. God makes His path available to anyone, anywhere and at any time. He wants us to choose His path. That means we must choose Jesus, the only path to God (John 14:6)! God promises us a life filled with His goodness if we simply put our faith and trust in Jesus. We don’t have to do anything but let Him lead and guide us. If we do, He will show us a truly abundant life filled with hope, joy, peace, blessings, and the assurance of heaven!