“We prize the freedom to choose, but we dread the mistakes that can wreck our lives.”

A thought by John Ortberg (2016-05-01) from his book, What Is God's Will for My Life? (p. 17). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title of the book to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

That’s the truth isn’t it? We are many times afraid to take the responsibility.

But John says, “God isn’t in the business of rejecting people who make wrong choices; he’s in the business of redeeming them. If only people who made correct choices were used by God, the Bible would be a much shorter book, and Jesus would be the only character. The real question isn’t about if I make a wrong decision; it’s about when I make a wrong decision. And the answer is that as soon as I surrender my will, God will recalculate my route and welcome me home. If you’re not dead, you’re not done.”

He goes on, “Jesus told many stories about people who made wrong choices. One is about a character who has become known as the Prodigal Son. He chooses to leave his home, waste his inheritance, and dishonor his father. But when he comes to his senses, he is ready for guidance. ‘Recalculating route. Execute a U-turn.’ He assumes that he’ll be stuck with plan B for the rest of his life — ‘I don’t deserve to be treated like a son anymore; I’ll just live from now on as a hired hand’ — but his father has no intention of letting him settle for a plan B. All of our choices have consequences. For the Prodigal Son, he will never have the time he spent wallowing with pigs back. But that doesn’t mean he’s stuck with plan B. He just has a new plan A. God specializes in improvisation. He loves to throw parties for prodigals who come home.”

John then says, “Sometimes we may make a choice in good faith, and it just turns out badly. We take a job at a company that goes bankrupt or buy a car that turns out to be a lemon. We may feel foolish or guilty, but God doesn’t expect anybody but him to be omniscient. The psalmist says that God ‘remembers that we are dust’ (Psalm 103: 14). And dust — even relatively educated dust — is pretty fallible when it comes to choosing.”

John said earlier, “God’s will for us is that we become persons of excellent character — and one of the primary tools for building excellent character is decision making. If people never go through the challenge and anxiety and responsibility of decision making, their growth will be stunted.”

So what decision are you afraid to make?

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