100 Decisions (October 26, 2012)

…Opening To…

Decision is a risk rooted in the courage of being free. (Paul Tillich, Theologian)

…Listening In…

Now choose life—so that you and your descendants will live—by loving the LORD your God, by obeying his voice, and by clinging to him. That’s how you will survive and live long on the fertile land the LORD swore to give to your ancestors: to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Deuteronomy 30:19-20; context)

…Filling Up…

We make hundreds of small decisions every day. We make big decisions every once in a while. In either case, increasing our awareness of God’s presence in our lives is the best way to consistently make the right choices. I believe that God always and forever yearns for us to choose those things that will bring us – individually and collectively – abundant life and complete joy. That doesn’t mean that we will breeze through life. It doesn’t mean that life will be easy. It doesn’t mean that every decision we make will bring the outcome we expect or desire.

But God’s yearning for us does mean that God will never abandon us to face the consequences of our decisions alone. In the verses above, Moses advises the people of Israel to “choose life,” which is a short way of saying: “choose only those things that affirm the vitality of your existence, that make you thrive, that show that God isn’t done creating yet.”

With all that in mind, I invite you to review the last week. Sit down with a pad of paper, or pull out the note feature of your iPad or smartphone, and list every single one of the decisions you’ve made this week. No decision is too small. It could be as small as “whether or not to make a certain pass in your soccer game.” No decision is too big to list either. It could be as big as “whether or not to plagiarize your history essay.”

See if you can get 100 decisions. That may seem like a lot at first, but if you look at your days and really comb through them, you’ll start to see just how large the number of decisions you make is. After making your list, review it and but a star next to all the decisions you made in full awareness of God’s presence in your life. It’s okay if you end up not starring many or any at all. Next week make the same list. In the meantime, try practicing being more aware of God’s presence and God’s yearnings for you. And I guarantee, next week’s list will be full of stars.

…Praying For…

Dear God, thank you for trusting me enough to make my own decisions. Help me not to misplace that trust, but always to remember that you are with me in all my choices. In Jesus Christ’s name I pray. Amen.