Where are you at in life today? Where are you heading? There are two paths I’d like you to consider.
In Deuteronomy 11:26-28, Moses gave the people instructions from God concerning curses and blessings. “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known.” You have that option, to obey or not. If you obey, it will go well for you. There will be life and peace and hope. There is victory. It’s not always peaches and cream; yes, there are struggles and hardship, but it’s good. This is not the same with curses for disobedience, where life is confusing, frustrating, and always unsettled. That is a poor way to go.
Or in Jeremiah 17:5-6, the Lord said, “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.” When you trust in yourself or man, it leads nowhere. You will not succeed. You are like a shrub in the desert, living in dry, hot places, in salt land that does not give life. You will not thrive, you won’t see any good come. You will not survive. You will die. Does this describe you today? But there is good news! “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit (Jeremiah 17:7-8).” When you trust in the Lord, you can withstand the heat and troubles. You will have strong roots by the stream and drink water to sustain you. Your leaves will be green and you will bear fruit. There is no need for worry or fear if you trust in the Lord. Are you trusting in Him today?
Finally, Jesus described it like this in Matthew 7:24-27: “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” Storms of life are going to come; are you building your house on rock or sand?
There are two paths before you, but you can only take one. Choose today whom you will serve. Stand firm and say with Joshua, “As for me and my house, I will serve the Lord.”