It is important that we always be disciplined when times of choosing comes into play. So many times we are tempted to take a shortcut, to compromise our integrity, to cheat just a little to get ahead, but what we don’t always realize in these moments of decision is that our choices will dictate our future. It may be a small thing to us in that moment, but the wrong choice could have a ripple effect that will follow us for many years to come. That is why we should always have the forethought that our future’s blessing resides in our decisions today.
My best encouragement to anyone is to think of the longevity of your life. Don’t look at the days, weeks and months ahead of you, but think 20, 30 or 40 years down the line and see where you would like your life to be. Would you like to be married, have children, have a successful career, be healthy and whole and most importantly be in right standing with God above? In order to have these blessings in our life we have to make the right choices that will in time take root and bring back to us a wonderful harvest.
Another thing we have to keep in mind is that there is no instant recipe for joy, blessing or success. Everything takes time; every good endeavor requires hard work, discipline and patience. A woman has to wait nine months in order to give birth to the baby that was conceived nine months before. She knows that it takes time for the baby to grow, but she also knows that a great blessing will be coming into her life after the child has been fully developed.
Be encouraged to live your life with character, with integrity and with the foreknowledge that living rightly before the Lord will ensure your life’s longevity, blessing and fulfilled success.
Joseph Henry was an American scientist who served as the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He used to tell a rather strange story about his childhood. His grandmother, who raised him, once paid a cobbler to make him a pair of shoes.
The man measured his feet and told Joseph that he could choose between two styles: a rounded toe or a square toe. Little Joseph couldn’t decide. It seemed to be such a huge decision; after all, they would become his only pair of shoes for a long time.
The cobbler allowed him to take a couple of days to make up his mind. Day after day, Joseph went into the shop, sometimes three or four times a day! Each time he looked over the cobbler’s shoes and tried to decide. The round-toed shoes were more practical, but the square toes looked more fashionable. He continued to procrastinate. He wanted to make up his mind, but he just couldn’t decide!
Finally, one day he went into the shop and the cobbler handed him a parcel wrapped in brown paper. His new shoes! He raced home. He tore off the wrapping and found a beautiful pair of leather shoes – one with a rounded toe and the other with a square toe.
I can learn a lesson here…a lesson about decisions: if I don’t make decisions myself, others will probably make them for me. Better that I make them myself.
And if I choose poorly from time to time, that’s okay, too. At least I won’t have to wear shoes that don’t match. Besides, I’ll probably do better the next time.
I hope these words inspire and challenge your heart to choose the right things in life that will bring back a harvest of joy and blessings.