Making Choices Pt.2

Joel 2:25

The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost
to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts,
the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts.
It was I who sent this great destroying army against you.

Last time, I talked about how we have to act out in complete faith and trust in God whenever we commit to a decision. Neglecting the Holy Spirit and walking without faith will always lead us into a bad place. When we come before God and our heart does not condemn us, that is when we know we have true faith in what we are doing. (1 John 3:19-20) Have the Lord search you, convict you of what is not of Him, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, bearing fruits in everything you do. (Psalm 139:32,33, Colossians 1:10) A life that does not bring glory to God and bring forth fruit from under your feet is not a life that pleases God. Take a moment and ask God to show you what you have been seeds you have been planting in your walk. Do some fruits look ripe and ready, but inside they have been eaten away? Are you deceiving yourself and others by the outward appearance of your life? Do not defraud yourself and others with only the mere appearance of fruit, for God looks deeper than the outward appearances of lives. (1 Samuel 16:7, Revelations 3:1)

Everyone has made mistakes and gone down paths that God did not intend for His children. Be not deceived, for if you made a decision in your life that brought sin and dead fruit, do not believe that God wanted you to go through that. The true and righteous path of God continually glorifies and brings sanctification. I have heard too many people say that it was the will of God for them to do certain things in their lives that only ended in sin and hurt. Are you really going to say to people that it was God’s will for you to get in a certain position that only bred sin and immorality? God will not guide you into a situation where there is death and no fruit! By your testimony, it makes it seem that God wants you to sin! Even though you may have learned from it, that was not his original intent. God is sovereign, and will use your mistakes so that he is glorified and you learn from them, but that does not mean that you had to go through them. I think it is a very dangerous thing to believe that God would lead you into a place that did not glorify Him and bear fruit.

An example of something looking like righteous fruit, but in reality, being spoiled is King Saul. When Saul was told by God to destroy all of the Amalekites, God made it very clear that he didn’t any survivors because all of them were committing sinful acts. (1 Samuel 15:3) As the battle waged on, Saul was face to face with King Agag and decided to spar him and show mercy. Saul probably thought this was a godly thing to show mercy, but he ultimately went against the plans of God. He probably thought to himself that God would want me to be merciful and it would look great, even though God explicitly told him not to spare anyone. The fruit of mercy looked very appealing, but in fact it was spoiled on the inside because it was not what God wanted. Saul’s kingdom was taken away from him because of his actions. Our actions can be very deceptive by the way they look, they might even look godly to many, but before the Lord, they are rotten.

It’s impossible for us not to be convicted about spreading bad seed. This may feel as if you have wasted your time, and your efforts have gone to waste, but that is farther from the truth. When we come back to God and return to the righteous path, the fruit that was once spoiled becomes edible. Friends, do not be deceived, for God does not hold back any blessings from us, and He is gracious enough to give us the blessings we missed out on. In Joel, God told Israel that if they repented of their ways, he would restore them and bring back prosperity. The blessings that we missed out on can easily be given to us if we return from our ways. But do not delay, for although He is faithful, you are not to test Him and think you will be given your blessings even if you continue on a sinful path. If you are called by His name, rejoice for He works out all things for benefit! (Romans 8:28) Repent and be restored, so you may be able to taste the fruits of the labor you once gave up.

-Joseph