The importance of Choice and its Power to determine destiny

The great Abraham Lincoln once uttered some very true and challenging words; that ‘Destiny is not a matter of Chance; it is a matter of Choice.’  Each day we are faced by having to make choices and decisions; these affect our thought patterns, and that leads on to habit forming. We all have a responsibility to make wise choices, for no man is an Island to himself, because there is no such thing as a negative influence; we all possess the power to build or to pull down, to encourage or to discourage, to bless or to curse because we contain the power to determine destiny.

Choices, as one man puts it, are the ‘Hinges of Destiny,’ circumstances may alter and many things are very often not of our doing, but our decisions can determine our reactions and form our attitudes, for it is our attitude to things that will enhance and advance us. In Philippians 4, Paul declared that he had made a choice to be content whatever the circumstances; he had learnt that ‘Attitude is Altitude’ and that the right mind set can turn obstacles into opportunities. Someone once said that ‘The secret of happiness is not to do what you like to do, but to learn to like what you have to do’.

Choice gives us the opportunity to make a difference. We don’t need to be what we are or to be where we are in a situation – we have the capacity be more than we are. Circumstances may very often dictate the way we feel, but the person I decide to be will be down to me; ours is not one of instinct, but one of choice, and it is a gift of God. To all mankind, we are what we are today because of our choices that we have made; we are today as a result of what we decided yesterday, or further back.

The decision of Paul and Silas to sing praises to God whilst incarcerated in a prison turned everything around for the good; for we read in Acts 16 that at midnight ‘Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God’. Their positive choice caused them to look up and not down; their consequent decision not only changed the situation and released the Hand of God, but it changed them and set the standard for later generations to follow. This was not so with the rich young ruler in his famous interview with Christ, for It has been said that he asked the right question, to the right person, received the right answer, but made the wrong choice.

Time is a valuable commodity, and like the tide, waits for no man. Within its brief span, life is born and lived; decisions are taken, choices made; wise choices bring accomplishments and purpose, whilst the opposite is unproductive and unfruitful. Opportunities that come our way are gone forever if we ignore them. Shakespeare described that it ‘Has a Tide in the affairs of men’.

So let us take stock and remind ourselves of the Highest, Greatest, and the most Profitable and Fruitful choices that we can ever make in this life, and that is our choice to become, and continue to become, a true worshipper of God. Let us not let time slip by, for our choices today can change our tomorrows, and the place that we worship in each week could become the centre of ‘Divine Excellence,’  and place of power, of anointing, of liberation and of blessing.

Here’s to making better choices that will make a difference and ones that will Glorify God.

Every Blessing

From Jack

Author info

Jack has been a faithful member of the Free Methodist Church for 34 years, spending many of those years in leadership. He lives in Lancashire, UK, and has recently celebrated 60 years as being a Christian! Find our more about Jack and the story behind Jack’s corner: Treasures of the Word here.

Jack Kerridge