Make the Decision

On New Years Eve, like billions of other people in the world, I reflected deeply on 2018 and I asked God to give me a word for 2019. I felt like I needed a word that would give me a fresh perspective for the new year. As I flipped through my Bible, I found myself in the book of Daniel and was amazed by the stories of faith. While I had read this book before, I felt that in that moment, God gave me a new appreciation for the events that took place.

I kept reading and re-reading about when Daniel and his colleagues gave up the “choice foods” of the King and chose to eat only vegetables and drink water for three entire years (Daniel 1) ! Think of the delicious foods that they gave up in the palace just to feast on vegetables that probably weren’t even seasoned! To be quite frank, it seems absolutely crazy to me- a perfectly cooked steak for a carrot stick? I think not.

I also found myself re-reading the story of how Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar's golden statue because of their reverence to God (Daniel 3). As I read these stories of faith, I realized that what made these men stand out was the fact that they made a decision to commit to God. Daniel’s, Shadrach’s, Meshach’s and Abednego’s life was a reflection of their faith in God.. If they weren’t FULLY committed to their decision to follow God, they wouldn’t have done crazy things like give up choice foods of an insanely rich king or risked their very lives by refusing to bow down to an idol made my one of the most “hot-headed” rulers ever.

As God gave me this revelation, I couldn’t help but think about my own life.

Have I made the decision to truly commit to God?

Does the fruit of my life reflect the decision that I made at 17 years old to live my life in a manner worthy of Jesus? (Philippians 1:27)

What is holding me back?

As I entered into 2019, these were my questions, and God answered them for me.

I pray that this year, you place these questions or similar ones before God. For those of us who profess Christ as our Lord and Saviour, are our lives a TRUE reflection of this profession? If not, how about we allow 2019 to be the year that we make the decision to truly be about God? How about we truly draw closer to Him and seek His face for direction for our lives and our futures? How about we all go before Him humbly, asking Him to search us and cleanse us and help us to make the decision to truly commit to Him? Let’s make the decision like Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

For those of you who feel as though you still need a bit more time to figure things out before making the decision to follow Christ, take one small step today. Take things one day at a time. It is often said that a journey of a thousand miles begin with one step. God is calling us-God is calling YOU. He has a work for you to do.

The time for talking about it is over. Let’s be about it this year. Let’s make the decision to truly commit to God.