God enables us to trust Him, but we still have to choose to do this.

The Bible tells us that God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1). The name of the Lord is a strong tower, and the righteous run into it and are safe (Proverbs 18:10). He says He is with us, and He is our God (Isaiah 41:10).  But God does not force us to accept him. He does not forcibly help us; we have to choose to accept Him and his help.

Deuteronomy 30:15-16

See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

This passage in Deuteronomy shows God giving the people choice. He has set the choice of life or death before them, and we today are given this same choice. We know that the only way to our Lord is through Jesus Christ (John 14:6), so we must choose Him to be saved and benefit from God’s strength and help.  

Matthew 23:37-39

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

In Matthew here, Jesus tells the people that he would gather them together under his protecting wings, but he goes on to point out that they are unwilling.

So how do we choose Him? We know that first, we need to understand, believe and accept that the only way to eternal salvation is through the Lord Jesus Christ. Once we have accepted his gift of salvation, we need to live our lives in alignment with God where our actions and choices need to be in accordance with his will. How do we know his will? We learn it by spending time in His word and prayer with Him. Then, we choose Him by choosing the things that align with his will and desires for us. We often find ourselves having accepted the Lord Jesus as our saviour but slowly slipping back into the world and doing the things that are not in accordance with God’s will—doing the things that we should not do and not doing the things that He wants us to do.

We need to live according to his word, and we need to share his gift of love with the people around us. So let us choose…