Choose Life  

“Choose life!” When I first read this directive in Deuteronomy 30:19, I snickered. Who wouldn’t choose life? I was only thinking of one alternative to choosing life: choosing death. I wasn’t considering that I could choose a life that was different from the one I was living. 

You see, Jesus says He came not only to give us life, but to give us abundant life (John 10:10). Not just existence, getting by, or one more day at the office. No, He offers a life of abundance. This left me wondering if I was, in fact, choosing life. 

The Greek word for abundance is perissos, and it means “exceeding, abundantly more, above or beyond.” Where have we heard this before? 

One of the great enemies of abundant living is worry. A national study concluded that 60 to 90 percent of doctor visits are stress related. Author and motivational speaker Earl Nightingale, in an article called “The Fog of Worry,” suggested that 40 percent of what we worry about is wasted on things that will never come to pass. Thirty percent of our worries center on past decisions we cannot change while another 12 percent of our worries stem from the criticism of others—criticism often rooted more in the critic’s sense of inferiority than in truth. 

So here’s the question: What worries hinder you from choosing abundant life today? Picture this day as having two handles: the handle of fear and the handle of faith. In your journal create two columns. Label one column “The Handle of Fear,” and list the fears and worries that are weighing you down right now. Label the other column “The Handle of Faith.” List some of the truths you have been learning about God and His promises during your journey. Now which will you choose?