FREEDOM OF CHOICE ISN'T FREE

Freedom of choice is the greatest gift of all. But it isn't free. Every choice you make has consequences. Every decision you make involves obvious trade-offs as well as unintended and unforeseen consequences. If you knew how every decision would turn out, it wouldn't be a matter of choice, it would be a foregone conclusion.

You exercise the power of choice every day in countless ways. Like most people, you may not think through many of your choices, relying instead on intuition and trial and error when the consequences of a mistake are easily corrected.

When faced with a choice of some magnitude, you have to think things through or pay the consequences. It could be a choice that you gladly make, such as getting married, having a baby, accepting a better job or moving to another city. It could also be a choice that your forced to make as a result of natural disaster, mounting debts, sickness, divorce or some other personal calamity. But, in any case, the situation is too big to ignore. You have to make a smart choice.

If things don't work out the way you expected, you get to make another choice. That is, you get to decide how you feel about the outcome. You can choose to feel bitter or better. You can choose to pout or pray. You always have another choice to make.

If a decision is big enough to think about, it's important enough to pray about.

If the choices you must make loom large, you may want to read Max Lucado’s new book, "Facing Your Giants." It is a profound and energizing look at the lessons David teaches us in his defeat of the swaggering giant, Goliath. David was a giant slayer, but he could also be a monster. He lusted, he lied, he made mistakes, but when David focused on God, giants tumbled.To find out more about making spiritually guided choices, click below to visit Crossings' online Christian bookstore.