Choosing Life’s Paths

Once again, like other chapters, this chapter is in no way meant to be all-inclusive but more like an overview. I want to encourage you to live your life to the fullest. In order to do that, it will take believing in your heart and not doubting that the life choices found in parts one and two are possible for you to make, with God’s help.

We can say, “I know that stuff; I’ve heard it before.” But until we do what we know, God will keep giving us the opportunity to hear it again, sometimes as a gentle reminder—just as a parent keeps repeating to their children about cleaning their room, picking up their toys, eating their food, going to bed, or getting up until the child finally does it. So God will tell us through the Bible, a friend, a pastor, a Sunday school teacher, or maybe even this book until we go beyond knowing to choosing to believe and doing what He is telling us to do. We need to be more than hearers; we need to be doers of the Word (James 1:22). Jesus told His disciples, “Now that you know these things you will be blessed if you do them” (John 13:7). We may know which path to take, but we must choose to take it and then go on it. If we always do what we have always done, we will get what we have always gotten. We can choose to change directions and forget about the old excuse of “that’s just the way I am.” If we are born again, we are new creations, and we are being changed. There’s no need to stay stuck in an old rut. Believe the truth, and it will set us free, free indeed.

To believe something means to accept something to be true, to have a feeling of assurance or confidence in it even without absolute proof.

Doubt is basically the opposite. To doubt is to distrust, be uncertain that something is true, and have a lack of confidence or assurance, to be unsure.

Doubt and belief are a matter of perspective; they are the lenses through which we perceive everything. As I have said before, what we look for we will find. It is the difference between defeat and victory.

Doubt is one of the biggest barriers to having God work in our lives. Doubt will lead to failure. When we doubt we can do something, we don’t even try; we give up, and don’t do anything at all. Which becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because we certainly can’t do what we don’t even try to do. In James, chapter 1, we are told if we lack anything, we need to ask, believing and not doubting, because doubts are like waves tossed back and forth, or like double -mindedness and instability. We won’t receive anything from the Lord if we don’t believe (James 1:5–8).

Believing will lead to victory! When we believe, we step out and do something to make what we believe happen. Look for it, reach for it, and tackle it with confidence. What we believe can bring life to our soul. I love the song “Only Believe” because it tells us “all things are possible” if we will “only believe.” Believe and we will receive. What we believe is foundational to how we will feel, how we will act, and how we will affect others.

When we doubt that anyone will talk to us, and doubt that people will be friendly, we end up being withdrawn and unfriendly. Because of our actions people leave us alone. When we believe people will respond to us in a friendly manner, we will smile, look at people, and be friendly, and then they will respond in like manner.

The law of reciprocity works. We learned during science class in school about Newton’s third law of motion, which is known also as the law of reciprocity. It states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. When we are the believer instead of the doubter, we are on the action side of the equation and receive back what we give. Scripture tells us to forgive and you will be forgiven (Luke 6:37), give and it will be given to you (Mal. 3:10), ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, and knock and the door will be opened to you (Matt. 7:7).

We don’t have to stay on the path of doubt. When we follow the steps of the Lord on the path He has blazed for us, we will be steadfast and have confidence. Even when we stumble and mess up, it won’t be fatal; we won’t be down for long because He will lift us up with His hand—just as He did for Peter in the midst of the storm on the Sea of Galilee (Ps 37:23–24 and Matt.14:28–32).

We were created in the image of God (Gen 1:26). We have been given a free will. We get to choose. When we depend on Him and go to His Word to help us make our choices, our plans will succeed (Prov. 16:3). But He allows us the freedom to choose. Though He is all-powerful, He will not overpower us or force us to do His will. We have the freedom to choose. So let’s choose to believe the truth.