Craig Clouston

 

Choose Life

August 19

The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.

Romans 8:6

Jeremy spent his days in a place so spiritually dark that rational thought was elusive. Eventually the darkness became so oppressive that he decided, If this is all there is, to hell with it! He wasn’t sure how he was going to end things…he just wanted to do it quickly…before he lost his nerve. Jeremy entertained several scenarios. Each method was viable. But the last thing he wanted was to screw this up!

Then, out of nowhere came a moment of clarity, What if there’s more than this?

But the enemy was relentless… There must not be. If there was, you’d have figured it out by now.

On and on it went, one thought after another. Finally, Jeremy got a pistol from the lock box in his father’s closet. As he raised it to his temple, a voice whispered, “If you kill yourself you will definitely find out the truth. But then it will be too late to do anything about it.” Laying the pistol on his nightstand, he realized he didn’t want to find out he was wrong.

†

Jeremy had been governed by the flesh for so long that he felt his only choice was to silence the negative thoughts that continued to plague him. Thankfully, a remnant of truth kept him from pulling the trigger. However, today’s text tells us that unless Jeremy changed what governed his thoughts, he would eventually find himself with a gun to his head once more.

Although we have no choice over the things that influenced our childhood, we can, with Jesus’ help, effect positive changes as we mature. We can, as Paul says in Romans 12:1-3, renew our minds. God, through Paul, tells us that our minds are controlled by the things we entertain. And although we are not quick to admit it, there are only two kinds of thought: godly/edifying or evil/deluded; good fruit or rotten fruit; life or death. We have the power to choose life.

Prayer

“Lord Jesus, encourage me by Your Spirit to choose life each day, and stand against the lies of Satan. As I commit myself to Your care, show me what I need to do today. Amen.”