Deut. 11-14, Acts 14: Every time I read this passage the same thing comes to my mind. It is Choices! We all have choices to make each day and our choices determine the path we will encounter. If we choose God’s way we will encounter blessings. That does not mean that we will be rich or have a big house. It means God’s favor will be with us even in the hard times. The opposite is true too. If we choose the way of man or our own way we choose the curse or conflict that comes with it. Here is how God put it.
Deut. 11:26 “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 27the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, 28and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known.
God warned Israel that the curse would bring with it much heartache and pain. God knew the choices that Israel would make and yet He still allowed them to make the choice. God could make the choices for us as well, but He allows us to choose to love Him or not to. As an adult I know what it is like to make a child do what they don’t want to do. Their heart attitude stinks yet they will obey given enough pressure. How much sweeter is it when the child chooses to obey without the pressure. God must feel this way as well. Thus He allows choices. Yet He knows where the choices lead.
May our choices lead us to blessing not curses. May our lives reflect God’s favor and in the end may many come to know Christ by the behaviors we exhibit.