But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15
My pup is four years old now and has experienced many new sights, smells, and opportunities to succeed or frustrate me to no end. There have been times when I get so excited with his progress, but we’ve also had our fair share of times where I wonder if he’s learned anything in all the training that’s taken place.
I wanted to get back into our routine that got blown to smithereens during the move, so we’ve taken up our morning walks again. It was time to challenge his attention and my patience by making things a bit more challenging.
As we turned off the road and onto the sand, I really wasn’t sure if he’d be able to focus on me how I wanted him to. This wasn’t our normal route and the overload to the senses could be a very real thing. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore, the sight of seagulls and pelicans flying overhead, and the feel of all those shells on the paws could be quite a distraction for any pup.
It was with great excitement when I recognized we were having quite the enjoyable walk. He was following commands and not pulling! I figured it was time to let him free to do what he wanted to. I still had the leash on him but said, “Free.” That’s his command for making his own choices. He doesn’t have to stay right beside me once it’s given, and he’s always up to a good romp or sniffing out the interesting scents around us.
This time was different. He wasn’t following a command to stay with me, he was choosing to get even closer than he was before through his own free will. When I let him go to make his own choices, he decided to turn towards me instead of away from me! This was huge, and it touched me on a level that was new in our relationship. It meant that he wasn’t listening because he had to but because he wanted to! He chose me.
Suddenly, I was hit with how special it is to be chosen when it isn’t required. I know God’s desire is for us to choose Him, but did I realize how special that can be? There wasn’t anything wrong that the pup would need me; he wanted to be close even though everything was going right. Does it mean as much to God that I would choose him for no other reason than who He is? Wow!
Do you give people freedom to choose you or do you demand it? The results we feel aren’t the same when we command it. If we give the freedom to choose, it might not be what we hope for. There is a way to lessen that disappointment by being conscience of our decisions of who we are choosing out of our own free will.
If our focus is on choosing God, we won’t have our emotions all out of whack because people in our lives might not be choosing us. It will be a pleasant surprise when they do want to be near to us…not because we insist upon it, but because they want to simply be in our presence.
I challenge you to focus today on your choices. Will you draw nearer to God by focusing on Him, thanking Him, and wanting to be nearer to Him? It’s how you can open yourself to fulfillment. Seems like a healthy choice to me!
Doing things this way, we’re no longer thinking of how lonely we might be because of others’ actions. I know God never rejects us! He is always waiting for us to make that free choice to draw nearer to Him. If we’re glowing with love from that special relationship that is such a personal and free choice, I have a suspicion we’re more likely to have others choose us without demanding it.
