Choosing Well

Choosing Well

God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

Years ago, I invited a perfectly healthy relative for dinner two weeks later. Her reply? “Oh, I don’t plan that far in advance. I might be sick.”

We may shake our heads at such a pessimistic attitude, but how many times do we give up when facing our own opportunities? How many times do we expect the worst? I’m convinced Detroit industrialist Henry Ford was right when he said, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’ll be right.”

True, we don’t have control over everything that happens to us, but choosing to live with a “victim mentality” can undermine how we respond to common challenges. Displaying such an attitude can even include thinking God is out to get us. Karen understands that mind-set. For years, she thought God was sitting up in heaven with a celestial baseball bat, just waiting for her to get out of line. Obviously, she was projecting a perception of her stern father onto the person of God. It took a monumental leap of faith for her to trust the 2 Timothy 1:7 promise of God’s provision of a spirit of power and of love, but she chose to believe what he said. She now says that decision gave her a new attitude and a new life. That’s one leap of faith we all need to make. —SANDRA

Lord, I understand Karen’s previous view of you. Too often I worry about everything and emotionally wait for the “other shoe” to drop. Help me to release my fears into your hands and to accept your spirit of love and power and self-discipline.

Confidence in the natural world is self-reliance; in the spiritual world it is God-reliance.

—OSWALD CHAMBERS (1874–1917), SCOTTISH BIBLE TEACHER, YMCA CHAPLAIN IN EGYPT