Getting the Word on Tough Choices – Today’s Youth Devotion

Getting the Word on Tough Choices

Bible Reading: Psalm 119:97-104

Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for your commands are my constant guide. Psalm 119:98

YOU’VE BARELY gotten comfortable in lit class when your teacher drops a bomb: “Class, I need to record who completed last week’s reading assignment. I’m sending around a sheet of paper. Sign it, then put yes or no.”

Way to go, dog brain! you think. I should have finished reading the book on Fri­day instead of sitting semi-comatose in front of the computer for four hours. Panic sets in. The sheet of paper is getting closer. No way do you want to write no next to your name, but…

Hey, I read more than half of those pages, so I could write yes, you reason. Be­sides, I read more of it than most of the kids who are going to sign yes.

The paper suddenly lands on your desk. You sign your name confidently, then hesitate over the space where you must write either yes or no. What will it be? How will you decide?

You face choices like that every day. How do you decide what’s true and what’s false, what’s right and what’s wrong? Some decisions are no-brainers, but how do you make the call when the line between right and wrong looks fuzzy?

King David says that God’s “commands”-another term for God’s Word, the Bi­ble-are vital to gaining the wisdom and guidance you need for puzzling decisions. One way to put God’s Word to work in your tough choices is a process you can re­member as the Four Cs. Here’s how it works:

C-1: Consider the choice. Every decision you face is an opportunity to pick God’s will or your own way. Your choice isn’t between what you think is right or wrong ­it’s between what God says is right or wrong.

C-2: Compare it to God. Compare your choice to God’s precepts. Are there Bible passages that tell you what to do in this situation? Compare your choice to God’s principles. Does this choice violate biblical principles like honesty or purity? Com­pare your choice to God’s person. How would he respond to this choice?

C-3: Commit to God’s way. Consciously decide to tum from your selfish way and do what God and his Word show you to do.

C-4: Count on God’s protection and provision. God’s care doesn’t mean every­thing is going to be rosy. But living God’s way brings things like freedom from guilt, a clear conscience, the joy of sharing Christ, and, most important, God’s blessing on your life.

REFLECT: What decisions about right and wrong have you faced lately? Do your choices stand up to the four-C test?

PRAY: Thank God that we can trust the Bible for guidance.