Choose Life
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore, choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; ~ Deuteronomy 30:19
Have you ever stood at a crossroads and wished someone would simply tell you what to do? Have you felt the tension between what seems easy, comfortable, or safe, and what God is calling you to do? The truth is God gives us the answer to these questions and every question we have in this world. In today’s reading, He plainly tells us that it is up to each individual to choose life and blessing or Death and cursing. He even tells us that the right answer is to choose life, but He doesn’t force us to follow it. Each of us has a choice. Choosing life requires intentional decision and courage, even when the path feels uncertain.
In Deuteronomy 30, Moses reminded God’s people that life and blessing are available, but they are contingent on obedience and choosing to follow God’s way and plan. God doesn’t leave us guessing. He has given the instructions, the principles, and the wisdom needed to experience His best for us. The question is, will we choose it?
Consider this: The small decisions you make today such as how you respond to a situation, what you speak over your day, how you interact with others are setting the trajectory of your blessings, influencing your relationships, and positioning you to experience God’s goodness or not.
Here are three ways to respond to God’s call to choose life:
1. Choose life by following God’s Word
God’s Word is a roadmap for life. Obedience to His instructions positions you to experience His blessing in every area. When you act on what He has already revealed, you are choosing life.
Pick a clear instruction from Scripture or a prompting from the Holy Spirit and act on it today. For example, if God is nudging you to forgive someone, make that phone call or send that message. If He is prompting generosity, find a way to give to someone in need. By doing what He has revealed, you step into life, blessing, and peace.
2. Choose life by trusting God’s guidance
Deuteronomy 30 emphasizes that God has not hidden the path from you. His guidance is accessible, but it requires faith to follow. Life, blessing, and fruitfulness are on the other side of trusting Him.
Intentionally ask for God’s direction in the small decisions of your day. When you feel unsure about how to respond to a challenge, pause, pray, and ask for His wisdom. Then take one step in faith in His direction, trusting that God will lead you through the process. Each time you follow His guidance, confidence grows, and you become more in tune to His voice.
3. Choose Life by Acting with Purpose and Intentionality
Choosing life is not passive. It is an active decision made daily. Every choice matters because each one either positions you for blessing or creates barriers to it.
Start by examining your daily routines, habits, and decisions. Are they creating space for God to lead? Are they in agreement with His principles? For instance, setting aside time for prayer, worship, or serving others intentionally is a daily choice that produces spiritual fruit. Choosing patience in a frustrating moment or speaking encouragement instead of criticism activates the path of life God wants for you.
There were many years of my life that I made decisions based on what I felt like at the time. Even when I had already made a commitment, if I did not feel like following through, I would cancel or make an excuse. At the time, I felt justified, but it took me a long time to realize that I was living under the weight of my own choices because I was allowing my feelings to lead instead of God’s Word and His plan.
As I began to grow in my walk with God, I started to see how those patterns were affecting every area of my life. I realized that choosing what felt right in the moment was not leading me to life, peace, or stability. It was actually keeping me stuck. Little by little, I began to make a different choice. I started choosing obedience even when I did not feel like it. I began to follow through on what I knew God was asking of me, even in the small things.
Over time, I saw a shift. There was more peace, more clarity, and more confidence in my decisions. I began to understand that choosing God’s way really does lead to life. It is not always the easiest choice in the moment, but it is always the right one, and it always produces His blessings and something better than what I could have chosen on my own.
Today I want to encourage you to choose life by obeying, trusting, and acting on the clear guidance God has given. His way is not burdensome; it is life-giving. When you follow His Word, trust His voice, and respond with intentionality, you open the door for blessing, peace, and fruitfulness that impacts not only your life but also those around you.
Today’s scripture reading: Deuteronomy 30
1 “Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you,
2 and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul,
3 that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you.
4 If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you.
5 Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.
6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
7 “Also the Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you.
8 And you will again obey the voice of the Lord and do all His commandments which I command you today.
9 The Lord your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For the Lord will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers,
10 if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
11 “For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off.
12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’
13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’
14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.
15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil,
16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.
17 But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them,
18 I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess.
19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
Journal:
- What is one instruction or prompting from God that you can act on today?
- Are there choices you are making that move you away from life and blessing? How can you change that?
- How does trusting God in the small decisions of your day strengthen your faith for larger decisions?
- In what ways can you intentionally create space to hear the Holy Spirit’s guidance?
- What first step of obedience can you take this week to walk in the life God is offering you?
The Daily Dose 