I Respect You For Your Decision
They recognise that it wouldn’t always be an easy path to take, but they respect us for making that decision.
Reference: v.2 The people commended all who volunteered to live in Jerusalem. (TNIV Bible)
Explore: My husband and I are just everyday people who have chosen to be foster carers. It’s interesting that when we tell people this, they tend to view us differently. They recognise that it wouldn’t always be an easy path to take, but no matter what their background is, they have added respect for Cameron and I for opening up our home in this way. Being a foster carer is not for everyone, but it’s what we feel called to do, and so we choose to be obedient in this way. Even when people know very little about us, they tend to respect us for this decision that we’ve made.
Application: People can see the decisions that we make in our lives. We don’t have to give people our whole life story for them to be able to gauge the type of people we are. When the Israelites had rebuilt Jerusalem they then had to decide who would live in the city. They did a random vote for who should be there, but then there were others who volunteered themselves. When those people stepped up to the decision, the rest of the people respected them for it. It’s true in our lives too. We can talk the talk, but do we step up to make decisions? It’s not always easy to fulfil the hard tasks in our lives, but making the decision public is the first step in the process.
Prayer: Lord God, you know what it is to make a hard decision. Give us the wisdom to discern the right decision to make and the integrity to stay true to our word. Amen.
What decision are you faced with at the moment?
This article was written by Linda Bailey
Linda started theological studies in 1999 in Australia. After working for ten years in various church ministries, she now works as the breakfast producer at 89.9 LightFM - the Christian radio station in Melbourne, Australia. She writes blogs every day about passages she is currently reading in the Bible. Follow her on Google Plus +Linda Bailey or Facebook by clicking the like button on the right of this page.