Choose God

Settle in

Take a deep breath. Turn off notifications on your phone. Ask God to show you what you have been serving most. Then ask him to show you how incredible your life will be when you put him first.

Thought starter

Elevating anything above God—whether it is a relationship, a status, or a lifestyle—is like buying a cheap knockoff of a luxury brand. It might look good from a distance, but it quickly falls apart and leaves us disappointed. True fulfillment is found only when we choose unwavering loyalty to God alone.

Here’s what we’ll learn in this Quick Quiet Time:

• Everyone worships something. It’s either God or something else. 
• What we choose to worship shapes who we become.
• We choose God because he chose us first.

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He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God] … 

Ecclesiastes 3:11 AMP

Now therefore fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in truth; remove the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the [Euphrates] River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve … but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua 24:14–15 AMPC

Truth bomb:

• God created us with a longing for spiritual connection with him. That’s why we will always search for something to worship that is greater than ourselves.
• Legendary musician Bob Dylan put it this way: “Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.”
• Joshua told the Israelites that they could choose to follow God, who had freed them and led them out of the desert, or they could choose the gods of their families and the people around them. 
• If they were going to choose God, though, they needed to take action. He told them to remove the other gods; they could not choose both.

Modern false gods can look a little different.

In biblical times, false gods were often statues or objects that people worshiped. In modern Western culture, false gods can take the form of trends and internal desires. They are anything we bow to, chase, or rely on more than God. Here are some examples: 

• Status and clout-chasing: Obsessing over social media metrics, viral trends, brand names, financial and relationship status.
• Comfort over calling: Choosing immediate comfort over the difficult (but more rewarding) work of obedience.
• Self-focus: Having a “me first” mindset. Living entirely “inward” (self-absorbed) instead of “upward” (God-focused) and “outward” (serving others).
• Escapes and addictions: Using substances, vapes, alcohol, pornography or other addictive behaviors to numb reality instead of taking stress to God.

Supportive note

If you are struggling with addiction, seek professional help. Having a support system in place is part of what will equip and empower you to choose God instead of an addictive behavior.

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Those choosing other gods shall all be filled with sorrow; I will not offer the sacrifices they do or even speak the names of their gods.

Psalm 16:4 TLB

By faith Moses … chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. [26] He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. [27] By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.

Hebrews 11:24-27 NIV

The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.

Exodus 33:11 NIV

Truth bomb:

Our daily choices determine our lifelong outcomes.

• The Bible uses Moses as an example of someone whose daily choices led to a great life. By choosing to follow God instead of sin, Moses became a great leader and God’s close personal friend.
• Turning away from the true Creator always leads to long-term emptiness. Sin promises to take us on a shortcut to happiness, but drops us off in a desert.
• Choosing God is serious. Day to day, how we spend our time may not feel consequential, but those choices are everything. 

How do we choose God? 

These verses give us a roadmap for choosing God:

1. Acknowledge the pain of other gods: We start by recognizing that the “fleeting pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25) always leave a hangover of emptiness. Like eating junk food, it tastes great for a second, but it leaves you crashing later.
2. Starve the idol: As Psalm 16 says, “I will not offer the sacrifices they do.” We need to stop giving our prime energy, late-night hours, and financial resources to things that drain our spirit. If we keep feeding a fire, it will keep burning. We need to stop feeding the things that pull us from God.
3. Leave the conversation: Don’t even “speak the name” of other gods. We choose God by setting boundaries. We don’t give our idols airtime in our minds anymore. We go completely cold turkey on the cultural gossip, the toxic comparison loops, and the mindsets that pull us away from our relationship with God.

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Brothers and sisters, whom the Lord loves, God chose you from the beginning to be saved. So we must always thank God for you. You are saved by the Spirit that makes you holy and by your faith in the truth.

2 Thessalonians 2:13 NCV

My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “LORD, I am coming.”

Psalm 27:8 NLT

From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. [27] “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him-though he is not far from any one of us.

Acts 17:26-27 NLT

Lightbulb moment:

God already chose us, and actively pursues us.  

• We can be completely sure that God will not reject us when we choose him.
• God set up everything in our lives—our families, where we live, and when we were born—so we can always reach out to him and find him. He wants us to know him.
• Whenever we think about praying, that’s God asking us to talk to him. He wants to hear us. 
• God chose us to share his love and purpose with others. He wants to work through us to love others.

Write it down:

• Do you have any fears about choosing God and letting go of your “false gods”? How does your perspective change when you realize that God has already chosen and accepted you?
• How can you respond to God’s love for you? What would choosing God back look like?

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! [20] You can make this choice by loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life …”

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 NLT

Every single choice is an act of worship. Every daily decision declares who or what sits on the throne of our lives. In a world focused on popularity, perfect images, and constant online distraction, neutrality doesn’t exist. We all give our time, attention, and energy to something. 

Choose God—and choose life, lasting purpose, and true freedom!

Bring the inspiration with you

Save this phone wallpaper to remind you to choose God today!