The Cooling Stream

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; 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.” —Deuteronomy 30:19-20

God takes no pleasure in seeing us lost, wandering, searching. He wants us to know His will. He makes it clear and simple. He gives just two choices: “life and good” or “death and evil” (Deuteronomy 30:15). He even says which one to choose: “Choose life”. To choose life is to choose God Himself and obey His Word.

When Moses addressed the Israelites for the last time, he pleaded with them to make the right choice by observing “all the words of this law. . . . Because it is your life” (32:46-47). God’s will for us is life. His Word is life. And the Lord Jesus Christ is the Word. 

God gave us a perfect example to follow— the Lord Jesus Christ. 

When the Word is our guide and worship is our goal, God will grant us the wisdom to make life-affirming choices. 

Let us love and obey God and enjoy life in Him.

Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work,  to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. 

—Titus 3:1-2

Order requires intervention.

It does not happen naturally.

God brought order out of chaos. 

He did it when He was creating the nation of Israel (Ex. 7–14). 
When God said it was time to bring the Hebrew people out of Egypt, Pharaoh objected. 
His nation’s economy depended on the Hebrew workers, so Pharaoh didn’t want to lose them. 

To change Pharaoh’s mind, God sent 10 plagues to convince him. 
Pharaoh’s magicians were able to duplicate the first two plagues. 
But they could not reverse the plagues—any of them. 
They could cause chaos, but they could not restore order. 
Only God can do that.

With effort, we can bring order to our living spaces.
But none of us can bring order out of the emotional and spiritual chaos of our lives. 
Only God can do that. 
He restores order to chaotic situations when we live as God intended—speaking no evil, being peaceable and gentle, and showing humility to all (Titus 3:2). 

Our world and our lives do have much chaos and confusion. 

We need God to restore our souls.

May God help us to live as He want us to live— serving Him and loving others.

When we put our problems in God’s hands, He puts His peace in our hearts.