Choosing Each Day: God or Self?

by A Mac October 4, 2024

How do you wake up most mornings? Do you use an alarm of some sort? Do you hit snooze once, twice, seven times? Do you lie in bed to “thaw out” for a few minutes or do you get right up? There are many ways to wake up, but most of us probably lie in bed for a moment to orient ourselves.

We have a choice to make every day, every morning when we wake up. Will it be God or will it be self?

It's amazing how quickly we prioritize making schedules and to-do lists in our thoughts. How often do we think of ourselves first and then maybe later at some point give a passing thought to God whom we proclaim as Lord and Savior?

What about you? What is foremost in your mind and heart when you wake up? Who comes first? As you start the process of waking, do you think about your day and all that is before you? Do negative feelings or thoughts arise?

Once you get out of bed how do you spend the thirty or sixty minutes of your day?

Over the few minutes, we will look at a practical way we can choose each day to be less self-focused and more God-focused, choose to put God, His Word, and prayer before anything else.

Begin today by taking a moment to identify the things, the thoughts, the activities, or the emotions that can consume you and keep you from worshipping God and serving Him.

As we seek to choose the Lord each day, it’s necessary to remember that we all have a desire to follow our flesh and think or do whatever “feels” right or seems easiest. As Paul argues in Romans 8, for those who are outside of Christ, there is no choice. They are controlled completely by their sin. Believers, Paul says, have the Holy Spirit living within them. By the Spirit, we are becoming more and more like Jesus. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to overcome our flesh. As Joshua told the Israelites, we can choose.

How might this choice play itself out, especially first thing in the morning? It seems that most people usually spend a few minutes gathering their thoughts for the day before they get out of bed in the morning. In these moments it can be a temptation to choose to think first about our day, our schedule, what we need to do, who needs to be where, etc. Before we know it, we can fall prey to the lies of the enemy and begin dreading our day or feeling overwhelmed by it, and then try to tackle it as soon as our feet hit the floor.

What if, instead, we were to choose the Lord? What if, by God’s grace, we would fight our sinful flesh, put it to death as God’s Word instructs us, and set our minds on Him instead of allowing our thoughts to run amok? Practically, what would this look like?

Acknowledge the day belongs to the Lord. No matter how much we think about our day or our agenda, the reality is that every day belongs to Him. We begin by intentionally acknowledging this and who we are in Christ. This practice transforms how we think and live.

We thank the Lord for the gift of a new day and acknowledge that He alone is sovereign, that He alone is in control—not us.

By His grace, we choose to put aside our thoughts, concerns, and agendas and draw near to God spending time in His Word and prayer.

It might be a good idea to write down Joshua 24:15 and place it next to your bed or on your bathroom mirror so you can be reminded first thing in the morning to choose God. You can even paste the verse in a reminder in your calendar or schedule it as an alarm on your phone.

'But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Seeing Scriptures such as these first thing in the morning or throughout the day can help you immediately see and think truth and be able to focus on it instead of the temporary things of your upcoming day.

We need God’s grace, and we want to be reminded that we can choose to set our mind on God or we can choose to set our mind on self. If we awaken and allow our thoughts to be consumed by ourselves or with our circumstances, what will we feel in the end? Discouraged! By contrast, when we choose to pray and seek the Lord instead, there can be peace, hope, and renewal.

Remember, you choose each day whom you will serve. And though it will take a moment-by-moment reorienting of your mind throughout the day, this choice begins first thing in the morning. So, as you enter into this daily choice, trust in the One who created the new day and you. He will provide the grace you need to make each new day His.

Take a moment now to pray and seek the Lord. Ask Him to help you choose Him first each day. Write out Joshua 24:15 or copy and paste it as a reminder into your calendar. May God be your all in all!

Joshua 24:15