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| Mr. and Mrs. Opanyi Bril |
THE POWER OF CHOICE
Over the past 28 years I have come to
a point of saying I am who I am, because of the choice I have made. Your life
is just where it is not because someone forced it there but because you pushed
it that direction by the number of choices you made whether negative or
positive.
When I was a teenager life denied me
opportunity to be happy. It was like Pandora box was opened for me. I was
totally squeezed to a tight corner in everything pertaining life. As a child I
grew up in the hands of one step mother to another one where everything was
left to chance.
Life indeed became a big struggle.
One remarkable U-Turn of my life was on the evening of 23rd June
2001 when I gave my life to Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior. My family being
a Catholic stronghold, being Born Again was the number one hard decision I had to
make.
In Genesis 12 when God called Abram,
it was left to Abram to agree or disagree with what God said. The choice Abram
made changed his identity from Abram to Abraham. And in Genesis 21 it gave him
a son of the promise. He is also considered the greatest intercessor that ever
lived on earth. (Genesis 18:16-33).
Abraham became the father of many
Nations not because of anything else but it was because of the choice he made
to obey God’s voice. I love this wonderful statement that came from the mouth
of God to Abraham “… I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward” Genesis 15:1 NKJV. Hey this did not
just happen out of the blue. It took an obedient ear of father Abraham to
hearken to God’s voice. Abraham was an ordinary man from a background of idol
worship but at 75 God called him out of his background, fears, and kindred and
out of his comfort zone so as to make him great. If God is to make you great in
this world, He will always inconvenience you out of your comfort zone so as to
organize you for greatness.
Most of the tears, regrets,
disappointments and tragedies that we face today is a result of the choices we
made in life. In the middle of that fire and storm of life you are going
through, if you choose to listen to God you will always make a right choice.
When I was a teenager, time came when
I got tired of what I was going through in the hands of my step mother. I was
this young quiet and humble boy but the day before I got saved, I had this
crazy plan of having my step mother hurt but surprisingly as I was sleeping
that afternoon in my room I heard a voice call me three times “Emma, Emma,
Emma” I got shocked because when I checked around the house there was no one at
home. So when I sat on the chair I had a voice tell me ‘go to where you are
hearing that sound’ only to reach there it was a gospel crusade and it was time
for altar call. Immediately I found my two hands up and I gave my life to
Christ that day. Remember after getting saved I found out that this was the
last day of the crusade but today I have lived to see every single word come
true that the preacher in that crusade spoke over me.
I want to speak to you reading this
“it doesn’t matter how many wrong choices you have made in life that has
brought your life to where it is now. It is not too late to make a U-turn back
to where you turned wrong so that you can turn right”. And this is what the Lord God who has loved
you says: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your
name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And
through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the
fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the
LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel,
your Savior; I gave Egypt
for your ransom, Ethiopia
and Seba in your place. Since you were precious in My sight, You have been
honored, And I have loved you.. ‘’ Isaiah 43:1-4 NKJV
If I may ask the married people who
are reading this article now, When God first spoke to you about your spouse did
you say yes there and then? Many of you first said no because you had a
cautious approach wondering whether what you were going to decide was right or
wrong. 75% of the couples I have come across through counseling and prayer
engagements have always made such a statement as this: “after ten years of our
marriage I am grateful for having made this choice of a man for a husband or
woman for a wife”. This is what I call the power of choice. The result of
making the right choice.
THINGS YOU
NEED IN ORDER TO MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE
For you to make the right choice in
life there are qualities that you have to develop
1. You must
develop a heart of obedience. Earlier on we looked at Abraham and when you go through his
history, he is a man who obeyed God. For you to reach a desired place of your
destiny, you must be obedient to God and to your spiritual and physical
parents. Genesis 26:5.
2. You must
have Faith.
When it comes to making choices in life,
the level of one’s faith or lack of faith is paramount. Abraham’s success
depended first on obedience to God and then Faith. That is why he is referred
to us the father of Faith. Matthew 17: 20 says that ‘if you have Faith as small as a mustard
seed nothing shall be impossible unto you’. as a Christain, don’t allow
circumstances to attack your faith like it happened to Peter who looked at the
wind with fear. That’s why Jesus said in Luke
21:26 that ‘Men’s hearts shall fail them for fear’. Proverbs 24:10 Living Bible
says: “You are a poor specimen if
you can’t stand the pressure of adversity”
The right choice must be made at that
critical moment. You will need faith to enable you make it.
3. Divine
Wisdom
After looking at obedience to God and
walking in Faith as a requirement for making the right choices in life,
applying divine wisdom will also enable you to always make the right choices in
life.
Proverbs 1:5
says: ‘A
wise man will hear and increase learning’
Proverbs
4:5-9 5 ‘Get wisdom, get understanding:
forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and
she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the
principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get
understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to
honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of
grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.’
The great men and women who are
successful in life are people who made right choices. And how did they succeed?
They applied wisdom through their toughest life journeys. In verses 6 of
Proverbs chapter 4 it says: forsake not wisdom, and she shall preserve you,
love her and she shall keep you’. This means that thought it’s not easy to make
the right choices in life due to the fighting forces around us, when we get
wisdom we will be preserved and kept. I
remember before I got married I went through some relationship challenges and
my Spiritual parents sat me down one by one and spoke to me words of wisdom
that will never leave me. I remember Pastor George telling me this simple words
but with power in them ‘Emma its time you concentrated on seeking God’. These
words may not be enough to help some people due to their inability to discern
when God is behind a word spoken by someone.
3. Utilize
the blessing of Spiritual parents.
In order to make right choices in
life, the aspect of spiritual fatherhood is paramount. Many of the errors we
see in life today even among renown men and women of God lies under one simple
question. Where were they natured spiritually? (Who is their spiritual Leader?)
When you sit under your spiritual leader for some good time, because you are
under a spiritual cover of that leader you will find yourself making the right
choice or decision. Every spiritual leader has got a specific divine
definition. For example at VCCM when it comes to marriages and finance you
can’t struggle. That is why people who come to VCCM are blessed with marriage
and finance. I myself I am a big testimony of being under VCCM. I come from a polygamous
setting where no one has ever married ceremonially and the same with my wife
and as a matter of fact these polygamous forces from our foundation tried to
fight us but what made us prevail over those forces is the spiritual cover
under which we serve. Friend, when you humble under your spiritual leader
automatically no one will need to tell you to learn the word. Why? Because
right spiritual leaders give right spiritual food to their children. Utilize
the spiritual cover under which God has put you. One thing I cannot forget is
all the success and progress I have attained in life is because of being under
the right spiritual parents.
Finally, I want you to know that for
one to make the right choice in life, one has to be obedient, walk in divine
wisdom, have faith in God and utilize the value of Spiritual parents. However
for you to attain the above you must take the word of God keenly. May God help
you make the right choices in life that will pave the way for your greatness.
And may this be the year that you will start afresh in whatever you do and in a
big way.
May
God bless you
Mr. Opanyi Emma
brilemma@yahoo.com
+256 775585176
JESUS IS THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY & FOREVERMORE
