Southwestern Union Record

A man was journeying through the desert and got lost. He was thirsty and his throat was dry; hope was running out. Just then, he saw a shack in the distance. Inside, there was an old-fashioned water pump with a handle and spout, and a jug of water beside it with a note that read, “Pour all of the water into the pump to prime it. If you do this, you will have all of the water you wish to drink.”

What to do, he wondered. It was all he could do not to grab the jug and guzzle every drop. The choice was severe. Trust the note and use the precious water to prime the pump—a pump that might not even work—or drink the water now and be satisfied immediately. 

It took everything to lift the jug and pour some of its water into the pump. He worked the handle, but nothing happened. He emptied the jug and kept working the handle but the pump only produced faint gurgling sounds; he was getting scared but kept working the handle … and then water—cold, refreshing water—gushed from the spout and splashed all over the floor of the dusty shack. 

He was overjoyed and drank until he thought his stomach might burst. When finished, he refilled the jug and set it beside the pump along with the note for the next weary traveler. 

Every day we have many choices to make, big and small. And our decisions at these intersections of life either bless or damage us.  

In the book, Who You Are When No One Is Looking, the author writes, “Every single day we make choices that show whether we are courageous or cowardly. We choose between the right thing and the convenient thing, sticking to a conviction or caving in for the sake of comfort, greed, or approval. We choose either to take a carefully thought-out risk or to crawl into a shrinking shell of safety, security, and inactivity. We choose either to believe in God and trust Him, even when we do not always understand His ways, or to second-guess Him and cower in the corners of doubt and fear.” 

Choice is a sacred gift that was given at Creation. It’s the first step toward improving our well-being. Before we can achieve positive changes in any area of our life, we must choose to do so. Conscious decision-making is key to experiencing the positive impact of good choices.

It’s important to remember that although we gladly surrender our lives to the indwelling presence of Jesus Christ, He has put us in charge of our lives by giving us the gift of choice. Jesus never intends for us to disengage our will and drift through life living in constant reaction. Although we live under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, He chose to put us in charge of our lives.

The story is told about an umpire who once called Babe Ruth out on strikes. Yankee stadium erupted with deafening jeers and boos, which prompted Babe Ruth to turn to the umpire and say:  “There’s 40,000 people here who know that the last pitch was a ball, tomato head.” He expected the umpire to lash out in anger and eject him from the game, but instead, the cool-headed ump simply said, "Maybe so, Babe, but mine is the only opinion that counts."

You are the umpire of your life.

God gives you the most wonderful gift of having the final say over your life. When it comes to the choices you make, you are in charge, whether you think so or not. And at the end of the day, your opinion is the only one that matters. So make your choices count and let your decisions be a blessing to yourself and others. 

That’s CREATION Health!