Choices

Love is a choice not a feeling.  So is patience, joy, peace, tolerance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, being tender and caring, and self-control.  It requires a heart of gratefulness and a mindset of identifying with that gratefulness.  Is is not letting our circumstances or feelings determine our choices but that our choices will influence and direct our circumstances and feelings.  It is the difference between a thermometer (which only reflect the temperature) versus a thermostat (which controls the temperature).  Making a choice of love, patience, joy, peace, tolerance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control is the thermostat for our environment (circumstances) and our condition (feelings).  It is not by accident that the Book of Instruction (the Bible) speaks about these as being fruit of the Spirit (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians%205%3A22-23&version=NIV).  They are attributes of a person living in accord (in union) with the Holy Spirit.  They are reflections of what is happening on the inside.  The reflection of our external being (what people can see and experience) is a direct correlation of what is going on in the inside (thermometer versus thermostat).  Our circumstances are external and making them the lead in our thoughts bring the circumstances into our inner being where they cause emotions and feelings to become a caldron of confusion and reaction which influence our choices.  God designed us and instructs us to make the inner choices so that they will influence our thoughts, words and actions for our external circumstances.  It is choosing to be patient first and then facing a circumstance that stretches our patience.  It is choosing tolerance first before facing difficult people.  It is choosing to have self-control first before facing a situation that would make us angry.  It is choosing to be kind and speak kindly despite feeling overwhelmed.  God modeled this for us.  He forgave first before facing the unforgivable.  He loves first despite us being unlovable (rebellious people who are busy wanting to live apart from Him).  He chooses patience to give us the opportunity to accept Jesus for eternal salvation.  He chose faithfulness so that He is immutable (never changing) for us.  Father, thank you for instructing us in what is difficult to live out in daily live.  We are prone to reaction and being highly influenced by our circumstance and our emotions.  Guide me in wisdom to make choices that will guide my thoughts, words and actions in dealing with circumstances and not to let circumstances deal with me.