Proverbs 11:29 He that troubles his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.

Dr. Seuss said, “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”
As a mentor and sometimes counsellor I am often stunned at the people who chose a thing or direction they went in and then these same people are all upset with the result and consequences of their choices. Some of them seem to have to go through the court system to find out that they might have missed the mark. Some are family members who will not heed the dangers they are bringing to their lives and sometimes the lives of other family members into the same perils they are headed for.

This can be frustrating to the relatives in these families. In some cases, even the children in these families can see plainly the mess the so-called adults are headed toward. God has asked us to choose life and blessing. Deut. 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.

The expression “It seemed like a good idea at the time,” lands empty and unreasonable when standing there looking pathetic and getting ready to suffer the result of the said choices. Josh. 24:19b Choose you this day whom ye will serve. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. This scripture should have been their original choice. How true the Proverb says of them. Prov. 11:29 He that troubles his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart. Not only do these people trouble their own houses, they become foolish servants who lose even what they earn. Hos. 8:7 For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.

For the rest of our lives, we will have to make choices, and yes, there will be some mistakes and battles because that is how we learn to become victorious. The mistakes we make are not a problem when we are consistently in relationship with the Holy Spirit, because we are growing in Him as we live out our Christian lives by faith. Thank God for the blessed gift of repentance. 1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

When we are in a relationship with Christ, the choices we make are made out of a Christ consciousness and not a sin consciousness; therefore, we can move forward in life with a holy confidence that we received through a prayerful relationship with our Lord. Phil. 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. The grace of God is so incredible that it covers, rescues, heals, and straightens the results of the choices we have made because we made them with a heart after God.

How fast can we turn over to God a mess that resulted from a sinful and carnal choice? Right now! Is that fast enough? We read the story of the two thieves who were crucified with Christ and one of them repents right there on the cross. Luke 23:41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou come into thy kingdom. 43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. The gift of repentance is so powerful that it will leave a devil’s head spinning. The devil thought he had this thief on his way to the kingdom of darkness and within a moment of true repentance, the thief had been transferred into the kingdom of light.

Wow!! True, the thief was on the cross for the choices he had made in his life and that was the consequences of those choices. Yes, he had affected his family with all the problems that come with being a no-good useless member of a family, but within a moment of repentance, he became a sanctified child of the living God and a resident of the Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. “Wow” is all I can say to that. What amazing gifts repentance and grace are to us who receive them by faith!

Never give up praying for those family members and people you know who have made the worst choices possible and have brought great destruction upon themselves and others, because within a moment of God’s light getting through to their darkened hearts, they can repent, and change their minds toward their choices. They can at any time turn to a merciful God who wants none of them to perish. 2Pet. 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. May you choose the way of the Lord and have joy in your heart.