Would You Rather?

I love a good game of Would You Rather? It’s really simple to play… in fact, let’s play now! Choose your preference:

• Would you rather… have more time or more money?
• Would you rather… explore space or the ocean?
• Would you rather… have bendy straws for hair or newspaper for skin?
• Would you rather… meet a famous historical figure or a famous current figure?

In case you’re wondering, my answers are: more time, the ocean, newspaper skin, and a historical figure.

This game has helped me start so many fun (and weird) conversations with friends, and strangers too. It’s a great way to learn about others and dream about what life could be like. I wonder, though, how often we find ourselves disappointed because we think life functions like this game.

Sure, no one is actually choosing between bendy-straw hair or newspaper skin; but we all make choices daily, hoping that our outcomes will be exactly what we expect. We make plans assuming that things will go accordingly. We dream of our futures, and most of the time, have only good things in mind.

The problem comes when expectations and reality don’t match and our future isn’t quite as bright as we hoped it would be. It’s easy to get discouraged. What do we do when we don’t get what we would rather?

Answer: Trust God.

There’s a lot packed into those two little words. It’s easier said than lived, for sure, but trusting God really is the best thing we can do when life doesn’t go our way. Even when we’re not sure how He’s working, we can trust in who He is.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! (Psalm 34:8 ESV)

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom… the Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. (Psalm 145:3, 8-9)

All we need is wrapped up in His goodness, there’s nothing else that can fully satisfy us. When we make God the center of our lives and the desire of our hearts, we’ll find ourselves trusting Him more and more, because we’re never left wanting.

Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. (Psalm 36:5)

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. (Deuteronomy 31:8)

While even the best friendships can let us down from time to time, God never will. He never changes, he never sleeps, he never fails, and he never abandons. What an incredible picture of faithfulness to place our trust in!

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:9-10)

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved.) (Ephesians 2:4-5 NLT)

God does more than offer lip service about his love for us; he gives up his own life to prove it. It’s easy to put our trust in him when we remember the incredible sacrifice he made to rescue us from our sins.

Ultimately, life is not one big Would You Rather? game. There’s a lot that is beyond our control. However, when we remember who God truly is, there’s only one choice to make.

Would you rather… trust in a good, faithful, loving God or try to figure it out on your own?