It is a sure thing that if we want to go one way and our lifestyle is headed the other way, we will never get to the desired place. If we want to be thin and fit, we cannot habitually eat high-calorie fast food. If we want to have a sweet spirit and a pure life, we cannot hang around with people who are negative, critical and self-seeking. Choosing the right path is simple, but staying on it is not easy.

Psalms 1:1 shares with us that, “Blessed is the man (person) who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.” In other words, the way of blessing depends a lot on the people we hang around.

The Apostle Paul says the same thing in another way, in Romans 6:13: “Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God…” Offering ourselves to one lifestyle or another is a conscious act of our will. Those who know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior have the power of choice and what we choose to do, we do.

Psalms 1:2 continues the thought by showing the better way for the person who wants to be blessed: “His delight is in the law of the Lord.” It may seem a little old fashioned these days with all the so-called enlightenment and diversity of culture, etc. to seek and follow the ways of God, but the fact is, there is nothing more relevant to life than the Word of God — the Bible.

The Word of God (the Bible) is more than ink on paper. The writer of the New Testament book of Hebrews declares, in chapter 4, verse 12, that “the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

We all follow our heart for good or evil. We need to know the condition of our heart and the only true reflector of heart attitude is the Word of God.

If you want to know the destination of your lifestyle, look at others who have gone that way before you. How has it worked for them?

We are what we have been becoming. What we are now is a result of many choices made minute by minute, day by day. Turning our lives around is simple. We know what to do, but it is not easy. There is help. There is the grace of God. When we give ourselves over to God and His way, His grace will give us the desire and the power to live God’s way. We see this in Philippians 12:13: “it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”

The right direction begins and ends with choices. Perhaps your choice today is to choose to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and then cry out to Him for grace and power to live your life like Jesus did.

It is never too late. Check the Bible. Find your location and direction in God’s grand plan. Set your feet to walk God’s way. You will be surprised at your progress and blessing.

The Rev. Dan Puckett is a minister with Life Action Ministries.