Choose This Day
Scripture does not present faith as a vague feeling we fall into by accident. Again and again, God speaks to people as responsible image-bearers—capable of real choice, invited into covenant trust, and called to daily faithfulness.
“Choose this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Joshua 24:15
Joshua’s words are not a threat meant to scare Israel into compliance. They are a clear, quiet moment of truth: covenant love cannot be forced. Relationship with God is offered, not imposed.
1) The context: covenant renewal, not a fear campaign
Joshua 24 is a public gathering where Israel remembers what God has done—His deliverance, His care, His faithfulness through their history. Then comes the covenant question: will they respond with trust and obedience, or drift toward other gods?
Notice the order: God’s faithfulness is recalled first, and then God’s people are invited to respond. Scripture often works this way. God initiates; we answer.
2) “Choose” assumes real agency
The command to choose is meaningful only if a genuine decision is possible. Joshua does not speak as though Israel is a puppet people. He speaks as though their devotion is real, their responsibility is real, and their future direction matters.
God’s call to “choose” is not God stepping back in weakness. It is God honoring the kind of love He created us for: willing, responsive, covenant love.
3) Choosing God is not only a moment—it is a direction
Joshua’s statement is both personal and practical: “As for me and my house…” This is not abstract theology. It is daily life. It is worship in ordinary decisions. It is refusing divided loyalty.
- Daily faithfulness looks like returning to God again and again.
- Daily faithfulness looks like integrity when no one is watching.
- Daily faithfulness looks like choosing love over bitterness, truth over image, mercy over revenge.
Scripture never reduces faith to a single emotional high. Instead, it describes a steady walk: hearing God, trusting Him, obeying Him, and coming back when we’ve wandered.
4) Covenant trust is not “earning”—it’s belonging
Covenant language can feel heavy if we’ve been taught that God’s love is fragile. But in Scripture, covenant is about committed relationship. God binds Himself in faithful love, and He calls His people to respond with faithful love.
Choosing the Lord is not performing to become acceptable. It is saying, in the language of relationship: “You are my God, and I am yours. I will not give my heart to another.”
5) A quiet practice for today
If “choose this day” feels big and overwhelming, bring it down to a faithful next step. You don’t have to solve your whole life today. You can choose the Lord in the next honest decision.
- Choose truth over hiding.
- Choose prayer over spiraling.
- Choose obedience over delay.
- Choose reconciliation where possible.
- Choose to return—again.
If you feel weak, remember: Scripture’s call to choose is paired with Scripture’s assurance that God is faithful. The goal is not fear-based perfection. The goal is covenant trust.
In summary
Joshua 24:15 is a clear invitation to real choice: not coerced religion, not anxious striving, but a steady decision of allegiance. God’s people are called to respond to His faithfulness with faithful love—today.