“We’re all self-made,” said one self-made philosopher, “but only the rich will admit it.”

The fact is life is a series of choices. I am where and who I am today and doing what I want to do because of choices I made many years ago. Furthermore, who I am and what I do tomorrow will be largely affected by choices I make today. To do nothing is also a choice even if it is made unconsciously.

As Brian Tracy puts it, “It’s choice, not chance, that determines our destiny.”

For example, I may have been victimized in the past but if I remain a victim that is my choice and in so doing I become a willing volunteer. No matter what my background was or what happened to me in the past, I am now fully responsible for what I do about it and for what I become.

With God’s help and the support of loving friends and, if needed, the help of a well-trained counselor, I can become the person God wants me to be and fulfill the purpose he has for my life. It’s up to me, however, to find out what that purpose is and do my part in fulfilling it.

It boils down to choice. As Joshua said to the ancient Israelites, “Choose you this day whom you will serve … As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” And he did for the rest of his life.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to discover Your purpose for my life and accept full responsibility for becoming the person You want me to be and for doing what You have planned for me to do. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. Joshua 24:15.