We Are Not Fit to Make Our Own Choice

“I am not fit to be my own chooser; God shall choose for me! I desire nothing but what God sees fit to give me.” – Thomas Jacombe

This quote is a soul-searching statement about contentment. So much of our turmoil of soul stems from believing our situation should be something other than what it is. Our dismay is often the result of thinking that we are facing something that is not beneficial to our souls. However, is God not sovereign, and is he not good?

We are not fit to be our own chooser. If we were to choose our lot in life, in our sinfulness, we would destroy ourselves. We would always choose pleasure and success, and, in the process, ruin our souls. Like the picture of Dorian Grey, our souls would decay in the sugary sweetness of earthly delights, while the world would look on in wonder at our picture perfect life.

At first, our choice for pleasure would be accompanied by our claim that we desire to magnify the goodness of the Lord, but as our souls began to deteriorate, we would lose the ability to choose otherwise. More and more earthly pleasure and success would be required to keep us satisfied.

Praise God, he chooses for us. Whatever hardships we face, the hand of our God ordains it. Whether we encounter sickness, poverty, famine, pestilence, or the weapons of our enemies, he is good in all he does. He is the keeper of our souls, and through it all he is holding the rot at bay.

We are called to fight against all of these hardships when they hit and not wallow in them, but our success or failure in these battles is also his decision, and all his ways are perfect.

If we understand that his choosing is better than ours, as the troubles of our day present themselves, we will not be dismayed or moved to despair. Instead, we will know that what we are facing this day is the best thing we could face for our spiritual well-being. Any other situation would be detrimental to our spiritual health, and God will not allow that to happen.

We will trust the hand of God in all things. We will fight with a strength not our own, and leave the results to Him. For we will desire nothing but what God sees suitable to give us.

-D. Eaton