He chose You! In His Word 8-8-22

 

He chose you!

I am once again amazed that God chose me today.


During a discussion this weekend I was reminded of the fact that it was not just by chance that I walked up to my Bible the day and time that my grandmother died; God ordained it to be.

 It was not by chance that I offered to take my father's place at the funeral hall the night before her viewing to be sure everything was okay; only to realize that she was no longer in the shell of her body in the casket.

 

It was not by chance that I went to another funeral where after my aunt prayed openly for God not to rain on the funeral, the cloudy sky opened up a spot of blue, and the brilliant sun shone down on our procession and burial plot service, in Seattle!

 God plans our steps, orders our way, and shows us what He has planned. Our part is to follow Him.

 “...So, which of these three do you think was a neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”

 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10:36-37

God opened the sky to show me a whole new life was waiting for me; I did not even know if God was real yet at that point! After that I believed, and now my job is to go and help others to see that open sky is there for a reason.

 He had a plan to choose us before we were born, even in our mother's womb He knew us according to David.

But You are He who took Me out of the womb; I was cast upon You from birth. From my mother's womb You have been My God. Be not far from me for trouble is near; for there is none to help. Psalm 22:9-11

 I have heard people say of a child that they knew God right from the start. There was a little boy I taught years ago and even at the age of three he was preaching, not just singing Jesus loves me but speaking out with authority of the Holy Spirit and wisdom that comes only from God in a child of such a young age. I watched this child for a few years, and I trust that if he did not get caught up in the worlds desires that he is a powerful preacher today bringing Christ to all nations. Even if he is not, I trust that those of us whom he spoke to even as a child were touched by God through him. 

 

If I understand a little bit about the grace of God, it is in the fact that even though He knew we were going to be jerks to our siblings at times, we may break a rule, a law or even a heart, still He chose us.

 

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba Father.” The spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Romans 8:14-16

 

He chose the disciples to bring the Gospel message out to those nations around them. He chose each of their followers or fellow servants o f the Gospel to spread a little further and a little further their people and so on. Throughout history we can read in textbooks how the Gospel was spread; it was coveted, and it was protected and maybe even miss taught at times but the Truth of Jesus Christ always comes through. God always comes through with the true reason we are walking in an area that is not always fun.

Sometimes I wonder why God stuck me where He has me; sometimes I feel like I am stuck in the mud and can't get out. When I feel this way because of circumstances around me I stop for a moment, when I am done crying like a baby over it and ask God what I am supposed to do to get out of the mess. If in fact He chose me to be His child, then He has a plan for how I am to get out of it. I forget that sometimes, in my humanness or what the Bible calls 'my flesh'. I think I am supposed to do this one all by myself, you know, figure it out myself and not ask for help?

After all God gave me a brain, some muscles, and a body that is able why can't I just pull myself out of the mud and get rinsed off?

 He chose me to walk in this mud. He chose me to ask for His help so that He could show me something in my life.

Lately it has been about trusting Him.  Trusting Him to guide my life steps, trusting Him to provide wisdom in all my walking, trusting that He loves me. Do you know how much God loves you?

It is amazing to think about it because He loves you enough that He chose you. He chose you to be right where you are right now reading this article. He knows you are reading it and thinking, really? Why would God care about such a small thing? Because He chose you, because He loves you.

We all walk through paths now and again that we wonder about the reason for it. Whether it is losing a loved one before we are ready to let them go, or a car accident that takes away the vehicle that you used to get to work; God chose you to walk in that path and when the time is right you will find the reason.

 

I know this is true because He wrote about it in His Word, the Bible.

He used Paul and Silas in a prison. He used Stephen at his death. He can use you right where you are today because He chose you!

We need to stop focusing on the humanness of our lives and focus on the fact the Holy Spirit is with us in all that we do. We do not need to feel as if we are stuck in the mud, but rather walking through it. A funny thought when my husband planted a certain seed in a planter it only sprouted a few sprouts of flowers there. Eventually the path of stones began showing signs of something growing there and as they grew taller he could see where the seeds went. My husband chose where he thought the flowers should grow but God had another plan. He blew the seeds to a different location. He chose where to plant the seeds, not my husband. 

We have heard it said that God does not give us something we cannot handle; I disagree.

My God gives me stuff I cannot handle alone, so that I will call upon Him for help. He gives me information I can't understand alone; so that I will ask Him for wisdom and understanding. He allows me to walk in darkness for a time so that I may ask, seek, and find His light.

He chose me to walk the life I am walking, and I choose Him to guide my steps instead of trying to walk them alone. 

He chose to love us; that we might choose to follow His example and love one another. He chose us to walk in the mud for His purpose not because we love the feel of the mud between our toes nor not.

He chose you... and no matter how hard it is for us to understand the fact that He loves us that much that even someone as useless or as ugly or as simpleminded or weak as me; He chose me to love.

God must think we are worth all the hassles we give Him; let us go and do likewise. Let’s  realize today that He has placed us where we are for His purpose and that He is worth the hassle it take for us to get through the day.

Dear heavenly Father, thank you for choosing me today, thank you for choosing us to join your family. Open our eyes to see and our ears to hear what Your Spirit is telling us today and help us to walk in Your promises, In Jesus name, amen.

Suggested reading: Romans 8:1-39, Romans 9:1-33, Psalm 22:1-31 and Psalm 37:1-40