You Are Chosen

Over the years, many of us will ask ourselves why we are here, what is our purpose, can I do this and am I good enough? Some of these are questions I have asked myself at different times. Yet one thing underpins it all, that we know we are here for a reason. We have a purpose. This was all laid out before us. God has created each of us individually. He knows us in a way that no one else knows us: ‘For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.’ (Psalms 139: 13-14).

God created you and me. Take the time to really think about that, to pause and comprehend that our loving God made you - how amazing is that! The enormity of this passes our understanding.

Not only did God create you, but you are chosen. Isaiah 43:1 says: ‘But now, this is what the Lord says - he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”’

We are chosen. We are His. Jesus knows you intimately and He chooses you. We may be broken, we may live sinful lives, yet Jesus chooses us whatever or wherever we come from. Over the last few months, I have been watching The Chosen. It’s freely available and created and produced by donations from Christians. If you have never seen it, it focuses on Jesus’s ministry and how His disciples came to him. They are not necessarily people you would expect to be chosen, like a tax collector who would be an outcast in Jewish society or Simon Peter, who calls himself a sinful man’ (Luke 5:8). Yet Jesus chose these people to be his disciples so why wouldn't He choose you?

One person who has been brought to my attention is Mary Magdalene. The demon possessed woman, from whom Jesus drives out the demons. She came out of the darkness and became a follower of Jesus. She followed His light, heard His words and witnessed Jesus performing miracles. She was there at His death and there at His resurrection. Jesus chose Mary for this purpose. He chose her - a woman possessed and living in darkness to witness His ministry and resurrection.

God sees you. You are chosen and you are chosen for a purpose. That can sound overwhelming if we do not know what our purpose is. One good thing to remember is that as we try to discover our purpose, we are all individually made. We are all unique and different from one another. Think about what gifts you have. They might seem simple, like being a good encourager, a good host, a good listener or a good leader. We too often look for some amazing bolt of lightening to tell us what our gifts are, but this is rarely the case. We usually discover our gifts by a throwaway comment, an encounter in a coffee shop or a cause that grabs our attention, to name but a few. Remember that God created you. He created you for a purpose that only you can fulfil. He has given you gifts for this purpose: ‘For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do’. (Ephesians 2:10).

Whatever or wherever you go, remember you are loved, you have been created, you are chosen and you have a purpose.