You Are Chosen By God

Chosen.

That six letter word packs a lot of punch, doesn't it?

Because on some level, I believe each and every one of us longs to be exactly that.

Whether we're able to acknowledge it or not, at the very core of our being, is a deep (dare I say, God given?) desire for us to belong;

To be special.

To be favored.

To be chosen.

And whether you feel this about yourself or not, I want you to know something;

You are chosen.

So, what exactly does it mean to be chosen?

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines the word, chosen as:

• one who is the object of choice, or of divine favor : an elect person

• selected or marked for favor or special privilege //a chosen few

That's a pretty fantastic definition! But, here's an even better one;

In Ephesians 1:3-4, Paul exhorts;

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

Beloved;

God chose us before the creation of the world.

Maybe this is the first time you've heard this.

Or maybe you’ve heard it before; and maybe, more than even hearing it,

you’ve known it;

felt it;

grasped the magnitude of it.

But if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past, I don’t know; 20 years? of my life, it’s that you can know something so very profoundly and deeply and then, you can read it, or hear it again, and somehow, it settles even deeper into your knowing than it ever did before.

So, whether this is the first time you've heard it, or if it's just a reminder, know this.

Really know it.

God. Chose.You.

Long before the earth was formed, you were known and loved.

You see, something begins to happen when you really understand that you have been chosen by God; when you know that you’re a part of a chosen people.

Your view of yourself changes.

When you know that you have been chosen, you begin to see yourself less with your human eyes, and instead, learn to see yourself the way God sees you. And when you start seeing yourself the way that God sees you, you begin to walk more fully in His Truth. And as you learn to walk more fully in His Truth, well, then beloveds, then you can really begin to walk and live and dwell in the power of the Almighty Lord.

You have been set apart since before the world began for a specific purpose. Before the world was created, God knew you. Before God created the earth, He looked ahead to the time that you would be here on this earth, and purposed for you, a specific calling.

And the fact of the matter is, you have been called to something big.

Something powerful.

Something incredible!

And then, when He formed you in your mother’s womb, He knit you together according to that purpose.

But the thing is, until you know who you are in Christ, until you really understand that you are chosen, you're only going to be able to see yourself through your human eyes and not through the eyes of the One who created you.

And here's the thing.

Our human eyes are flawed. They have been trained to see only what the world around us wants us to see.

• That we are weak.

• Or, that we are strong enough on our own.

• Or that we'll never be enough.

• Or maybe that we can only count on ourselves.

• Or that if we surround ourselves with all the worldly pleasures we can, we'll find happiness and fulfillment.

When we see ourselves through our own eyes, we will be left with either a false sense of fulfillment, or a false understanding of who and what we are created to be.

But when we learn to see ourselves through God's eyes, when we learn that we have been created in His image, and that we have been chosen and set apart for a divine purpose since before the world began,

• Then we can begin to walk in the fullness of Christ.

Beloved.

You have been chosen.

Chosen by God.

So listen. If the Lord is stirring up within you, a desire to walk more fully in the divine plan and purpose that He has created you for, dig into Ephesians chapter 1. Read it. Ask God to help you KNOW in your spirit, that you are deeply loved, favored, and marked for something special. Ask him to reveal to you the depth of what it means to be chosen by God.

And then girl?

Get ready!

Ephesians 1 The Message

1,2,3 - How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.

11,12 - It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.

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Hey girl.

If, like me, you are"sick to death" of living with one foot in the world, and one foot in the Word; if you're done with mediocrity; if you want to live in the absolute fullness of Christ; I'd love to connect with you. Two, you see, are better than one. Together, we can become the warrior women of God He has purposed us to be.

Melinda,

The Barefoot Warrior