Chosen…

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:1-10 ESV)

Have you ever felt abandoned?

Like you were left out in the cold?

Recently I was given some news which was so far from what the majority of the people around me thought would be given I was shocked and wondering how we could ever move forward. My family was hanging in the air waiting on news of a possible calling for me. It was going to happen, we all thought. It was what would be. We were making plans to move and telling our friends that we would be moving soon…

Then the phone rang, and I remember the words…

“I had to call but it is not good news…”

Really God! We have given everything and this is what happens?!?!?!

But now wait a minute…

You see God is in control and what we think we need or what we want may not be what God needs for us to do, or what He wants to give us. As Peter tells us, we once were nobody, but God came in and accepted us and made us His people. We need to not be upset when things don’t go our way, because maybe the way we want them to go is not the way that God has for them to go. Maybe we are stumbling over our own thoughts, our own ways. Maybe we are so hung up on trying to do it right that we don;t see the grace for our faith. We can not see the love of God for our wanting to please Him by doing everything “right”.

When we see that we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. it is then that we see that we are to be a light to the world and it is not about our needs or our own desires. It is about the community and the world that God sends us to. We need to be ready to go and do and not worry about ourselves. God has chosen us as His own people for His possessing.

So when your world is collapsing around you cling to Him and know that He has chosen you and has a plan for you and your life.