"Come"

Many people grapple with the fact that they are chosen of God. We hear it and read it, but it seems almost as though someone with thoughts like ours couldn't have been chosen yet. Have you ever felt that you just need fix this or that to truly receive God's favor? You see God working in the lives of those around you, and you see their relationship with God growing stronger but for whatever reason, you feel stagnant in yours. Notice: Many of these reasons (listed and not listed) that cause us to feel that we are not [insert struggle hear] enough is because we've seen someone else reach the point we feel we should be. Your faith is your journey. Focus on God and not the spirituality of others. Here's an excerpt taken from my devotional this morning.

" We are to accept of Christ as our personal Saviour, or we shall fail in our attempt to be overcomers. It will not answer for us to hold ourselves aloof from Him, to believe that our friend or our neighbor may have Him for a personal Saviour, but that we may not experience His pardoning love. We are to believe that we are chosen of God, to be saved by the exercise of faith, through the grace of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit; and we are to praise and glorify God for such a marvelous manifestation of His unmerited favor. It is the love of God that draws the soul to Christ, to be graciously received, and presented to the Father. Through the work of the Spirit the divine relationship between God and the sinner is renewed"

-Chosen of God, March 12 from Our High Calling

Please excuse my improper citing. 

You see, we are told to focus on God and to accept that we are chosen. That's where faith comes in. We have faith that God will provide or that He exists, but need to make sure we have the same amount of faith that He has saved us and chosen us to be His people. "Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away." Isaiah 41:9. He doesn't apply a condition for choosing you. He called us, and then said we're His servant. Remember when Jesus said to two strangers "Come let me make you fishers of men"?

And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. -Matthew 4:18,19

These men were chosen of God. He said "Come". Their job was to go to Him.  We see in verse 21 and 22 that this may mean you have to leave people behind. James and John left their father behind to follow Jesus. This decision won't sit well with everyone. There are people and lives and habits you may leave behind  in order to follow God, but what's before you is so much greater! Looking back will eventually kill you. Remember Lot's wife? Lot, his wife and two daughters were spared and allowed to leave Sodom before the city was taken down. They were given the warning not to look back or they will be turned to stone. Lot's wife looked back and God kept his promise. How can you focus on a future when your so caught up in your past? "God, I want to follow you, but I've done so much bad" Does this sound familiar? Don't forget that if you are baptized, you've already agreed that you believe Jesus died at the cross the blot out your sin.

In summary, yes. You are chosen. God isn't focused on whtat you've done, He's waiting with grace for you to leave it behind and go to Him. Whether or not you follow that command is up to you. Focus on Christ and don't let the events in other people's lives hinder your walk with and /or to Christ. Today, don't forget to pray an earnest prayer asking God to strengthen your faith in Him. Don't be embarrassed, only through Him can we answer His call. Are you ready to put your faith in Jesus Christ whole heartedly?