Thursday, November 7, 2013

Chosen.

Do you ever feel like you're not enough?
Like you are running in a circle searching for your purpose?
Like you thought you were in God's will but you feel like you've let people down?

If I am completely honest....
This could describe me lately.

I have been living in Mexico for a little over three months now (crazy, right?) and sometimes I feel as though I have accomplished nothing. Sometimes I don't feel like a missionary. What is the definition of a missionary, anyways? Sometimes I feel like maybe more was expected of me, and I turned out to be this mistake.

We've all felt like this before, right?
Maybe for you it has happened at work. You had a huge task to accomplish and the results just didn't turn out how you thought they would.
Maybe it was with your family. You said something wrong to a spouse, child, or sibling and the rest is history.
Maybe it was in your ministry. You thought God was leading you in a certain direction and all of a sudden things seemed to be spinning out of control.

There are so many different situations, but they all have one thing in common... they leave us feeling worthless.

I was talking to a friend today who has been having similar feelings. The Holy Spirit nudged me to go read a blog that I usually keep up on, but haven't recently. The entry is titled, "When you're pretty sure you are a dissapointment." It is written by Kari Patterson. In it, she explained having had feelings like these and I thought, "Wow! This perfectly describes how I have been feeling!"

As I kept reading, Kari went on to explain that these feelings that we have, these painful, raw, and very real feelings, make it so that we see the gospel. The ravaging love that revolutionizes our souls, she says.

The gospel doesn't tell us that we are worthless, purposeless, and a mistake. In fact, it tells us the exact opposite! It tells us that we are CHOSEN!

Matthew 22:14
"For many are called, but few are chosen."

Romans 8:29
"For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them..."

1 Thessalonians 1:4
"For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you..."

2 Thessalonians 2:13
"...because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth."

These are just a few of many verses in the bible that talk about how God has chosen us. What a beautiful thing that is! And if God, the creator of the universe and everything in it, decided to chose me, should I feel anything less than enamored? In awe? Grateful? Confident? Intentional?

I think not.

Now, I know that realistically I will feel down and out sometime again in my life, but I hope that in those times, God brings me back to this place. A place of remembrance and peace. Because, friends, what he did on the cross is what defines us. Remember and find peace in that. 

You are worth loving. You are enough. You are loved.

You are chosen.



If you want to read the blog by Kari Patterson, you can do so by visiting www.karipatterson.com.

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