Matthew 22:14 –“ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

We all want to be chosen by God, whatever that may imply to each one of us. We believe that God chooses the best; the holy, the strong, and the mighty. We envision that God’s chosen people lead a marvelous life, free from toil and pain. 

Are we right in assuming so?

Whom does God select to use for mighty deeds?

The Lord chose His people 

Isaiah 48:17- Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, who teaches you for your own good, who leads you in the way you should go.

The Lord selected Israel and led them in every stage; showing them what to do, how to do, and where to go. Though they were intelligent, powerful, and strong, they still depended on God.

The perusal of the scripture about the choices that the Lord makes is interesting. You will notice that the zeroes of the world are the heroes of the bible.  The world may condemn them as worthless. But, in front of God, they were heroes, because they trusted and depended on Him. The Lord proclaims, “I am the lord your god who teaches you.”

God selected a fisherman as the first pope. He was illiterate, and not so intelligent and diplomatic as per the criteria that the world assigns to choose a leader. Yet, God has chosen him.

He also made a lot of mistakes, failed, denied Jesus, ran away from Jesus… 

But, God used him.

Take a look at the other disciples. They were all fishermen, tax collectors; the worst kind of people who were hated by everyone. And God selected them.Zealots were criminals according to the law of Roma, but God chose them.

So god always chose the lowly ones. 

The Lord chose Mother Mary 

Mother Mary was a simple girl. From the apocryphal books, we know that she was Joaquim and Anna’s daughter, conceived in her old age. At the age of three, she was surrendered in the temple and was brought up there. Meanwhile Joaquim and Anna died, and she was brought up as an orphan. Ordinary girl; no family of her own, orphan, and God has chosen this girl to be the mother of The Messiah. 

To all those who feel you are good for nothing, useless, and incapable, know that there is a big potential for you to be the next hero of our Lord. The Lord asks only one thing from you-Trust in Him.

Everyone who is innocent, weak, and incapable without the help of someone, must be cautious as they are the ones who are easily taken control of by the evil one. When you are weak, it is easy for evil to direct and guide you to destruction.

But today, The Bible reveals to us that if you think you are powerless and naïve, the next thing you must do is total dependence on God. The wonders will start flowing through. He leads you to the way you should take. Are you not able to make a decision for yourself? Well and good. You need not!

God will take control. He will show you the path, lead you and direct you in the way you should go. You just need to obey Him.,

God chose Gideon

Gideon was an incapable, frightened, and weak man, mortally scared of the Midianites. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior.”

My dear brothers and sisters, God calls on you, not based on your capacity and position on earth. God looks for the word; He thinks of what can be made out of you. He has a plan for your future. He does not assess you based on your past and present, but He looks at you with a future in mind. Looking at his future He told Gideon- ‘’you are a mighty warrior.’’

Gideon wonders aloud, “But sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? A skeptical question you and I too could be asking God when He chooses us for all the wrong reasons and qualities. 

Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; I hereby commission you.” The Lord again said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike down the Midianites, every one of them.”

Gideon selected 32,000 warriors to fight against the 120,000 of Midian. The Lord observed that the troops were was too many to be given to the Midianites. The Lord sifted them and selected 300 out of the 32,000 to fight against the Midianites. 

The mightier, you are, the more credit you take for yourself! 

This is why the warriors that the Lord chose for His missions are good for nothing, incapable, weak, and afraid. They surrender to the Lord, and trust in His judgment, rather than in their own prowess.

God looks at your future and calls you. Don’t be ashamed, hesitant, or afraid. You could be the weakest, least favoured, and good-for-nothing in your family. But the lord believes that you are a mighty warrior. He says lovingly, “I will be with you.”

We have a plan for our life, and God has a plan for us. Unfortunately, many a time, our plans are in conflict with God’s plans for us. God is planning something higher than that we can ever imagine!

God chose Saul as the first king of Israel

When Samuel, as instructed by the Lord approached Saul to select him as the king of Israel, Saul, all apprehensive responds, “I am only a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel, and my family is the humblest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin. Why then have you spoken to me in this way?” 

But God has chosen him to be the first king.

Anyone who feels,”How can that be possible, I am not good enough, capable enough, or smart enough’’, remember that the Lord has chosen you to be the right one. Trust in God’s choice when He says, “I will be with you.” He wants to be with those people who are worthless in the eyes of the world.

Mother Mary said, “How is it possible?”, and then the Lord said, “The holy spirit will come upon you.

”When the Lord says, “This one shall go with you, he shall go with you; and when He says, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” 

Would you understand how terrified Gideon, a man with no trust in himself would have felt to take the chosen meager 300, to fight against the 120,000 mighty warriors waiting to devour them? But, he trusted the Lord, took the jars of the troops from their hands, and their trumpets; and sent all the rest of Israel back to their own tents.

Was he apprehensive? Possibly so.

The Lord said to Him, “But if you fear to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah;  and you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to attack the camp.”

If you are good for nothing, and say, “yes” to the Lord. You are the chosen one in God’s eyes!

God looks at your past, present and future. Are we wise enough to predict our future? Therefore, listen to Him, He who sees everything under the heavens, and knows what the future holds. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil, and the good.

Job 28:24 For he looks to the ends of the earth, and sees everything under the heavens.

God chose David to fight Goliath

Goliath stood and challenged the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.  Give me a man that we may fight together.”  Saul and all of Israel heard these words, and were dismayed and greatly afraid.

David the shepherd boy declares to Saul, “Let no one’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine. The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” 

So Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you!”

Remember, my dear friends, the attributes of your body could elicit such comments, “You are only a small boy, what can you do”? But, listen to the inner voice- the voice of  the Lord who speaks to you. The inner voice that guided David, “Go, you will be able to destroy those Philistines.”

David does not know the outcome of this war. When Goliath said to David with disdain, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air, and to the wild animals of the field,” he believed in the Lord, and boldly declared to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, and spear, and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 

David knew that the moment Goliath defied the Lord, he lost his protection. He has spoken against the Lord of the army, and cursed David in the name of his gods. That was the strength of David. Goliath came depending on the power of his sword and his weapons; David came depending on the living God of Israel. Goliath was chopped off with the same sword, the strength on which he depended on.

My dear followers of Christ, if we are deemed as good for nothing, and feel that we do not have the capacity to bloom, remember- the Lord has your back. 

He wants to use all the weak ones as his mighty warriors. We see only our past, but He sees our future. He will help us fight battles, defeat Goliaths, and lead us to victory. Let us all surrender our lives to the living God who alone can turn a curse into a blessing; test into a testimony, and a defeat into a victory.

Amen