HAND ME DOWN
What it means to be CHOSEN
June 9th, 2023
Colossians 3:12-14, ‘So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.’
A CROWN and a SANDWICH
Forgotten? I don’t think so.
Samuel 16:11-13, ‘And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.” So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.’ (NKJV)
God’s timing is impeccable even when we think He has lost track of time. We find in the Scripture above, the young boy David, out shepherding the sheep, while his brothers are being paraded in front of a mighty man—a man so mighty, he has come to pick a king. Talk about being the hand-me-down hero of this story! The youngest of eight sons forgotten and sent to tend the sheep. But God hadn’t forgotten him, not for one moment, and suddenly, God’s Spirit and His perfect timing and the shepherd boy, David, all collide. This collision will result in a great blessing, causing one who seemingly had been left behind to be anointed king.
We can never mistake the things that befall us as accidents or mistakes. Woven into the very fabric of each of our lives is the thread which a holy God sewed there. Even when we pull on the apparel of apathy or anguish, we find a loving Father holding out a garment of praise instead. He is waiting to dress us and cloth us, wrap us in His very best, the silken robe designed for a prince or a princess, because we are children of a King.
The cost can be extreme, I know. The price expensive. I know what those scars cost you. I know the agony of coming undone, unraveling, thread by thread. But it’s okay now; you can remove the mask and step out of the costume, because your heavenly Father sees you and He loves you and He chose you for Himself.
1 Samuel 16:7, ‘But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things the people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”’ (NIV)
you are His REMNANT
