Handpicked

Yesterday, I was listening to a preacher on television talk about the covenant the Jewish people have with God. The preacher's name is irrelevant but he said that once we become believers in Jesus Christ, we also have that covenant as well. My first thought, "Wow, that's awesome. So I'm as important as a Jew to God?"

Before we go any further, it's important that you understand what the word covenant means. A covenant is an agreement between two people or between two groups of people--or between God and a group of people. In this instance, covenants are pretty much defined as His promises to us in return for our faith and obedience. Without our faith, His promises are still good but then again that wouldn't be a covenant, would it? He doesn't need us to accomplish them, but we can't whine and complain if we aren't holding up our end of the bargain either.

As I listened to the preacher talk, God spoke to my heart and showed me how He handpicked me. I didn't come from a long line of believers. There was never this great faith or promise of blessings passed down from generation to generation. He reached out in the midst of a mess and picked me to save from the train wreck that was ahead. He knew me before I was formed in my mother's womb and He knew the mistakes I would make, yet He loved me all along.

He held me tightly and has never let go of me. He didn't have to pick me. He didn't need me. He knew that I was weak, that I had nothing to bring, but he still picked me. He knows my flaws like none other but he still loves me more than any human ever will. I can't think of a single way in which I stand out or do a single thing better than anyone or anything, but He picked me as one of His-- and for that my heart is overjoyed, humbled and overfilled with love for Him. He had His hand on me all along.

There is no other explanation for my life than this. I cannot take credit for any good in my life, it's all Him. I cannot say it's of my own doing because, without God, I'm as prone to self destruction as anyone else. I think about all the times in my life where I could have fallen, but He didn't allow it. Then there were times I did fall, but He still had mercy on me. In all honestly, I should be so much worse off than I am.

If you know Him, never forget that we're all handpicked, like delicate flowers. He gently picks us long before we bud and then He holds us in His almighty hands to ensure we each get a chance to bloom. Everyone of us who believe are handpicked, not because we have any great quality but because we are so weak He is so merciful.

 He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. Psalm 72:13

 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Luke 19:10

If you don't know Him, there's a reason you're reading this--maybe He's already picked you and wants your attention and your whole heart. Being a Christian doesn't mean you're perfect or that you stop sinning. Christianity is about giving up what you want to what He wants. The more you do that, the more He shapes and molds you. He is real, no matter what the world says. He isn't just some idea or some way of life. The only way you can have a chance at being what you were meant to be is by following Him, seeking His face and yielding to His ways.

Being handpicked doesn't mean you don't have a choice. It just means that even when you aren't aware, He's holding you. Do you ever feel held? Do you ever feel comforted and healed and you just can't explain it? Don't kid yourself and think that it's some kind of "inner strength". Everything good is of God, make no mistake about it. We have no "inner strength" of our own. We're all weak, it's the very nature of man.
I'm so thankful for the opportunity to enter into a convenant with The only God there is. The fact that He only expects my faith and obedience only further prove His great mercy.

Bitter to Forgive

I'm not a betting girl, but I'm pretty sure we all have some issue with forgiveness from time to time. When the topic of forgiveness arises, I'm all ears because I feel that the topic isn't discussed nearly enough for our human brains to truly get it. I've been quite guilty of holding grudges more than the average person in my 35 years of life and I'm finding more and more that I'm not the only one with this problem. We're a grudge-holding, bitter-biting society as a whole and I think unforgiveness is one of the most common hindrances to our growth and our intimacy with God. It seems to me that unforgiveness is right up on the list with some of the sins that we consider criminal.

I am the first born of three and I've always, until I hit my 30s, had a hard time relating to other people.  I have a whole slew of issues that should have made me even more dysfunctional than I am but by the grace of God I am alive, have healthy kids, a great job, a home, the most wonderful husband a woman could ask for and best of all--I know The Lord. But I have found more reasons than I care to admit to hold a grudge or carry bitterness over the years.

I had somehow adopted this idea that holding a grudge hurts that other person. I have often denied carrying any bitterness whatsoever about some of the wrongs done to me over the years. But He wouldn't let me lie to myself or to Him for that matter. Months ago, He kicked the dirt off of my bitterness, basically telling me that the bitterness has to go if I want to continue to have a relationship with Him.

That was a rude awakening for me. It was hard realizing that I carried those things for so long, much less letting go of them. No wonder I felt so heavy all those years. Frankly I never fully grasped forgiveness until this occurrence. I never really understood the aspects of forgiveness or even why I it behooved me to forgive. I suppose I had a pretty good grip on my bitterness, which kept me from wanting to hear the truth.

That being said, I am relatively young in my spiritual growth so if you're farther along and full of bitterness , I'm calling "bologna" on you because I do not believe He will allow you to carry on a fulfilling relationship with Him while you tight-fistedly clench to bitterness from things that were done to you. If you're a mature Christian, He's worked with you a time or two on forgiveness. None of us are exempt.

A few reasons to forgive are:

1. He commands us to. Mark 11:25: And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.
2. He forgave and continues to forgive each of us. (Not one of us are worthy.) Col 3:13: Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
3. It's critical for our Christian growth. 
4. We're not meant to carry the burden of unforgiveness. Unforgiveness weighs us down and makes us useless. It causes us to hurt in ways we never thought possible and ruins relationships.
5. Forgiveness brings peace to the forgiver.

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 6:14-15 

It was quite significant for me when I realized that it was hypocritical for me to ask Him for forgiviness, yet withhold it from someone who I felt had wronged me. Who am I to judge or weigh the sins? Some key aspects about forgiveness are:

1. It's a choice. Choose to forgive despite your "feelings' .
2. Pray for His help. We can set our minds to things all day long but forgiveness cannot be done fully apart from Him. Mark 2:7
3. It is ongoing. We might have to forgive over and over as long as the issue comes up in our minds. We face battles in our minds daily and this is just one of them.
4. It's not the same as trust or reconciliation. Just because you forgive doesn't mean you have to trust them, or ever want them in your life again. (This was key for me.)
5. It doesn't require anything on their part. Don't wait on them to apologize. You'll carry the baggage of unforgiveness while waiting and it's just not worth what it does to you.

These are all things I had to learn about forgiveness, personally. It took me years to learn them. I have to remind myself of these things every single time someone wrongs me in order to move forward in my walk with God. Quite often, I have to remind myself of these things when I start recalling things from years ago. Otherwise I'm stuck-- because that's what unforgiveness does to us.

You can always spot bitter people a mile away because they wear it. Bitterness becomes their attitude and their clothing and their decisions. They have no ability to love others as He commanded. Most of all, they have no peace and no joy.
 
As Christians, we're commanded to be the light of the world, the salt of the Earth and to have a joy that others see and want. Why let a little thing like unforgiveness keep us from that joy? Other people's wrongs should simply be their issues. We have to be careful to not let their weaknesses and issues hold us back from growing spiritually.