"I HAVE CHOSEN THEE,"

Isaiah 41:8-11           (KJV)
"8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.
9 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.
10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
11 Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish."

Dr. Charles Stanley was being interviewed a few years back.  He said something that changed my life. He said, when speaking of meditating on God's word, that sometimes he will read the same scripture passage over and over for a week or two trying to get EVERYTHING out of it that GOD is saying to him.

The above passage has been on my heart for a number of days.  Verse 10 caught my eye a while back, and then I started reading the verses surrounding.  Jacob (later named Israel) was who GOD chose.  GOD could have chosen anyone else in his bloodline, but Jacob was the one HE chose. "I HAVE CHOSEN THEE" must be the sweetest words ever written. To comprehend that GOD chose you, and had a plan for you, before you were created is a rather humbling thought.

But the last part of verse 9 makes me misty eyed.  "And NOT cast thee away"!  Most are aware I experienced a brain hemorrhage in 2007, and being so close to death brings an altered perspective to the term being not "cast away".   GOD's grace is something most of us take for granted. Everyone of us needs GOD's grace to survive everyday.  GOD had a plan for all of us before we were born.  My goal is to be obedient and fulfill that plan.

"Fear not, be not dismayed, for I AM THY GOD, I will help thee"!  For me, there is no verse in the bible more comforting!  It is as if GOD is telling us "Don't worry, I got this".  I can see what Dr. Stanley was meaning when he talks about meditating a scripture for a week or two. The enemy wants us to live life at such a pace that we do not have time for GOD to speak to us.  We can let "good things" interrupt our communion with GOD, and they become tools of the enemy.  I can think of nothing as vital to our spiritual health as being alone with our CREATOR.

GOD, I pray that I will be aware of the enemies desire to do anything to prevent me from hearing from YOU.  I don't want to become as the ones who are "incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing".  My desire is to live in YOUR peace and in the comfort only YOU can bring.