"For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour."
Isaiah 63:8
We've talked in the past about choosing God, and why we choose God, but this verse is interesting in that it talks about why he chooses us. Usually we think of that choice as a given... God just generically chooses everyone, because we are his children. And in some ways that is true. He does love us all. But why did he choose Abraham, Isaac, Jacob... why did he choose a whole people? Why does he choose prophets today? Why does he choose us, individually, to have a relationship with? And one of the answers is here, in this verse. He chooses people because they can be honest with him. Not seek to hide their sins, but repent of them. People who will tell him what they think. People who don't pretend to be what they are not. People he can make covenants with and know that they will work on keeping them.
God choosing us is a personal thing, not a random, anonymous thing. Our relationship with him is individual and specific and he is interested in us as people, not merely as populations and statistics. For him to choose us though, we have to choose him. It is always a two-way agreement with God, never a one-way. He says "And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God." (Jeremiah 30:22).
Today, let's focus on this thing that we know can help make us chosen. Let's be honest. Let's extricate ourselves from previous lies, let's repent, and let's not get ourselves into new ones. Let's notice when we are tempted to lie and work on dealing with those situations differently. And definitely, as we talk to the Lord today, let's tell him everything. Our doubts, our fears, our rebellious feelings. And also our loves and beliefs. He won't condemn us. He will help us to improve. He is our Saviour.
Isaiah 63:8
We've talked in the past about choosing God, and why we choose God, but this verse is interesting in that it talks about why he chooses us. Usually we think of that choice as a given... God just generically chooses everyone, because we are his children. And in some ways that is true. He does love us all. But why did he choose Abraham, Isaac, Jacob... why did he choose a whole people? Why does he choose prophets today? Why does he choose us, individually, to have a relationship with? And one of the answers is here, in this verse. He chooses people because they can be honest with him. Not seek to hide their sins, but repent of them. People who will tell him what they think. People who don't pretend to be what they are not. People he can make covenants with and know that they will work on keeping them.
God choosing us is a personal thing, not a random, anonymous thing. Our relationship with him is individual and specific and he is interested in us as people, not merely as populations and statistics. For him to choose us though, we have to choose him. It is always a two-way agreement with God, never a one-way. He says "And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God." (Jeremiah 30:22).
Today, let's focus on this thing that we know can help make us chosen. Let's be honest. Let's extricate ourselves from previous lies, let's repent, and let's not get ourselves into new ones. Let's notice when we are tempted to lie and work on dealing with those situations differently. And definitely, as we talk to the Lord today, let's tell him everything. Our doubts, our fears, our rebellious feelings. And also our loves and beliefs. He won't condemn us. He will help us to improve. He is our Saviour.
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