Key Scripture:
John 15:16a. “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, …
Key Idea:
The branch does not choose the vine, or decide on which vine it will grow. The vine brings forth the branch, as and where it will. Even so Christ says: “Ye did not choose me, but I chose you.”
— Murray
Pray for revelation:
I chose you. Lord, teach me what this means–that Thou hast set Thy heart on me, and chosen me to bear fruit that will abide, and to pray prayer that will prevail. In this Thine eternal purpose my soul would rest itself and say: “What He chose me for I will be, I can be, I shall be.”
— Murray
Key words:
I chose.
If you stop to think about the entire history of the Bible, it is about God, and his plan, and his seeking out people who will join him to carry it out. That’s a very general statement, but It does seem to be a primary fact about God. He is always at work. It is just a matter of listening to his call and going to that work.
God speaks through his word. His word is the Bible. Read it and learn about him. He speaks through the needs of humans. Look for the needs of the people around you and listen for God telling your conscience what to do.
The point. We can and should seek after God, but he is already seeking us.
When we do a project on our own, we get results based on our own knowledge and power. Without power tools, it would take a really, really long time to do something as common as building a house. You could spend weeks or months digging out the foundation. With a backhoe, you could knock it out in less than a day.
If we take part in the appointed work that God has commissioned us to do, we have power tools that boggle your mind. Why work on your own little job, when God has better things to do? If you go to work on God’s project, toss away the tools that you already have. Why do you need that shovel, when at the touch of a few small levers, you can move a bucket full of earth in just a moment? The same amount of dirt that would have taken you an hour to dig out with that shovel, under your own power.
Sure, seek out God. Just know that it won’t take long, because he is already seeking you. Once you answer the call to God’s work, let him use little old you in the big ways that only he can do in you. We are appointed. If God is on our side, we can do nothing but bear his fruit.