The following words from a chorus resonate in our spirits………..

“I rejoice in Your choice
I thank You for Your mercy
I rejoice in Your choice
It’s a destiny divine.
I rejoice in Your choice
And I choose to be chosen,
You have a plan for my life
And I will make it mine! (Willie Moffat)

It is God who befriends me. Let us settle this issue: God chose me. I am the choice of God. Ephesians 1:4 “According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” My responsibility is to respond to the call of God on my life. That is my choice. Matthew 22:14 “For many are called but few are chosen.” If I do not heed and respond to the work of God in my life, then it is I who limits the Holy One and His on-going work there. In the economy of God, my mistakes and failures can be used as Holy Ghost fertiliser for His work in my heart, if I choose to humble in the place of God’s hand in my life.

Let us remember our patriarch, Abraham, and how he responded to the call and dealings of God in his life. He made a huge mistake in listening to Sarah, his wife, resulting in the birth of Ishmael, but he proved he was not God’s mistake and remembered the amazing promise God had given him in Genesis 12:1-2, where God covenanted with him to make of him a great nation and bestow on him a blessing. Read again the record of the workings of God in his life – Genesis chapters 12 – 17. We may be familiar with the life of Abraham, but refreshing our memories of how these relationships (friendships) developed can encourage us in our walk this day.

After chapter 17 of Genesis, where the foundations of a trusting relationship have been laid in Abraham with God, the work continues as he has to prove God in their friendship. Genesis 18 records the thoughts and dialogue between the Lord and Abraham, regarding His intention to destroy the sin-filled city of Sodom. Genesis 18:17“And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?” The remainder of Genesis 18 states how the Lord made a decision to come alongside of Abraham and speak with him as a friend, sharing His intentions. At this stage, Abraham’s relationship with the Lord has now developed that as God shared His heart with him, he, all be it with some trepidation, dares to plead with God to save the lives of the righteous living amongst the debauched of the city.

Isaiah 40:8 “……the seed of Abraham, my friend.” Abraham, God’s servant, became His friend. God called him His friend.

The fruit of our relationship developing and deepening in the Lord, is evidenced by our love for the members of His Body, our fellow Believers and followers of Jesus.

Jesus put it so simply and clearly, John 15: 12-17
12 “This is my commandment, that ye love one another as I have loved you.
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
14 Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth; but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you.
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, He may give it to you.
17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.”

In verse 14 Jesus invites us to become His friends. Obedience is His simple request. His power enables me to overcome my weaknesses. The over-coming life can only be lived by the power of the Indwelling Christ in me, for His glory. When I walk in humility, God’s glory is revealed in me by the power of Christ. I can receive the creative word of God, and eternity is established in my heart.

A person who becomes a friend of God will never lose the characteristic of the servant heart, as humility and agape love always seek the good of another, before their own interests. God so loved the world that He gave His most treasured possession, His beloved Son, for the redemption of mankind. Jesus lay down His life for His friends.

So…God has called me by name to follow Him. I can choose to stay as I am, in control of my own life, or I can choose to continue to be chosen by Him, abiding sweetly in the ways of His choice for me to learn of Him in obedience, bearing fruit for His glory in my life until I become an intimate friend of His. He wants to share His thoughts and heart with me, not only on the mountain top experiences of my journey here on earth, but down in the valleys, too. The God of the Universe has ravished us with His love, and the tenderness of the call of His heart beckons us to become His friend to complete our divine destiny, for His glory. This is my birthright!