WISDOM FOR LIVING DEVOTIONAL
NOVEMBER 10, 2020
TOPIC: YOU ARE GOD’S CHOICE
BY T. O. BANSO
“The majestic mountains of Bashan stretch high into the sky. Why do you look with envy, O rugged mountains, at Mount Zion, where God has chosen to live, where the LORD himself will live forever?” (Psalm 68:15-16 New Living Translation).
Divine choice is real. When God chooses someone, it’s not necessarily because of the excellent qualities the person thinks or people think the person possesses.
God doesn’t see the way man sees (1 Samuel 16:7). That was why He rejected all the seven brothers of David and chose him, the youngest. Many times, God’s thoughts are not our thoughts or His ways our ways (Isaiah 55:8). God chooses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27).
If you’re born again, don’t think you were saved because you’re better than those not yet saved. “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called” (1 Corinthians 1:26-27 New King James Version).
You’re born again because you were chosen, and you answered the call. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:19 New King James Version). Others who’re also called but haven’t answered can still give their lives to Jesus because He died to save the world.
The prophet Isaiah in a prophecy about the Messiah, Jesus Christ, which Matthew 12:18 refers to, says, “Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the Gentiles” (New King James Version). Jesus Christ was the divine choice for the salvation of the world.
David says in Psalm 68:15-16, “The majestic mountains of Bashan stretch high into the sky. Why do you look with envy, O rugged mountains, at Mount Zion, where God has chosen to live, where the LORD himself will live forever?” (New Living Translation).
Two mountains are mentioned in this scripture – the mountains of Bashan and Mount Zion. The mountains of Bashan (or the many-peaked mountain of Bashan) are thought to be referring to Mount Hermon, situated along the northern border of Bashan or the mighty mountains there including Mount Hermon .
The mountains of Bashan were majestic, towering, rugged, and higher than Mount Zion, which appeared little and low in comparison. Nevertheless, God chose Mount Zion as His dwelling place and rejected the mountains of Bashan.
The mountains of Bashan personified considered themselves better suited as God’s dwelling place hence they looked with envy at Mount Zion, God’s choice. God will always bypass the proud for the humble. He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). You can’t query God’s choice, and God’s choice must never think that he deserves it.
Mount Zion must never think that that it deserved to be chosen; it was all God’s decision to choose it. The LORD says in 2 Chronicles 6:6 that He had chosen Jerusalem, that His name might be there, and He had chosen David to be over His people. Divine choice!
The LORD told Israel, “From among all the families on the earth, I chose you alone” (Amos 3:2a New Living Translation). Did you see that? “Yet hear me now, O Jacob My servant, and Israel whom I have chosen. Thus says the LORD who made you and formed you from the womb, who will help you: ‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant; and you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen’” (Isaiah 44:1-2 New King James Version). Jeshurun is a poetic name for Israel. Jacob, Israel, and Jeshurun in this scripture all refer to the nation of Israel. God chose Israel.
Solomon recalled before the whole assembly of Israel that the LORD told David, his father, that since the day He brought His people Israel out of Egypt, He had chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that His name might be there; but He chose David to be over His people Israel (1 Kings 8:16; 2 Chronicles 6:5). Israel, Jerusalem, and David were chosen.
When the LORD had prevented David from building Him a temple, He told Him, “It is your son Solomon who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father” (1 Chronicles 28:6 new King James Version). Solomon was chosen by the LORD for this assignment, not because Solomon was better than David.
After the dedication of the temple, the LORD appeared to Solomon a second time in the night and told him, among other things, that He had chosen and sanctified the temple he had built that His name might be there forever; and His eyes and heart would be there perpetually (2 Chronicles 7:16).
Furthermore, when the LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned from Him, He told Solomon that He would tear the kingdom away from him and give it to his servant during the reign of his son. However, He would give one tribe to Solomon’s son for the sake of His servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which He had chosen (1 Kings 11:13). Verse 36 says, “And to his son I will give one tribe, that My servant David may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for Myself, to put My name there” (New King James Version). Divine choice!
When the anger of the LORD was aroused against Judah because Manasseh had provoked Him, He still spoke about the fact that He chose Jerusalem. “And the LORD said, ‘I will also remove Judah from My sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, ‘My name shall be there’” (2 Kings 23:27 New King James Version).
The LORD chooses people for different assignments. God chose Zerubbabel as His servant; He made him like a signet (Haggai 2:23). Zerubbabel was the head of the tribe of Judah at the time of the return of the first set of exiles from Babylon in the first year of Cyrus, the Persian king. He led 42,360 Jews back to Jerusalem along with 7,337 servants and 200 singers (men and women). They had 736 horses, 245 mules, 67435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys (Ezra 2:64-67).
The LORD chose Mary to give birth to Jesus Christ (Luke 1:28-33). She couldn’t have been the only virgin in her family. God chose other people like that in the Bible for specific assignments. God still chooses people today for different purposes. It is useless fighting someone God has chosen.
When God chooses someone for a visitation or an assignment, don’t be envious of the person. You may think the person is not qualified but God doesn’t need your assessment. There is also something God has chosen you for. Others like the mountains of Bashan may appear more qualified than you but you’re God’s choice.
May you discover what God has chosen you for and fulfill His counsel in Jesus’ name. May you not be envious of or fight anyone God has chosen.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The LORD be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: I am God’s choice for salvation and my destiny. I shall not fail God in Jesus’ name. I shall fulfill the destiny God has chosen me for. Holy Spirit, help all the children of God to fulfill the assignments God has chosen them for. Holy Spirit, convict sinners unto repentance so that they can be saved and ultimately fulfill what God has chosen them to do on the earth.
(For over 300 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President, Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
Website: www.cedarministry.org
