God's Own Possession

For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own, Israel to be his treasured possession. Psalm 135:3-5

Do you ever struggle feeling like you belong? What about struggling with feelings of being loved or good enough to even be considered worthy of love? If you ever battle the forces of insecurity, feelings of never measuring up, or wonder how or if God could actually love you...you are not alone. So often the enemy works to discourage us...to take away God's glory by attacking our relationship with him...whispering doubts into our hearts and trying so hard...so very hard...to shake our security and confidence in the Lord. We don't have to let him.

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,  in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.  And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,  who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. Ephes. 1:11-14

Before the foundation of the world, before we were even in existence, God had in mind a people for himself, his own possession. We should take this personally: we belong to him. The purpose of this taking us for his own? For his own glory. For his own purposes. We are his. Let the voices of doubt, negativity, and insecurity be silenced. He has claimed us. The creator of the universe claims us as his own, his beloved, his children, his precious possession...let that sink into our hearts.

Now from Peter: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. I Peter 2:9

How does this relate to our daily routines? The ups, downs, the mundane? Peter says we are created to be his possession so that we may declare his praise for drawing us out of darkness and into his light...we are created to praise the father.

If this seems simplistic, consider this encouraging fact: heaven will be filled with praise for the Father forevermore. The throne room of heaven is depicted as a bright, loud, extraordinary place of praise and glory...we get to have a tiny taste of such spiritual delight while here on earth. A "foretaste of glory divine" as the old hymn declares.

It may look more ordinary. Our praise is most effective when it arises from the normal events of life. We help our neighbor because the Lord helps us. We feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty as the Lord has so graciously given us the bread and water of life of himself. We tell the truth because he is truth. We have pure speech because he is pure. We forgive because we've been forgiven. We extend mercy and grace that has been gifted to us. We praise the Lord as we wash dishes for our family, as we change the diapers, as we refuse to give the bird to that driver who cut us off and nearly caused an accident. We share our time, our talent, and treasure because we know they are not ours to begin with.

We are his possession. We do not deserve it. We do not earn it by a certain measure of obedience nor maintain it by another standard of obedience that if we fail to measure up we are thrown out. Rather because we are his possession, because we are his own and have been sealed and gifted with his Holy Spirit we are now able and equipped to obey...to his glory, not to our own.  On days we feel like it, on days we don't, on days we make pretty good choices, and on days we fail miserably. We are his.

Let the voices of discouragement be forever silenced in the din of the praises of Heaven to the glory of the father.