Not just Changed but Chosen: Embracing God's Chosen Path for Us

In October of 2021 after having my son, I weighed 220lbs. I was the heaviest I have ever been in my life. And I know what your thinking, well you just had a baby. Yes! But before that I was already 175-180lbs. Which is 20-30lbs over my ideal BMI. And to be honest with you the scale bothered me but not as much was not fitting into clothes. I would take an hour getting dressed not because I couldn’t decide what to wear. It was because I was horrified at what I saw in the mirror. Jeans fitting like a can of biscuits being opened on Sunday morning.

I remember going out to brunch with a few girlfriends and as we walked down the mall one of the girls thought it would be cute to take a picture of us from behind  holding hands. I didn’t say anything to anyone but when I saw my wide back and large waste in that photo, it destroyed me. I didn’t  recognize myself. It was then that I decided I had to do something about this. Something had to change.

 

Over the next two years I changed my entire lifestyle. EVERYTHING had to change. My eating habit, exercise routine, mentality, what I read, what I watched, who I listened to. Everything underwent a total overhaul. Eventually I lost 70lbs and have been able to keep it off since. I share all of my journey on IG, feel free to follow for more details on how I did it.

 

Guess what, after the change happens you still have to choose to be consistent with your new lifestyle. New habits are hard to develop old habits are easy to pick back up.There is no point in losing all that weight if I don’t embrace a new lifestyle and live it out everyday.

What does this have to do with Jesus and our daily walk with him? As christian many of us think that salvation (change) is the goal. Jesus can pull you out of addiction, depression, sickness, loneliness, or what ever sin you may find yourself in but it doesn’t end there! We as christian have to chose to embrace God’s chosen path for us and live a purpose filled life that honors him.

I want to share this scripture with you

Ephesians 1 :11-12 MSG

“It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭MSG‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/97/eph.1.11-12.MSG

NOT JUST CHANGED BUT CHOSEN

Jesus chose 12 disciples and he called them out to follow him. These men’s lives were changed forever! New careers, identities, roles, some even got new names. But that’s not where it ended. They were also chosen! Chosen and given purpose. Given a calling. A purpose and calling that would be revealed by embracing Gods chosen path for us. Like Ephesians 1:11-12 says

Let’s look at the definitions of these two words because I feel like they can sometimes be used interchangeably. But I don’t want them used interchangeably. I don’t want you to miss this.

What is change?

-to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone:

What does it mean to be chosen?

• The definition of chosen is a past tense of the word choose, meaning to select from a number of possibilities; pick by preference. To want; desire.
• Synonym is adopt, appointed, love, single out.

How do we know that you and I have been chosen?

John 15:16 You didn’t chose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.

Ephesians 1:4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.

Ephesians 1:5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do.

John 15:19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. (singled out)

John 3:16 For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

A lot of those words can be found in the definitions I gave you, right?

As Christian’s a lot of the time we settle for change! Forgetting that he changed us because he chose us to fulfill his calling. There’s more, we were made for more.

NOT JUST CHANGED BUT CHOSEN

I shared a story with you. I’ve been one a weight loss journey for two and half years. Ive lost 70lbs. That doesn’t happen overnight, it doesn’t happen by accident, it isn’t a one and done. Once that change happens I have to choose a lifestyle that maintains, that aligns with that change!

What happens so often is we stop at change. You’ve been saved, felt all the feels for a week and then you hit the first trial! Now what?

Weight-loss journey, you’re doing so good, fitting into all the clothes, feeling yourself. Start going out more, eating out more, and then what? We come up against challenges or get a little too comfortable and look to old habits/lifestyles to get us through.

If we stop at change, it is like using the gym to justify our lifestyle (I deserve this burger because I walked for 30 minutes today).If we embrace the fact that we are not just change but chosen, we take the gym with us 24/7 (I can’t eat that burger because I worked out for 2 hours, I don’t want to lose that progress). Same with Christianity. If we stop at change, we use Sunday mornings to justify our week. If we embrace the fact that we are not just changed but chosen, we chose to live a Godly life 24/7.

So what happens? Where is the disconnect? Why do we stop at change and not embrace being chosen?

Ephesians 2:2 says it well

You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live.

We look to the world to give us acceptance, guidance, purpose and titles. What happens is we get distracted by worldly things like influence, pride, temptation of your old life. Craving approval or a solution so badly that we forget who we get our strength, hope, blessing come from. We fall back on old habits and fall into discouragement. You start to gain the weight back. You start to live your life like before christ.

NOT JUST CHANGED BUT CHOSEN

Ephesians 1:13-14

“And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

PURCHASED us. I don’t know about you but purchases are intentional and purpose filled. You don’t purchase something you don’t plan on using. That you don’t have a purpose/plan for. ESPECIALLY if it’s expensive. He paid the highest price for you and me. And he paid that price so that you and I would praise and glorify him.

NOT JUST CHANGED BUT CHOSEN

So what am I to do? Where do I go from here? I’ve been changed (leaving the old me), I am chosen (choosing this new identity in Christ), to praise and glorify him.

Now what?! How do I do that?!

NOT JUST CHANGED BUT CHOSEN

Now we embrace God chosen path by working towards godliness

godliness- the quality or practice of conforming to the laws and wishes of God; devoutness and moral uprightness:

Here’s how we do that⬇️

Im going to share two different translations of this verse

1 Timothy 4:6-8

“If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.”

‭‭I Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬-‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“You’ve been raised on the Message of the faith and have followed sound teaching. Now pass on this counsel to the followers of Jesus there, and you’ll be a good servant of Jesus. Stay clear of silly stories that get dressed up as religion. Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. You can count on this. Take it to heart. This is why we’ve thrown ourselves into this venture so totally. We’re banking on the living God, Savior of all men and women, especially believers.”

‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬-‭10‬ ‭MSG‬‬

NOT JUST CHANGED BUT CHOSEN.

We each have been changed. Brought out of a life of ______(ill let you fill in the blank) and chosen to praise and glorify God with our daily living. My prayer for you today is that you seek to not only hear the word of God but accept it and apply it to your life. I pray that the Holy Spirit will guide you, teach you, and continue to cultivate in you a desire to praise and glorify God. I pray that you understand that you are not just changed but chosen by God.