why abraham, why me?

Today in my devotional time with God, I went back through the notes I’ve written over the past years in my time with God.

A review of notes that brought me to the question…

Lord, why did you choose Abraham?

A question that stemmed from the promises God made unto Abraham. I wondered, God, why did you make these promises to Abraham…

Genesis 17:4

⁴ As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

Genesis 17:6

⁶ And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

Covenant. Beriti. Beriti from berith (בְּרִית), Strong's H1285, a covenant, a binding agreement, a pledge cut between two parties. (Hebrew)

In this review, I was floored by the immediacy of His response. As I continued to review my past notes, He brought me to a previous answer He gave me last year to the same question. It was last summer that my brother asked me the same question.

Why did God choose Abraham?

It's interesting because despite God's answering me then, He knew I would ask again today. An answer that He provided then, while also in my developed (not complete and ongoing) spiritual maturity today, He can further elaborate upon.

what He revealed

Here’s what He revealed to me then and elaborated upon today…

Son,

I chose you and Abraham before I laid the foundations of the earth.

Ephesians 1:4

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:

I have been calling out to you before your existence. As I am the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the same God that called Abraham out of Ur is the same Holy Spirit that called you into an everlasting life in 2016.

Son,

I am the Alpha and the Omega. Knowing the hearts, minds, and souls of all men. The intent and desires of every creature.

Am I not the same God that knew the hardened heart of Pharaoh before Moses and Pharaoh himself knew or were aware of his hardened heart? Am I not the same God that knew and hated Esau before Esau knew he would be the father of the Edomites? Am I not the same sovereign God that knew the heart of David when he murdered Uriah with the pen and committed adultery?

I am a sovereign, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent God. I know my choice and am the orchestrator of providence.

I chose Abraham because he did not deserve it, nor could he have earned my love and salvation. Abraham was in sin, his fathers before him were in sin, he did not know who I was, he was in a nation of idolatry, he was wealthy, and he had a beautiful wife.

Son,

yet I chose Abraham. I chose Abraham for many reasons beyond your understanding, but I want you to recognize one of those reasons as a picture of why I chose you and many.

Because I love you and, in my divine grace and mercy, have called out to you specifically. A calling you did not earn, but I have freely given.

Like Esau and Pharaoh, I know the true heart, mind, soul, intent, and desires of every person. I have chosen you in my sovereignty and omniscience.

Son, I am not a God that errs in His choice.

never too far

Yes, many may say, but I was raised in a different religion. While this may be true, so too was Abraham.

Joshua 24:2

² And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.

Many will say, why do I need God? I have everything.

While this is ignorant,

I would say, so too did Abraham have everything.

Many may say that no one around me believes in God.

I would say, but the same was true for Abraham.

Son,

Abraham is a picture of you. A man, once so far from me while I called out to him, became the father of faith. No one is outside of my reach or my grasp.

A person's free will is expressed in the answering of my calling. As I call out to many, only a few answer, and their answering reveals my choosing.

Matthew 22:14

¹⁴ For many are called, but few are chosen.

Called. Kletoi. Kletoi from kletos (κλητός), Strong's G2822, called, invited, summoned, bidden to come. (Greek)

Chosen. Eklektoi. Eklektoi from eklektos (ἐκλεκτός), Strong's G1588, picked out, chosen, select, the elect of God. (Greek)

Kingdom citizen,

the father of faith

This morning I was humbled and encouraged by God's time with me and development of me. I want you to understand that you did not earn nor can you earn your salvation. It has been freely given unto you.

God has been calling out to you from before your existence. Your acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior is only the beginning of your salvation and relationship with God. No different than Abraham answering God's call in coming out of Ur was the beginning of his relationship with God.

Abraham was not the father of faith the day he answered the call of God, but rather stepped into that man over his time with God.

God has called out to you for His plan, purpose, and will. The complete fulfillment of why is not manifested in your answering the call, but through the conversation of the call. Through your time with Him, through the journey.

Abraham made many mistakes and even as the father of faith expressed many moments of unbelief. But what you must learn about the relationship of God and Abraham is their friendship, their relationship.

Abraham never left God, even in his shortcomings, but continually came to God despite his flaws. And as a Father, God never forsook Abraham and patiently held his hand along the way.

This entry starts with Abraham because God wants to show you the process of your salvation, starting in fellowship with you. Do not focus on your flaws and failures, as Abraham had many (after your repentance).

It is in your fellowship that those are removed and you are renewed.

You do not get cleaned before you take a shower, but rather it’s the shower that cleanses you. It’s in your fellowship with God that you are cleansed.most highlighted & shared

It is in your fellowship that your faith in believing in a God that the world denies is confirmed. That you see Him revealed in ways you could not have fathomed. It is only through your fellowship with Him that He is revealed to you beyond your capability of understanding.

As I unpack the journey of Abraham, I begin to see the journey of my fellowship with God more clearly. The patience, the mercies, the fatherhood, the love, the magnitude of who God is. Expanding beyond my current limited comprehension of who He is.

who god sees in you

God sees you not as you are, but who you are.

When God told Samuel to anoint David, God didn’t see David as a young boy but as the King he was (I Samuel 16:7). When God looked upon Gideon, a fearful, scared man, He called him a mighty man of valour (Judges 6:12).

God chose you because He knows who you are before you’ve even begun walking into and accepting that person. God does not make mistakes, and you must trust in that.

So when you begin to ask yourself, God, why me, I've done X, Y, Z, I want you to stand upon a God that does not make mistakes. Seeing you as a person who has not yet been revealed to you. A person who is only revealed through Him.

God wants to show you who He sees in you, but understand the devil wants you to live in the guilt and shame of as you are. Clouding the faith of who God wants you to step into.

Kingdom citizen,

free from the chains

you don’t have to carry the sins and iniquities of your fathers and mothers, nor the sins and iniquities of your past. This is the divine grace and mercy of God, given to you by Jesus Christ. This is the power of your salvation, the greatest gift and weapon given unto you. A gift and weapon the devil doesn’t want you to understand and utilize.

Ezekiel 18:20

²⁰ The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

The bondage satan has over you doesn't exist; it's a lie. You've been freed; this is the power of your salvation.

satan has literally placed imaginary handcuffs upon you that do not and cannot exist if you truly believe in the salvation of what was done on the cross.

So that brings you to the real question...

Do you believe what was done on the cross, or are they merely words with no power?

A microphone you're holding that is not plugged in.

You are not in bondage and are set free of both the sins and iniquities of your fathers and mothers and the sins and iniquities of your past. It is in your repentance, change, and release that God can begin to develop you into who you are, taking you out of as you are.

a prayer to pray

Today, I want you to go into prayer and say this prayer…

God, thank you for choosing me. Thank you for not forsaking me in the flaws of my yesterday and today. God, I repent of my sins, and today I will express my faith in you by making a physical change and turning away from those sins.

Lord, I want to begin walking into the person you see me as, turning away from the person I am. I want to fulfill all that you have in store for me, completely, not just partially. Lord, I will not die in my wilderness but stand up and walk into my promised land.

Lord, like Joshua and Caleb, I will not fear the giants guarding all that you have in store for me. I will no longer fear the giants in my life that have kept me from entering into my promised land and accessing your milk and honey. Lord, you are my strength, and I will rebuke the spirit of fear.

Lord, today is a new day. Today, I choose to leave the Ur of the Chaldees in my life and journey toward that which you have promised me in your Word. Lord, your Word does not go void, and I will begin to trust you. A trust that I will intentionally work toward and that you will develop in me during my time with you.

Lord, I love you and am grateful you chose me. And in that choice, I am encouraged because you didn’t choose wrong. Thank you, Lord, in the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.