Joel M Bradshaw

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will…–Ephesians 1

God has a purpose and a will. He is unique in that he can have this will and purpose outside of any help or direction. He doesn’t need others to help him decide or to exist. Both God and his purposes exist unto himself an according to whatever plan he has decided.

And the purpose of his will was to choose some to be adopted into his family. My wife and I in the past year adopted two older dogs. We searched for them, applied for them, interviewed for them, and drove to another state for them. Adoption is a very intentional process where you take an outsider and make them a part of your family. Now imagine God and you.

When you picture the word predestination, keep that adoption in mind. And furthermore, those who were chosen to be adopted as sons and daughters of God were indeed chosen before the creation of the world. That means that before Genesis 1:1 happened, God chose to adopt you. You are intentionally a part of God’s eternal plan. Before God created you he chose you. You are his in purpose and on purpose.

Now we have the honor of looking back at our stories and journeys and seeing God’s hand at work guiding us to him. Those of you reading these words pay attention to what God is doing in your life. He is sovereign and is at work. Now keep this heavenly reality in mind and focus there. To my depressed friends, your new story is this: “God chose me. I am loved by God. He adopted me. I have my purpose in his plan.” To my anxious friends, you can have this perspective: “There’s so much I can’t control, but I can trust the very God who chose me and adopted me.”–JMB