"Chosen"

     Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, "Arise go to Nineveh, that great city, and they cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me."
     But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish, from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. Jonah 1:1-3

"But you have today rejected your God, who Himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and you have said to Him, 'No, but set a king over us!' Now therefore, present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans."
     And when Samuel had caused all tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.
     When he had caused the tribes of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they sought him, he could not be found.
     Therefore they inquired of the Lord further, "Has the man come here yet?" And the Lord answered, "There he is, hidden among the equipment." So they ran and brought him from there; 1 Samuel 10:19-23

I ran across a verse today that made think about these two men and their responses to the call of God on their lives.  Saul was chosen to be king and Jonah a prophet with a specific word for a specific group of people. Both men had the same response, to run and hide. Jonah in a boat heading in the opposite direction, and Saul had gone and hid in the equipment.  In both cases they didn't get very far because God knew where they were. He sent the wind and a fish to get Jonah and He told the men exactly where to find Saul. He knew exactly where to find them despite their best efforts to run because He had a plan and a purpose, a job for them to do. 

The same is true for us. We are called! He has a word for us to deliver to someone, somewhere, at just the right time.  He has called and equipped us for His service to be 'kings and priests,'... 'a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light',' 1 Peter 2:9

In John 1:48 Nathanael asks Jesus a question, "How do you know me?" Jesus responds with these very important words., "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." You need to know that right now, in this moment, He sees you! He knows you and He has a call on your life.  You are called, here today, to this generation, to be a testimony for His glory and you need to not be afraid that He won't be there with you.

 The Bible is full testimonies of men and women called and equipped and not one of them fulfilled their call without His presence. Not once did He let them down. Moses did not drown and he was not in the middle of all that heaped up water alone. Who do you think reached down from heaven to hold it back? Who fulfilled the words He gave to Joshua and took down a wall with a shout. Or how about when He caused the sum and moon to stand still to help them win the battle.  Did He let the three young men who were thrown into a fiery furnace down? No, there were even witnesses that testify that they were not alone. How about when He told Peter one simple word, "Come," and then Peter walked on water.  He will not call you without being there with you to help!

So, I'll leave you with this, the verse that made me think about men hiding from His presence and the call on their lives and also with this question, "Does He have to send a fish after you, or will you trust Him to be with you?

'Am I a God near at hand says the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?" says the Lord. "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" says the Lord.  Jeremiah 23:23-24