Chosen Grace

Hi everyone. I hope your November is going well. Enjoy this post.

I sing in a choir at my college. I’ve been a part of it since my freshman year and even now as a senior, I still find joy in it. One thing we do is connect with other Christian groups to worship God- and I absolutely love it.

Last week, we connected with another group and were scheduled to sing with them. As I was walking from class, I decided to listen to the songs to familiarize myself with them. As I listened, I quickly realized that most of the songs that we were singing had the word “Amen” in them somewhere.

I decided to look up what amen means and in Hebrew, it means so be it.

Now that hit me. But let me tell you why.

The entire week, I had been struggling with letting things go. To go deeper with you all: I had been feeling uneasy about certain decisions that I had made and I was even wrestling decisions that were currently in my path. I was thinking things like: What if I made the wrong choice? Am I on the right path? What if I make the wrong choice here- what’s gonna happen?

So when I learned that amen means so be it, I couldn’t stop thanking God for that. But- God didn’t just stop there. He led me to the verse below:

“For as many as are the promises of God, in Christ they are [all answered] “Yes.” So through Him we say our “Amen” to the glory of God.” – 2 Corinithans 1:20, Amplified Version

You see, Paul was speaking to the church of Corinth here. In previous verses, he was explaining to them that he did not come to see them out of ill intent, but out of God’s divine intervention. Paul let them know that God had changed his plans.

This reflects a lot of us because our minds change all the time. From what food we want for dinner to what shoes we want to bring on a trip- we are certain to change our minds on everything. But- this is ok because God gave us free will.

The problem, however, comes when we think that we’re obligated to make certain choices because that’s what people expect of us. The church in Corinth expected Paul to be there. But Paul gently reminded them that he is not his own and that a changed mind is more ok than ok. As long as it’s God-led, it’s ok to change your mind about any and everything. Don’t let this world trick you into thinking otherwise.

That situation with the church led Paul to write the verse above. And let me tell you all this verse is beyond special.

You see, Paul affirms to us that because of Christ, God’s promises in our life will be fulfilled. They literally have no choice but too because God’s word will not return to Him void (Isaiah 55:11).

This means that there are things that have been set for you before you even got here. Those are the predestined things (Romans 8:29-30). These things have your name written on them and will come at the time they are meant to.

But, sometimes, those ordained things are not clear yet. You can be in a season of waiting- wondering what’s next. Or you can be in a season of harvest- but still feeling like something is missing.

And if you are anything like me- the uncertainty of it can bug you. I know it irks me. And when this happens, that’s when I fall into a pattern of doubting decisions I’ve made- like I talked about earlier.

But remember what the verse above teaches us: God’s promises are yes AND amen.

Because amen means “so be it”, it represents a place of surrendering for the believer. Think about it: we can never go back and change the choices we’ve made- even if we want to. But when we say amen- we are accepting things as they are.

Just as the tree doesn’t argue when it loses its leaves, so we shouldn’t worry about those things that have come and gone.

This forces you to let go, and truly let God do His work as only He can.

This can be hard to do, but I promise you it’s worth it. In my own life, I’ve been working on accepting certain things. And my day-to-day has been so much smoother. Why? Because I now understand that it’s ok for some things to be as they are.

And maybe this is true for you too:

Are there some decisions you’ve made that you aren’t ok with? So be it.

Is your boo not acting right? So be it.

Even if your finances are looking funny- so be it.

By choosing “so be it”, you are saying to God: “I don’t really know what’s coming. But I trust you.” That is why “amen” is such a special word when we end our prayer with it because it gives God full authority over everything you just prayed over.

And in my experience when God has full control, everything falls into place perfectly.

As this blog post comes to an end I encourage you all to meditate on this Scripture and apply it to your life.

Choose to say amen to those things that don’t look good. Choose the “so be it” attitude to the things in the past.

In everything, remember that God’s will over your life will be fulfilled. He who began a good work in you- will bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6). Press on. Keep moving forward.

With a new love for “so be it“,

Malaysia 🙂