“I chose you! From the beginning, I knew that you would be with Me for eternity. Long before you even knew that I existed, I had you in mind for all of My future eternities. Since you were born, I have noticed you and wooed you to give your heart to Jesus. I devised ways that would turn you to Me. Now that you are Mine, how could you possibly conceive that I would give up on you, or leave you, or forget about your needs?

"When I first thought of you, I knew what it would take to make you all that you could be for your good for all eternity. Now that you are progressing toward that end, you need to know that I am confident that you will complete the task I have assigned to you. You will submit fully. You will become obedient. You will one day choose only My ways and set aside your ways. I believe in you. I will continue to set forth challenges to which you must respond. Your response shows your progress in becoming more like Jesus. Stay the course. Keep your heart soft to My will. I will never give up on you. I never make wrong choices.”

2 Samuel 14:14b NIV 

“God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.”

Jeremiah 1:5a NIV

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…

I Thess. 2:4 AMP

But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the glad tidings (the Gospel), so we speak not to please men but to please God, Who tests our hearts [expecting them to be approved].

2 Timothy 2:12  NIV

…if we endure, we will also reign with him…

I Peter 4:12 AMP

Beloved, do not be amazed and bewildered at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test your quality, as though something strange (unusual and alien to you and your position) were befalling you.

Rev. 2:26 NIV

To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations...

The idea that the Creator of the universe knew us before we were even born staggers our imaginations. The truth of that realized deep within us would change our lives. If we ever firmly believed that truth, we would cease from striving and look at all the events in our lives differently.

Let’s talk truth. Father God did know us before we were in the womb. Now that we’re born, He has been with us, helping us to see the need to surrender to Jesus. He knew the exact moment that we surrendered to the wooing of the Holy Spirit and gave our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Once we surrendered, He began fulfilling His promise to make us like Jesus. Our time with Him is a short time compared to His time of noticing and caring about us. Our plans are considerably smaller than the plans that He has for us. He’s talking eternities; we’re usually dealing with days and moments.

Most of us have not taken the time to really see our Father’s creation model from His perspective. Knowing the beginning from the end, He obviously sees beyond the conclusion of our instant on this earth. When we were known by Him before we existed, He saw past this limited life in the flesh to our role as the priests and kings of His thousand years and whatever else He has in store for us.

We, on the other hand, are so focused on our physical needs and wants in this lifetime that we rarely see His participation in our lives as preparing us for our future role. We just want our needs met and our eternity secure on streets of gold. If the thoughts of His plans do come to our mind, our carnal mind thinks “lofty,” when it should be thinking honor and responsibility to grow up in our faith so that we glorify Him.

We forget that we are being formed into the character of Jesus for very specific purposes. We also forget that our Father in Heaven is very confident in His ability to overcome our flesh. As we progress, we are often shown how far we have come. We get to see in a very real way how our responses have changed when challenges are presented. Just about the time we feel that nothing in us is changing, that we are the same as we were years ago, something happens and we are proved wrong.

Somehow, in some unknown way, God’s work in us is proven to us. Our faith stands the test. Worry loses its grip. Forgiveness flows in a manner as never before. Fear cannot gain a foothold when our confidence in God stands firm. We make it when we would have failed a short time ago. How wonderful to know that even though we are often clueless, God is faithful!

Thank You for Your love to us, Lord,

Jim Corbett