A Simple Choice
This year we're collaborating with writers across the Augustine Collective, a network of student-led Christian journals, to bring you a series of short devotional articles during this season of Lent, the 40-day period prior to Easter. Find this series also published by UChicago's CANA Journal and UC Berkeley's TAUG.
by David johansson
Joel 2:12-13
“Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
I can’t say I was always the most athletic person growing up. I vividly remember never being anybody’s first choice to partner up with in a pick up basketball game or to even join somebody’s team in gym class. I had a track record of always dropping the ball, running too slow, and constantly missing the net. Coaches, friends, and other classmates always kept record of it all and the recordbook was greatly revealed when it came down to making the decision. So for years, I believed that being “chosen” depended on performance, on proving yourself worthy enough to be picked. Those experiences quietly shaped how I saw myself and even how I imagined God might see me. But over time, I began to understand that God’s way of choosing looks nothing like a playground draft. There’s actually something very special about the way God chooses us; he doesn’t keep score of our pasts, our mistakes, our sins, our shortcomings, or even our athletic ability!
Encouragement of God’s choosing, from Scripture:
-God chooses David; 1 Samuel 16:7, “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” [1]
-God chooses Gideon to lead Israel; Judges 6:15, “My clan is the weakest…and I am the least in my family.” [2]
-God chooses Moses, who couldn’t speak well; Exodus 3:10, “So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” [3]
But there is also another thing that God doesn’t keep score of when he’s making his choice: how many times we’ve let the pressures of life distract us from our relationship with him.
In Joel 2:12, the words “Even now” are both a declaration from the Lord and an invitation. [4] Regardless of your past, regardless of how many times you’ve sinned today or how many times you’ve pushed Him away, Jesus still says,“Even now.” Even if you feel like it’s too late or you feel as if you have drifted too far away from Christ, He still says “Even now…Return to me with all your heart.”
And the most comforting part of God’s Word is this: He does not just choose us and leave us to figure things out on our own. When God called Moses, who deeply doubted himself and felt unqualified, He didn’t promise perfection or instant confidence, He instead promised presence. “I will be with you,” said the Lord. [5] God’s choice is never dependent on our ability to carry out His calling alone; it is sustained by His love—always showing up.
We think being chosen means we must suddenly become perfect, strong, or perhaps spiritually impressive. But God tells us otherwise. Philippians 1:6 reminds us: “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” [6] This means God doesn’t just invite us back, He walks with us forward. The same God who says “Even now” is the God who refuses to abandon the choice He made and the work He started in us.
This Lent season, I hope to encourage you to accept God’s choice of choosing you. Return to Him, no matter how far you’ve drifted—even if you feel unworthy or unsure of where to begin. And if you do not yet have a relationship with Christ, or you are curious but hesitant, know that this is still an invitation for you. Faith doesn’t begin with having all the answers; it begins with being open to being known, loved, and called by Jesus. Wherever you are on your journey of life, the invitation remains the same: Come as you are and take one gentle step toward Him...even now.
David Johansson is a 1st year Master’s student studying Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University.
Sources
[1] 1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV)
[2] Judges 6:15 (NIV)
[3] Exodus 3:10 (NIV)
[4] Joel 2:12 (NIV)
[5] Exodus 3:12 (NLT)
[6] Philippians 1:6 (NIV)