14 Signs You are Chosen by God

Have you ever asked yourself, “How do I know if I’ve been chosen by God?” 

Perhaps you feel called to pursue a great dream.  You sense God might be guiding you to chase this dream, but you want to be sure that God is leading you.

Maybe you’ve never pursued a relationship with God, but you suddenly feel drawn to him.  You wonder if God might be calling you to some greater purpose in this world.

Today, we’ll turn to God’s Word and explore God’s plan for humankind.  We’ll compare the picture of God we encounter in the Old Testament with the portrait of a loving God in the New Testament. 

Most importantly, we’ll examine 14 ways to know you are chosen by God.

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What Does it Mean to Be Chosen By God

A person who is chosen by God has sensed God’s call on his or her life and decided to respond by following God. 

God’s call takes many forms. 

For some people, it is an urgent sense of needing to turn away from sinful living and turn toward Jesus.  For others, it is more subtle and includes a deep desire for a closer relationship with God or even curiosity about God.

According to John’s Gospel, anyone who receives Jesus as Lord and Savior and believes in his name is chosen by God and becomes God’s child:

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12, ESV).

Ultimately, being chosen by God means that God is asking you to respond to him by living in accordance with his two greatest commands:

Loving him and loving others (see Mark 12:30-31).

Let’s continue to explore what the Bible says about being chosen by God.

Signs You Are Chosen by God

Thousands of years ago, God called the Hebrew nation to follow him.  He pulled the Hebrew people out of a world of radically corrupt humans and called them to be set apart as holy.

God chooses people today in the same way.  He asks us to set aside our old lives and follow him. 

This calling includes living in line with the Bible’s teaching, seeking God’s face in an intimate relationship, and loving other people.

Some people have a spiteful picture of God in their minds and resist his call.  However, God continues to tenderly pursue his chosen ones and wants every human being to be saved. 

Let’s talk about specific ways to know you are chosen by God and his purpose for choosing us.

You Are Chosen by God When You Realize That Jesus Is God’s Son

The first step to responding to God when he chooses you is realizing that Jesus is the only way to access our heavenly Father. 

Jesus spoke these words in John 14:6: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

You are chosen by God when you believe that Jesus is God’s Son, recognize your need for someone to pay the price for your sins, and receive his sacrifice on the cross. 

If you have taken this step and decided to follow Jesus, you are chosen by God. 

If you are still considering becoming a follower of Christ, God is calling you.  Will you follow him?

You Are Chosen by God if You Sense Him Speaking to You

Have you ever sensed that God was leading you or speaking to you? 

You might have had a deep sense of “knowing” what to do in a difficult situation.  Maybe you asked God for a sign, and he answered with a clear sign.

As we mature in faith, God wants us to trust him without asking for physical signs of presence or his calling.  However, if you sense God speaking to your heart, he is calling you. 

The writer of Hebrews offers the following incitement about responding to God’s voice:

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness” (Hebrews 13:7-8)

You Are Chosen by God When You Sense Him Leading You Toward Holiness

God is holy and perfect.  When he chooses followers, he calls them to pursue holiness, too.

Do you sense God asking you to walk away from a disobedient lifestyle or pursue new levels of holiness and purity? 

If so, God has chosen you to walk with him.

In his letter to the Ephesian church, the Apostle Paul described this holy calling like this:

“Blessed 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” (Ephesians 1:3-4).

You Are Chosen by God When Your Heart Burns for Him

Is your heart burning with a desire for God?  If so, God has chosen you.  He is calling you to draw near to him and experience his love like never before. 

He is also calling you to share his love with the world around you as you invite others to watch you burn with passion for him.

The Psalmist described this “burning” in this way:

“From the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint.  Lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2).

You Are Chosen by God When You Feel Drawn to Him

When he lived on Earth, Jesus taught that no one can receive him or accept him unless God draws his or her heart (see John 6:44). 

Do you feel drawn to God?  Are you longing for spiritual truth?  Do you feel compelled to learn more about Jesus, read your Bible, or grow in your faith?

These are all signs that God has chosen you.  He wants you to respond to his calling by drawing near to him. 

In response, he promises to draw near to you, too (see James 4:8).

You Are Chosen by God When You Realize That You Cannot Earn Salvation

Many people in this world believe that they will go to heaven when they die because they are “good” people. 

These people have not received Jesus as the Lord of their lives, and they hope that their good deeds will outdo their bad deeds and expect God to welcome them into heaven.

Sadly, these people are mistaken. 

Those who have not received Jesus as Lord and Savior will not go to heaven and cannot have an intimate relationship with God while living on Earth. 

Jesus is the only way to access God’s presence.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). 

God offers this gift to all humankind.  We need only to receive it.

You Are Chosen by God When You Feel Compelled to Serve Others

God chooses us because he loves us and wants a relationship with each of his children.  He also chooses us so that we will go into the world and serve others.

According to Ephesians 2:10, God has prepared good works for each of us to complete on Earth:

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

When we feel compelled to love and serve others out of the overflow of our love for God, we can be assured that God has chosen us.

You Are Chosen by God When He Leads You to Share His Love With Others

In his first letter, Peter wrote,

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

God calls us to share his love with the world around us.  Do you feel a strong urge to share your faith with others? 

God has called you to proclaim his goodness and talk about the way he drew you out of darkness and into his light. 

You Are Chosen by God When He Sets His Love on You

In the Old Testament, we read that God chose the Hebrew people to be his children purely out of love.  They had done nothing to earn his love. 

Deuteronomy 7:6-7 reads,

“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples.”

Do you sense that God has set his love on you?  If so, then God has chosen you to follow him.

You Are Chosen by God When You Sense His Holy Calling

God has a special purpose for every person he creates.  Do you have a sense of God’s specific assignment for your life? 

If so, God has chosen you to be his ambassador in your workplace, community, and in the world around you.

In his second letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul wrote that God

“saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” (2 Timothy 1:9).

You Know You Are Chosen by God When His Power Comes into Your Life

Has God recently revealed his power in your life?

Perhaps he healed you or a loved one.  Maybe you prayed for a miracle, and you experienced God’s miracle-working power. 

Perhaps God’s power flowed through you in a challenging situation, and you couldn’t explain what came over you.

First Thessalonians 1:5 reads,

“Because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.”  You can trust that God has chosen you if you have recently seen his power working in your life.

You Know You Are Chosen by God When God Molds You Into the Image of His Son

Romans 8:28 teaches that God works all things together for good in the lives of those who are called according to his purpose. 

People love to claim this promise, but they often stop short of the second part of this message.

The next verse reads,

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29). 

In other words, God’s idea of “using all things for good” includes using troubles and challenges to mold us into the image of Jesus. 

Have you been walking through a challenging season?  Don’t be discouraged. 

Affliction is God’s primary tool for shaping us into the image of Jesus, and you can trust that he has chosen you if he is refining you in the fire of affliction. 

You Know You Are Chosen by God When You Sense Him Calling You Deeper Into His Love

God wants every human being to step into a thriving relationship with him.  However, because he loves us, he also gives us absolute freedom to choose how we will respond to his calling.

God’s choice would be for every person to say yes to his love.  However, we must never confuse the sovereignty of God with his willingness to let us choose to follow him.  

God does not force himself upon us and gives us the freedom to choose our response to his calling.

Do you sense God calling you deeper into his love?  He will let you choose how you want to respond.

You Know You Are Chosen by God When Your Life Starts to Bear Fruit

Lastly, we know we are chosen by God when our lives bear good fruit.  John 15:1-2 reads:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”

Have your words recently encouraged someone else, or did you offer a kind gesture that was well-received?  Do other people seem open to your words and compassion? 

If so, your life is bearing good fruit, and God has chosen you to continue to bear this fruit.

If studying the Bible better is on your list of things to do this year, be sure to visit our Bible Study Resources page where you’ll find everything you need to make Bible study a regular part of your daily routine.

Living as God’s chosen people is an honor.  This way of living includes embracing God’s plan for our lives, aiming to walk in God’s ways, and seeking to honor Christ Jesus in all we do.

Be reminded daily by spending time in God’s word and meditating on all He says about you!

God chooses us because he loves us deeply and wants us to live in thriving relationships with him and with others. 

He wants the Christian life to be an overflow of love, joy, and peace—overflowing from a thriving relationship with him.

Christians understand that God wants all humankind to be saved.  However, God gives us the freedom to choose how we will respond to his calling.  How have you responded?

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