When I was in Year 9, my school organised a lunchtime inter-homeroom basketball competition. There were six homerooms, which meant one game a day for the whole week.
I have never been known for my sporting prowess and was always the kid picked last when team sports were played. This never upset me, as I figured it is what it is! It seemed my lot in life was simply to help make up the numbers.
In the second game of this week-long competition, surprisingly, I played an unbelievable game where I couldn’t do a thing wrong!
I won the contested ball, defended strongly and scored 18 points, including 3 three-pointers.
My personal success in this game was so significant that I was nearly carried off the court at the end because I had helped my homeroom beat the one everyone predicted would win the competition.
For the remaining games that week, I was one of the first to be selected. The other kids in the class now viewed me differently; I was no longer the kid who just helped make up the numbers, I was someone they wanted to choose.
This old memory came flooding back to me as I recently read the following from the Old Testament book of Isaiah. This passage speaks of being God’s chosen one:
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations... In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.” (Isaiah 42:1 & 3)
God says of His chosen, the Servant, “I will put my Spirit on him.”
As I read this passage, it occurred to me: it is one thing to be chosen, but it is another to be anointed and enabled. The Servant of the Lord is not only chosen for a task but empowered to fulfil it.
When reading a passage like Isaiah 42, it is important to remember that being a servant in Biblical times was not necessarily held in the same low esteem as it is today.
To be a servant in Biblical times didn’t necessarily mean you were a miserable slave or dogsbody. Depending on the standing of the one you served, you could find yourself in prestigious surrounds, such as the Royal Court. In those times, your standing as a servant depended on whom you served. In other words, your master’s dignity and stature also determined yours.
Therefore, to be known or called the Lord God’s servant was an incredible blessing.
There are many times throughout the Bible where we read of people being identified as a ‘Servant of the LORD’; Abraham was called to be God’s servant, as were Moses, King David and the prophet Amos. For those called servants of the Lord, it didn’t matter if they were resplendent figures, decked out in fine robes and jewels, or not. What mattered was that, as a servant of the Lord, each was not only chosen by God but anointed or empowered by the Holy Spirit to do His work. The power of the Spirit enabled the servant to represent The Master and reassured them of the Lord’s authority in what they had been called to do.
As our Year 12s conclude their time at Heathdale, I’m sure the prayer of this community is that they come to know and understand the incredible privilege of having God’s powerful stamp upon their lives. As they move from this season of secondary schooling into the next, may they be energised, empowered and enabled by this blessing of God’s presence as they seek to serve Him in every sphere of life.
As our Year 12s come to understand that they are indeed chosen and anointed through being followers of Jesus, they will know that the power of the Spirit enables them to serve and represent their Master and be reassured of the Lord’s authority in what they are called to do.
And to you too, as you go about your everyday tasks, may you know that God has written on your hearts and identified you as His. You are chosen by Him. May the power of the Spirit enable you to represent Him and be reassured of the Lord’s authority in what you have been called to do because you are also anointed.