Choose You Again

“For thus said the LORD of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye …” (Zechariah 2:8)

All of the evidence tells Israel: you are forsaken.

But a word of reminder comes, like a letter from a distanced lover: still, you are the apple of my eye.

God can’t get over his bride. Though Israel had turned from her husband, the Lord never forgot the covenant. He never lost his affection. Every bruise of Babylon stirred the rage and sorrow of a watching Husband. 

As the Lord watched his bride tossed and turned in the discipline of exile, he awaited a day when he would rise up from his holy dwelling and rush to her defense.

“Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord. … And the Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.” (Zechariah 2:10, 12)

God chooses Judah and Jerusalem again. Though they might feel left behind, the Husband sees his bride with the same eyes. Babylon was but a brief shadow in the eternal storyline of his glowing love. They may have wandered, but he never went away. 

Do you believe that God’s love for you is as fresh today as it was on the first day?

After all the wandering and wavering, he would choose you the same. All those days were already in his book when he wrote down your name (Psalm 139:16; Luke 10:20). The factors that could make him reconsider were in mind when he chose you once and for all.

This is why the Scriptures say that you are his “chosen one” (Colossians 3:12). The choosing of the Almighty isn’t a past-tense act. It’s the permanent mark of a soul set apart for God.

From the start, God had the full storyline in mind. No plot twist can pull you from the grips of his love.

“Behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall become plunder for those who served them … Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.” (Zechariah 2:9, 13)

Do you feel forsaken by your Husband? Though it feels like God has grown indifferent, a time is coming when he will rouse himself and reveal the apple of his eye.

You may have settled into a separation. You have accepted the distance from the One who once had your heart. But Christ won’t accept a mediocre marriage. 

A day is coming when he will shake things up. You will hear the voice of your Husband again. You will sing and rejoice as he knocks on the door (Zechariah 2:10). You will dwell again in the midst of his Love. And you will find that each morning, like fresh mercies falling as dew—again and again, God chooses you.