Am I of the Anointed?
Jehovah has
put in the heart of us the desire to live on this beautiful earth that he
created as a home and for the pleasure of mankind. Do you not enjoy a walk in
the forest listening to the birds, or strolling in a meadow
delighting in the scent and beauty of the flowers; to run along a
beach with the waves lapping at your feet while feeling the warm breeze gently
caressing your face? Are you a loving mother who treasures the joy of
raising children? And after raising them do you yearn to be with them forever,
to see the many generations that you helped produce? Do you yearn to have your
own house with a beautiful garden, in close proximity to relatives, friends and
perhaps gentle animals that prod you for their attention? Perhaps you would
really love to develop your artistic talents and look forward to the time when
time will be no issue. If these things are your heart's
desire Jehovah would not rob you of them.
These joys and yearnings are normal. That is how our Creator formed
us and he has promised to fulfill them for those who love and obey
him. (Psalms 37:11,29; 145:16; Micah 4:4) In order to bring about these desirable
conditions Jehovah purposed to establish a kingdom, of which he has made his
Son the king, and he has seen fit to choose some from among mankind to assist
his Son in accomplishing this, as the scriptures point out. (Daniel 7:13,14,18,22,27; Luke 22:29,30; Romans 8:16-23; Ephesians 1:8-13; Revelation 5:9,10) In their case Jehovah does something
that is not natural for them for he changes their desire from what is mentioned
above to one that is otherwise unnatural. They no longer desire to live on a
paradise earth. It brings them tremendous joy to contemplate being with
Jehovah. Their desire is so strong that I have likened it to being madly in
love. You know when you are crazy in love with someone. You don't need to ask anyone
and often others don't understand, except that your actions may elicit a “Look
at her acting crazy. She must be in love.” You just cannot get the person of
your affection out of your mind. You constantly think of him/her. You look
forward to speaking with him/her and yearn to be in his/her company. To you
he/she is the only one on earth that has captured your affection in such a
complete way. It doesn't terrify you but rather makes you
feel extremely happy, perhaps even giddy. Being in love with that person
eventually becomes an issue because you cannot imagine your life without
him/her. You want to spend the rest of your life with him/her and no one else,
and thus the time will come when you have to find out if the object of your
affection shares your feelings. If he/she does, wonderful, for you will
then be able to plan on sharing your future together.
It is the same with those whom Jehovah has chosen. But he is the one that puts
that "crazy in love" feeling inside the person. It is his spirit
that accomplishes it. After Jehovah chooses an individual he has his spirit
bear witness with him/her so that his/her new desire becomes
appropriate and one that will not lead to disappointment, provided he/she
remains faithful. No one else can see what is secretly going on inside that
person, and therefore no one can decide for someone if they have been chosen.
The person may feel inadequate, perhaps even guilty for having such an intense
love and desire, but Jehovah will ease that apprehension by the way he deals
with that individual, so that in time the chosen one will feel not only very
comfortable with the hope, but cannot imagine life without it.
For those who do not have the choosing the whole thing is somewhat of a
mystery. I used to think that those of the anointed who were convinced of their
calling had something special that made them absolutely certain, and what that
special something might be was a mystery to me. Until one day I was talking
with one who told me of his anointing. I asked him about it and his reason for
certainty and he told me his story. When I told him about my hope and my own
experiences he said, "You have so much more to go on than I have. Be
careful. You could be grieving God's spirit by not cooperating with it."
There wasn't really anything mysterious about it at all. It was Jehovah's
spirit acting on him that made him so certain. He was crazy in love.
I also had that, although I might have expected something more amazing. Be
assured that Jehovah will not leave you in doubt if you have been chosen.
If you feel confused or have doubts that is
perfectly natural considering that this goes contrary to what we have been
taught and everybody believes. Jehovah will in the course of time reaffirm that
this hope is from him. The time will come when you won’t be able to think
otherwise due to the fact that his spirit is bearing witness with your spirit.
(Romans 8:16) We have much to learn yet about God’s ways and dealings with his
people, including facts about God’s choosing.