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Every time our attention is captured by an exceptional achievement, seemingly made with ease and grace by an individual, it causes us to recognize that something beyond the ordinary, beyond the permutation of circumstances or events is at play there. We therefore acknowledge that, "He was truly chosen".

"He was born for this…" I have often exclaimed, as I beheld the glory of a skilled musician, an amazing athlete, an awesome preacher, a prolific actor or a seasoned statesman at the peak of their prowess. Many times when the going gets tough, the overriding notion that I am destined for this because I am 'chosen', keeps me going. To know that you are chosen is an awesome feeling indeed! It is a revelation that could give us so much joy and so much confidence in life. Knowing you are chosen perhaps informs the greatest outlook on life anyone could ever have.

This inspirational and personal development book is an in-depth analysis of how to get from where you are to where God wants you to be in life, love and leadership. It explores the milestones and components of life's journey that will lead to success and ensure a legacy. It does this in a practical and easy to understand manner. The book delivers the keys to understanding who we are and how to become the person that we really want to be.

It explains the need and the nature of a calling, the power of conviction, the purpose of a covenant and how to overcome contradictions on the journey. It explains how to develop courage and also how to find the right company for life's journey. This book will help you, the reader, to deliver a contribution to your generation and to posterity.

The word ‘chosen’ in the Bible is always connected to something special. To be chosen implies that you are being prepared for great things, similar to how God prepared Aaron and his sons and put them in high office. Being chosen changes your status from mediocrity to recognition. Even though it brings nobility along with it, to be specially chosen may also mean to suffer much preparation and opposition. There is a process for every position.

Do you think that the tough things you have passed through are always an indication that you are not on the right path? If you do, you are wrong, because this is often not the case. Some people think difficulties are evidence of God’s disapproval. That is why too many people buckle under pressure and lose heart in the face of opposition. We far too easily assume that because God has called us and has His hand upon us, everything will go without any hitches or contest. King David of Israel was chosen and at sixteen the bear and the lion came at him, but he defeated them by the Spirit of the Lord. These events, unknown to him, prepared him for the destruction of Goliath, which, in turn, facilitated his route to the king’s palace. Had there been neither bear nor lion, there never would have been victory over Goliath. When the seasoned fighters who had never had the 'bear and lion' experiences stood before Goliath, they all buckled with fear, turned their backs and fled.

It is important to observe, at this point, that David had been tending his father’s flock of sheep from a tender age, but it was not until he was anointed to be king that the lion and the bear showed up. When you are chosen, set apart by God, some lions will come your way. There is a dimension of opposition and pressure that comes your way when you align yourself with the will of God. Never put a full stop behind the antics of the adversary in your life. It might be a bend but it is definitely not the end.

So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. 39. David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, "I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them." So David took them off. 40. Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.

It is possible that you have been so surrounded by blessings and comfort all your life that you have never had to struggle for anything. Perhaps you have been so pampered and shielded that you have never experienced what pressure truly is. It is not always a good thing to be shielded from pressure. Sometimes, you need to be allowed to stumble a little. Sometimes you need to go through some pain. These serve to make you strong and of good courage. Even though pain is not necessarily a teacher, it forces us to be open to learning. Jesus was introduced to us prophetically in the Holy Scriptures as a man of sorrow, acquainted with grief. I too am somewhat familiar with sorrow and pain. I know what grief is like, but I also know the cure; it will not last!

In this account, David rejected Saul's armor. He fell back on his experience instead and used what he was accustomed to. He had neither shield nor sword when he killed the lion and the bear. He fell back on the familiar and proven tools that had served him well as a simple shepherd boy. He went to the brook and took up five 'chosen' stones or smooth pebbles. These stones had been rubbed smooth by some things. It is friction that wears a stone down to become a pebble. Pebbles are stones found at the bottom of a stream that particles, sediment and the elements have hit at over and over again until all the jagged edges are smoothened. These stones were chosen because of what they had gone through. Even if David had not picked these stones, they were still ‘chosen’. You are chosen because you have been through myriads of things and are still standing. Despise not the seasons of new beginnings. Every time you have to start afresh you may feel knocked down, but just give it a little time and you will be back up again. Sometimes, the Lord is just doing a little restructuring. I am well acquainted with new beginnings and I am not afraid to start again. I no longer fear when people leave me and walk away. It is all part of the process of being a chosen vessel.

But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. 21. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. NKJV

Many people may think that the scripture above means that God has chosen some people for good things and some for ignoble things. A closer look at verse 21 however, shows that the onus is on us to determine whether we will be vessels unto honor; "Therefore if anyone…" God has made it possible for everyone to qualify himself to be a chosen vessel. To everything that happens, there are two parts: God’s sovereignty and man’s initiative. God’s sovereignty has made the provision for us but we must, by our initiative, key into what God has done. Chosen vessels are the ones that are 'prepared' for every good work. It is not God that chooses vessels unto honor; you are the one that chooses whether you will be a vessel unto honor or dishonor. The choice is yours. Your predestination or God’s election concerning you is that you would be a vessel unto honor and be fruitful in every good work.

There are certain things that must be present in your life to prepare you for every good work and to qualify you to be a vessel unto honor. In the King James Version of the Bible, Acts 9:16 says that there are certain things we must suffer. This does not mean suffering in the strict sense of the word; it simply means certain things one must go through. There are things that must be synonymous with your life; these things are part of the process of becoming a chosen vessel. This is what it takes to be a vessel unto honor. Before you cower at the thought of being a chosen vessel, you must remember that God tempts no one with evil. He desires that we prosper and be in health, even as our souls prosper. We must also bear in mind that the things we might have to go 'through' are not what God is taking you 'to': "These too shall pass." Your sufferings are only temporary. Many of us have a table prepared before us, but because we do not understand the path, system or the journey that God has planned for us, we sadly cannot dine at the table. If you are going to be a force to be reckoned with in your chosen profession, you must pass through some things. These things are not your destination; they are just a part of your preparation, a part of your journey to get there.

Being chosen implies that no matter what, you are destined for greatness. You can be an achiever, regardless of your background. Being chosen is exciting, rewarding and fulfilling, though the process does not imply a storm-free sail. Being chosen puts you in the 'line of fire', in the center of opposition and temporary hardship. This does not, however, imply that you will fail. Being chosen guarantees that in spite of it all, you will still come out on top.

The journey of a chosen vessel is the pathway we must follow to discover the greatness that God has promised us. This book is an in-depth analysis of the journey of a chosen vessel. It begins with a calling, it is founded upon a conviction, it is sustained by a covenant, it will present contradictions, it will require courage, it utilizes a candlestick, it involves a company and it brings about a contribution to your generation and to posterity. Join me as we take this journey together and please open your hearts and minds, because I can assure you that you have not passed this way before.

If ever you asked anyone involved in a rescue, restoration mission or an intervention, how to proceed, they would eagerly tell you that the most important question to ask is, "What needs to be done?" and then, "Where do we start from?" The starting point is crucial. Beginning at the wrong point can lead to unfathomable difficulties or shipwreck. Sometimes, even the most overwhelming tasks can become easier to achieve when you know where to begin. The starting point is crucial to any worthwhile pursuit. To be a chosen vessel, there are certain characteristics that must be present in your life and the first among these or the 'starting point’ is your 'calling'.

It was a cold night in January 1986 and the bitter harmattan wind bit into our flesh with the same ferocity as the mosquitoes that encircled us. The occasional clouds of dust from the construction site could not obscure the splendor of the stars above us. There was no roof over the uncompleted chapel of the Ahmadu Bello University in those days, just stones, rods and building blocks. We just wanted to worship and pray and nothing was going to stop us. Caught up in the elation of the presence of the LORD, we had lost track of time and did not realize that it was already 1:30am.

Suddenly, it was as if our voices were drowned by the reverberation of a multitude of voices crying out to God. My eyes were wide open but everything before me changed as I was transported to a wide, open field. Multitudes of people from every culture I had ever known, all dressed in white, pressed towards a raised platform in the middle of the field. The entire platform glistened brightly and I could barely make out a lone figure pacing from one end of it to the other.

As I looked closer, it dawned on me that this was Jesus, the King of kings. I don't remember seeing His eyes, but I saw His hands very well. I vividly remember focusing on those hands that trembled as they reached out to crying, sighing and dying humanity below, who were in turn reaching desperately to catch a hold of the outstretched hands of the LORD. In a moment that felt to me like eternity, I was overwhelmed with the feeling of desperation and urgency. I felt captured by an indescribable burden from the heart of the LORD. With tears flowing down my cheeks, I dropped to my knees in total surrender as I heard with my whole heart the following words; "I can only reach mankind through men…I have made you a link."

This was the vision, my 'eureka moment' that changed my life forever. This was the encounter that began a lifelong quest to connect people with the person, the presence, the power and the principles of our LORD. This burden remains with me till this very day. Everything changed on that day, my ambitions, my desires and my pursuits at that particular time, all began to seem so trivial and mundane. My heart began to burn with an overwhelming desire to see multitudes connect with him. That was when it all began.

The journey of a chosen vessel begins with a call; a definite encounter with God. A call is an interruption in eternity. It is when immortality breaks through into the realm of mortality and re-arranges your life forever. A call is an encounter where you meet with God's purpose and something happens inside you that changes you remarkably. It makes a deposit inside you, unlocks something within you and decodes within you the assignment of God for your life. A calling is the unveiling; the revelation. It is the Spirit of God bringing into your awareness and to your knowledge the things that He has prepared for you.

A calling is when someone receives a life re-aligning beckoning from the mouth of the Most High. When God speaks, it is like a divine summons. Callings come in all kinds of forms, but it is always an encounter with the Most High God. It is not the method God employs to call us that matters though, but the validity of the encounter. A chosen vessel cannot just be like every other person; it begins with a call. Something happens that causes things deep inside to come alive in a specific direction. A true calling produces audacity; you are just so sure. A calling is when God unveils His plan to you and His desire for your life.

When a calling comes, it is not just information that God gives, it is a divine apprehension unto a higher life that cannot be refused without being guilty of contempt for God. God literally takes over your heart and changes everything from the inside out. To reject the call is to reject your own desires.

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead…