Chosen not cheated, Koki Oyuke – Book Review

When I came across this book, I was instantly drawn to the title – and so when I noticed the author had a sale in April (let us not judge each other please) I decided to buy it.

When I bought the book I thought to myself that this might be ideal for my first book review for the blog; little did I know that the actual reading of the book will drive me to share the lessons and beauty that this book holds.

The very first paragraph of this book and I knew that I was hooked! The author is very open and shares her story in way that resonates with most people. Ever read a book and you keep saying to yourself ‘Oh my – that is so true? this is that book!

The book starts by posing such a challenging question “show me someone that wrote their book through the process, not after?” the author asks. I had to stop and think at this point. She unveils the unseen person right from the beginning in such a solid way, and throughout the book the unseen person is revealed, re-defined, and assured of God’s love. This book goes a long way into making clear that, even though we live in a world where importance tends to be determined by what others think of us, ‘you don’t need every eye on you – Just the right one’.

She delves into, what she refers to as, the sound of waiting; and here she exposes the God of the in-between. I particularly like how she addresses what most of us suffer from – the disease of comparison. The in-between is a good place to be in because God uses it to prepare us for the next level – it is a necessary and crucial point in our life as it determines how we will be on the other side. In this day and age it is so easy to fall into the trap of self-pity because of how we see everyone around us living, but what we need to learn to do is to focus on God. Your life should be your own comparison chart –, so that every time you compare yourself to YOU, the growth is evident.

She spells out how the things we are afraid of keep us from our destiny – that is designed by God and when He chose us He knew the why, and the how, and everything else that we keep asking ourselves, God has it figured out! He sees us as we are and still chooses us! What makes others more special, we always ask? This for me was summed up in one line ‘how we are is by design’. No one is more special – we are all just who God created us to be!

The truth in the example of Jesus as one who deserved all the hype – yet was humble and carried the heart of service to the end – this is deep! The author puts it this way:

‘I’m coming to learn that hype according to God is being low and slow. It’s choosing face time with Him rather than the spotlight so that when He thrusts you into it, you know which light shines the brightest’ Can it be said any better?

The gift of invisibility the author writes should lead us to look towards the Godward direction. She audibly illustrates how we live in a world that magnifies visibility and creates a yearning for us to be noticed, to be seeing – and so our words and actions are fixed on the views, the likes, the shares, that we get. This book has re-defined invisibility for me, through her words; I now see invisibility precisely as ‘not seeing but perfectly present’. I really liked this part as it portrayed how we feel so many times when we are doing something that God has called us to do but it seems like no one is noticing. What are we supposed to do then? The one who called you is greater than the one you want to notice you. And at the same time God may have called you for the same people that don’t seem to notice you YET – and this is because you are not ready. Keep doing what you are doing – and let what you are doing now when you have not been noticed, be the same thing you will do when you are noticed!

Is the time ever right to start walking in purpose? Do we ever have all that we think we need to start? The author describes these moments in the following words:

‘I simply buried them in a heart cavity called longing and gave them that deceitful timeline called someday’.

These words made me re-assess what ready means as a person called by God – it means God has given you the go-ahead to start, so with what you have start! In the words of Pastor Mike Todd ‘all you have is all you need’!

Give yourself permission, this part of the book is a reminder of why we should never stop but keep going. This was one of my best chapters of the book, the author’s words were an awakening voice to the doubts that I have whenever I start something, and fight uncertainty at the same time. You will never be better enough to start, so start and get better as you go on (you are ready)!

Not denied, just between floors, the author’s honesty in this chapter is admirable. I like how she talks about God and acknowledges Him in one of her low moments in life – and highlights testimonies in the Bible that she leaned on. Who do we run to when things are not going ‘our way’? She gives the glory of God a whole new meaning by explaining how our situations don’t put our glory on stake but God’s glory! The following verse came to my mind when going through this part Joshua 1:8 (NIV): Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Carrying crowns and setting tables, she describes how we carry people’s crowns. She talks about the competitive nature of the world and in this chapter shows how we ought to be different. We are not meant to compete – we are meant to lift each other up! I like this chapter it is a confirmation that serving as Christians is a high calling.

Everything is beautiful here; this part of the book summarizes the beauty of every moment we live. Everything we go through matters, and our inability to not see it at that specific time – doesn’t block what we learn and appreciate in the end. As the author puts it, “you have to trust that every situation God allows you to go through is assigned to an outcome that God wants to generate in your life”.

The last to bloom is the last chapter in the book. The author encourages us to go through the process, in her words….. ‘You can’t spring your way up the mountain. The only way to get there is by taking one step at a time’.  Embrace the process and make sure you ‘show up every day’.  The beauty of the process is concluded in this one sentence …‘You need to trust in the timing of your life. Many of us live so far ahead in the future and fail to see the many gifts given to us by God today’.

This book is a conversation that we always have with ourselves – the difference is that it has another voice that is assuring us to keep walking; it is not the pace that matters but the act of moving forward. This book is a reminder that God loves us and He keeps choosing us – so we need to trust Him!

P.S Koki is currently having a clearance sale of her book at the cost of Kshs. 1,000 till 2^nd June 2020.

Buy yourselves a copy and read. Trust me you will be blessed!