In my last article a couple of weeks ago, we repeated the appeal to each of our folks to live
life in a way that pursues the fulfillment of their unique God-given destiny. In this current
series, The Giving of Christmas, we have described the idea of God’s DESTINY for us like
this…..
Destiny – A focused and purposeful lifestyle committed to the generation of something
much bigger than myself, and leading to the continuous betterment of those around me.
This sense of destiny encompasses your life purpose – to bring pleasure to God, your
personal God-given life plan – unique to you based on the way that He created you. Think
of Destiny as fulfilling those all-important attributes of your life.
Mary, Joseph, Zechariah, Elisabeth, the Magi, the Shepherds – all of these folks lived life
with a sense of destiny, and look at what God would do with them in the Christmas story.
My guess is that their lives had even more impact beyond the Christmas story, as they grew
in their individual relationships with the Lord.
I admit, figuring out your destiny can be a confusing thing. We don’t have a specific set of
instructions, nor is there a set formula in Scripture for this (although there is plenty in the
whole of Scripture to help us figure it out…), many professing Christians miss the point
altogether.
I believe there are at least 4 major mistakes we make when trying to figure out this matter
of our God-given life Destiny….
a) We are looking in the wrong places.
We fall into the trap of thinking that our present or prospective circumstances may dictate
our life plan. This happens often with people in spiritual “comfort zones.” They assume
that because “this is where I am, then this is where God wants me.” This could be true
sometimes, but more often than not, it’s an excuse to avoid stepping out in faith. Our
circumstances always need to be balanced with a look at what the Bible says. God’s
principles always either affirm our ideas about our life mission, or they will “challenge”
those ideas.
b) We don’t think BIG enough.
We tend to focus on what is right in front of us, and we fail to look beyond the obvious.
Our own understanding is shaped by what has happened in the past. This place limits on
our own personal vision, and on our idea of what God can do through us. For example,
Gideon didn’t think big enough, so God kept making his mission even BIGger by cutting
the size of his army! Unfortunately, many of us never even get around to the question,
“What are the possibilities if I get out of the way, and let God have control?”
c) We rush it.
In a culture in which everything comes at us so fast, we tend to get away from process orientation. We want results. We want answers. And we want them now! Discovering our
life mission is most likely going to be a fairly time-consuming process. It was for Moses,
who was around eighty years old by the time God appeared to him in the burning bush!
God wants us to enjoy – and not shortcut – this discovery process.
d) We confuse mission with our vocation.
We think that “work” – that which we typically do to make money and support our families
– is synonymous with our mission. This often comes from the fact that we
“compartmentalize” different aspects of our lives. We put them in their own little boxes
without understanding how they all interrelate. We do that with our work life, family life,
spiritual life, social life, etc! We forget what Paul said in Romans 12:1 “ …. I beg you to
offer your (whole) lives as a living sacrifice to Him. …..” God wants all of our lives.
Compartmentalization leads to fragmentation of a life that God intends to be whole!
So what may be going on – or NOT going on – in your life that may be causing you to miss
what God’s plan and His Destiny could be for your life? Could any of these four factors be
having an impact? Or is there something else that may be slowing you down? Maybe
you’re getting it, and God’s plan for your life, and thus His Destiny for you – are becoming
clearer. Be honest as you assess your own situation in this regard. During this Christmas
season, and beyond, let me encourage you to pray that God will help you accelerate the
growth of your faith in order to move forward living out the plan and fulfilling the destiny
that He has for you.
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