“Through our union with Christ we too have been claimed by God as His own inheritance. Before we were even born, He gave us our destiny; that we would fulfil the plan of God Who always accomplishes every purpose and plan in His heart.” Ephesians 1:11 TPT.
Christians think a lot about finding their destiny. It is like we think if we can find it, we will give our lives more meaning. But our lives already have incredible meaning – we are made great because of the One we love, Who loved us first! God Himself chose to make US part of His plans for this world. And we can be transformed into a people who totally love Jesus and live to serve Him. The thing is, we can’t live our new life in Christ if we do not love Him, yet that love can’t be based on feelings, it must be based on obedience. Feelings are a bonus, not the point.
I’ve learnt that along the way, things will be asked of us in this life, that could make us fall and stumble. Then we can quite quickly become like a lost sheep, caught in a thicket — held fast by our inability to pay attention to what is really important. That’s how sheep get lost. They wander off, eating this and that, forgetting where the rest of the flock is. Even if we do wander away, God promises He will find us. Jesus is the best Shepherd, He doesn’t want to lose one sheep!
The saddest part is this, we can lose Him – this life can steal away our passion for Him. We can get so busy trying to survive, we forget the Giver of Life. We are distracted away from our purpose, and eventually we become a sheep that doesn’t want to be found. Even the wolves are happy with that scenario, they gain another breakfast.
To fulfil His plans we will have to let go of our own. “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies …” John 12:24. I think it’s the thought of dying that puts so many people off wholeheartedly following the Lord. They want this life to be the way they dream it will be. The marvel of that is that our Heavenly Father, doesn’t change His mind about us. Can you believe it? Human beings quite happily walk away from anything that doesn’t suit our agenda, yet the Lord picks us all up, heals us, dusts each one of us off and throws His great Love all over us. He proves to us over and over again that our worth comes from His love for us, not what we do, or what we say.
Consistently and repeatedly in the bible, this happens to all kinds of people — in the Old and New Testament. In His book we can see Almighty God persevering with so many people who don’t want to be a part of His plans, or they think they need something else other than what He is offering them. So much so, the obedient people stand out! Like David, Ruth, Abraham, Paul, Peter, Silas, Jeremiah etc. These people show us it can be done, we can walk with God, daily, and be used by Him to change this world for the better.
Our destiny is not our destination, it is merely the way God designed us to complete His overall plan for saving mankind from themselves. To be honest with you, I am personally comforted by Moses and Abraham’s ages. I just love the way the Lord rewrites history, by His GRACE — with people like Sarah, the woman who laughed at God’s plan and then denied she did it. In 1 Peter 3, Father God says that Sarah, who laughed, is our example of what submission and true inward beauty is meant to look like.
Now there’s a rock to throw into the pool of women’s rights eh?? Her destiny was to submit to Abraham even though what God said was so impossible in her eyes, and she thought it was hilarious. Our destiny is inextricable fixed into His faithfulness, so when we doubt His faithfulness, our inner world will wobble. When everyone else gives up on us, the Lord chases after us even harder and we can see that He personally rewrites our stories. Bathsheba is indirectly on the list of Jesus’ ancestors!
When we think there is no hope at all — then that is the time that very real vital soil of His faithfulness begins to bear fruit. Then our hope grows in the God Who saves us, no matter what we do. God does not woo us with riches, or property or fame, He woos us with Himself. Who He is, and what He has done. When we sink into that kind of love, the love that does not change, we find our destiny. Father God simply won’t walk away … His never ending love for us goes deeper and deeper into the fabric of our lives.
Our destiny is not ministry, or gifts, or promises, or prophecies, or even fruit … but all those things are included… our destiny is to be His, and understand that we are the focus of His love. We can be so transformed by the Father’s all-encompassing love and His Son’s sacrifice, and the Holy Spirit’s faithful perseverance, that we are utterly changed by His generosity toward us. Out of that comes what we do.
Here’s Romans 8:31-35, &37: “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won’t He also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for His own? No one—for God Himself has given us right standing with Himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and He is sitting in the place of honour at God’s right hand, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?” … “NO, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”
THIS is our destiny, to glorify Him, forever. Bye. 👋
