The Path to Your Destiny
The path to our destiny rarely looks the way we'd expect it to. There are curves and bumps in the road that often make us feel off course. Let's take a look at how that path looked for a few people in the Bible.
When Joseph's destiny was confirmed through his dreams, I'm sure he fully believed that since the hand of God was upon him, he would live a blessed life, filled with favor and free of stress and adversity. It ended up being filled with trials, betrayal, captivity and tests until the day the fulfilment of his destiny was manifested. This molded him into a humble, teachable and faithful servant of God.
King David's destiny was confirmed as he was anointed to kingship as a child through Samuel, wouldn't his life be perfect till the day his calling was fulfilled? He ends up hated and hunted by King Saul, spending much of his time hiding in caves and living in the desert before he ever stepped into his magnificent, God ordained purpose. It made him completely dependent on the Lord and a passionate and uninhibited worshiper! His experiences molded him into a leader God could use.
Queen Esther, though being brought to the palace for beauty treatments and a contest for the love of the king sounds glamorous, she was actually captured as a slave to fulfill the desires of a stranger against her principals and morals. Separated from those she loved... yet... she was born for such a time as this!
Each of these people had amazing destiny's and were used mightily to influence their culture and impact history, yet the journey it took to get there was filled with pain and rejection. For each one, the road they were on seemed to be taking them in the opposite direction of the fulfilment of the call of God upon their lives. The truth is, life in general is filled with all types of experiences and many are not ones we would have chosen to go through, but we have the choice of whether they destroy us as we live life focused on the negative or we learn and grow from them as we cling to Jesus and seek Him for direction and healing from the pain.
I don't believe God inflicts pain on us, but with Him, nothing is wasted. He's there with us through it all, waiting for His children to call out to Him for deliverance. As you do, one day the cumulation of all of your trials will mold you into the usable vessel He desires you to be, then you'll suddenly be launched into your destiny. Don't regret the painful seasons of your life, they are what has brought you to such a time as this!!
Romans 5:3-4 (NKJV) And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Esther 4:12-14 (NKJV) So they told Mordecai Esther’s words. And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
2 Corinthians 1:3-9 (NLT) All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us. We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters,about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.
