Destiny Spoiled (6/4/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading Gen 16:1-4.

Since we know the outcome of this story, we can praise our extremely gracious Father in Heaven. Yahweh is the source of all destiny. Destiny is the inevitable outcome of our lives based on power outside of our control. Too many Christians lose heart for their destiny after making a mistake or failing in some way. Somehow they figure they've blown their one and only opportunity to align themselves with their Creator. With all the teaching on the mercy and forgiveness of our Father, how can we accept this lie so easily? If we can ruin Yahweh's destiny for us, how could Abraham and Sarah still give birth to the child of promise?

Many of us have, or had, dreams and aspirations that were never realized. This doesn't mean we necessarily failed in anything, just maybe like many humans we had some dreams that weren't very realistic. Many young boys dream of playing professional sports, but there's only a limited number of positions to be filled. Many young girls dream of being a world-famous pop star, but most fall far short of that level. It's fairly common for we humans to dream bigger than what we're meant to do. It doesn't mean we shouldn't dream big, but it does mean we must inject some realism into the outcomes.

Christians first need to seek their Lord and ask for his guidance and direction. He has a calling for each and every one of us. If we can find it and invest ourselves in it, we'll find true and lasting peace. If we can work in conjunction with the leading of the Holy Spirit we're likely to end up feeling very fulfilled and satisfied in the work we do accomplish for our Lord's Kingdom.

Some people feel, especially after falling short in their vision, that maybe they could do better in their own strength. This is like Abraham and Sarah. She was frustrated at not having children even with Yahweh's promise. In her mind she must have felt that Yahweh had waited too long and that now she must act or nothing was going to happen. It seems Abraham was willing to go along with scheme to make his wife happy. There's no indication that he went and asked Yahweh what he felt about Sarah's plan. But they both obviously disregarded Yahweh's ability to make her barren womb fruitful. They would both eventually see that nothing is impossible for the Almighty God.

We have to be careful that we don't end up trading our destiny for a delusion. Destiny is Yahweh's plan and purpose for our lives. Delusion is based on a deception which overwhelms us through our pain and disappointment. A dream which hasn't come true often turns into a perverted vision. We can end up making bad choices in our frustration. When we make adjustments to Yahweh's plan and purpose, we can expect bad results. We're an imperfect human adjusting the perfect Creator's agenda. It's not going to be an improvement in any way.

Delusion caused Moses to kill a man, thinking he could help his destiny come to pass. Abraham allowed a delusion to cause him to bring Ishmael into the world. Israel fell to the delusion that having a king would make everything better for them, but in it was actually pushing aside the One True King.

The main reason people lose their dreams is because they allow deception to blur their focus. How many Christian singers have fallen from grace because the delusion of fame and fortune caused them to walk a dangerous path? How many became preachers because of someone else's dream, and eventually burned out because of the deceptive vision which led them to accept human advice over Yahweh's direction and call? How many have felt the call of their Lord and ended up missing it by trying to make it happen according to their own will or timing? Our trust in what our Father will do in and through us must be complete and allow for him to form and fashion us as he pleases - and according to his timing.

Yahweh wants us to see his vision. He wants us to perceive what he sets forth as our destiny. Maybe we need our perceptions healed, or we just need to squelch the power of our own willfulness. We can't control our own destiny. Our destiny is in much bigger hands than our own. It's in the hands of the all-powerful, all-knowing, Sovereign Lord God Almighty. It's a delusion to think that we can control our own futures. The way we bless and help our futures come to pass is by being obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We can't control our futures, but we can certainly align ourselves with our Lord God and keep the hindrances minimal.

We're delusional when we think that we can help Yahweh through our human efforts. Remember, Yahweh has a calling for each of us. We have an individual task to perform, an obligation to fulfill for our Lord. And it may not be a "spiritual" occupation that he has in mind. If you're called to be a plumber or carpenter or technician or politician or anything else, do it with all your might while trying to please your Father in what you do. Whatever our job or task, we should be working to do what's pleasing to our Father.

Yahweh has given all of us gifts and talents which we're to use for his glory and for our ultimate happiness. Satan would love it if we would use those gifts for ourselves, or for his world system. His demonic plan is to remove our dignity and cause us to usurp Yahweh's position of sovereignty. He wants us to do what he tried to do, to proclaim that we're going to sit in the seat of honor and control our own destinies. Then after we've rebelled and sinned in this way Satan will use our disappointment to keep us away from the love of the Father. He'll use our guilt to keep us from seeking forgiveness.

Yahweh loves us just as we are. He sees the truth of who and what we are, and doesn't have unrealistic expectations for any of us. People in our lives can do us great harm by either over or under appreciating us. Some ruin us by making us feel overly "special," and others do it by not making us feel "special" enough. Some fail to achieve their Lord's desire because they feel overly privileged and unwilling to accept anything but the topmost positions. Some fail to achieve their Lord's desire because they've been so trampled on by others that they feel totally unworthy of any honor. But if our identity is wrapped up in Jesus, our Father is actively helping us walk the true path of his destiny for us.

If Abraham and Sarah had been more patient and trusting, we might not have some of the conflict that's so prominent in our world. But I'm sure if we evaluated our own lives we'd find our own lack of trust has caused major conflict, too. The great news is that Yahweh can redeem every failure and bad choice or decision. His promise is found in Rom 8:28. "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Notice is says "works for the good," not makes everything good. He'll bring out the best in every situation if we continue to seek and trust his guidance.

If we're going to fulfill our destiny, we're going to know who we are in Jesus. If our identity is based on Jesus within us, low self-esteem isn't going to rob us of anything. Low self-esteem pushes us toward delusion and deception. Knowing who we are in Christ empowers us to fulfill our Yahweh-ordained destiny. Low self-esteem has us grabbing at pipe dreams and unrealistic expectations instead of trusting that Yahweh really has given us precious gifts to use for his Kingdom. There is no low self-esteem in Christ, because we know we're greatly loved and redeemed and enabled to be vessels fit for our Master's service.

When we feel like we're not pleasing our Father, we begin to be filled with self-doubt. When that happens our vision becomes distorted because we're trying to improve our value as humans through our own efforts rather than believing Yahweh values us just the way we are. Yes, he's looking for ongoing improvement, but he's also always encouraging us toward that improvement. He never tells us to go away and get our act together. He calls us to come to him and learn from him.

The doubt in Sarah came from the idea that Yahweh "kept" her from conceiving a child. Kept means held back, restricted, or stopped. Her thought was that Yahweh, even though he'd promised them a child, was stopping her from getting pregnant. When Abraham heard her plan about using Hagar as a surrogate, he "agreed." This means he listened carefully and understood her position. So he also had some doubts and he let his empathy for his wife move him to try to help Yahweh accomplish his plan and purpose.

We all need to remember that Yahweh's promises are true and sure, even when the time frame isn't working for us. Our God never lies, so we need to trust him even when time seems to be slipping away from us. And make sure the dream you're holding on to really came from him, not your own heart or head. When all your senses and thinking tells you things aren't working, obedience is still necessary. Don't let your human senses cause you to turn away from what Yahweh is leading you to do.

Don't let your fear of failure keep you from fulfilling your destiny either. Don't let your doubts about yourself cause you to deny that you're truly gifted. Don't waste time living in delusion and heartache, trust in your Father's love and grace. Only he can be trusted to change our circumstances and bring us to the fulfillment of our destiny. Keep saying yes to your Lord and eventually you'll find that you've accomplished a lot more than you could have ever dreamed or imagined.

Don't let the devil keep you away from your Lord Jesus. Shame is a tool he uses to cause us to shy away from intimacy with our Master. If something is wrong, fix it. If you've sinned, confess and receive forgiveness. Trust Jesus and live out your destiny so the devil can be the one who ends up ashamed and embarrassed. Don't settle for less than Yahweh's best. You haven't lost the ability to fulfill his destiny for you, no matter what the devil says.

Blessings & Peace, Mike