DETERMINE YOUR DESTINY

DETERMINE YOUR DESTINY

 
YOU HAVE YOUR SPECIFIC GIFTS FOR A DIVINE REASON.  You were created to accomplish great things—it is your destiny.  We are all talented.  Paul says, “Each man has his own gift from God” (I Corinthians 7:7).  If God has given you certain talents, it is rather likely that they have something to do with your ultimate purpose in life.  “God is always calling us!  But there are distinctive moments in this call of his, moments which leave a permanent mark on us — moments which we never forget.” — Carlo Carretto, Letters from the Desert

STEPS TO TAKE:

(1) Pray. See if the Lord has anything to tell you. 

(2) Read your Bible. You want the thoughts of God? They're right there. “God guides us first through his Word, then through our heartfelt desires, then the wise counsel of others, and then our circumstances.  At that point we must rely on our own sound judgment. … God gave each of us a brain, and he expects us to put it to good use.” — Bruce K. Waltke, Finding the Will of God  

(3) Consider your desires. What does your heart tell you to do?

(4) Seek wise counsel.

(5) Look at your situation.

(6) Ask yourself if this decision makes sense.  “In His will is our peace.” — Dante, The Divine Comedy: Paradise

Details determine Destiny.  To determine your destiny is to become focused on your goals and to live a disciplined life to accomplish those goals.  A focused writer follows up on opportunities that come along.  This will not be easy, because there are many possibilities but only time enough to effectively develop a few.  Sometimes painful events come that seem to interrupt your plans for success.  Visionaries know how to manage the discomfort of discouragement and keep pressing forward to other possibilities.

We can speculate about how we can act meaningfully and purposefully in our world.  But finally we need to do what lies right at hand.  If we are open to grasp the opportunities that come our way, we will have ample things to do.  This does not mean we should act haphazardly.  There may be things that we need to say NO to, but we cannot fail to do what clearly must be done. (Charles Ringma in Seizing the Day with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Pinon Press, June 29)

FOLLOWING GOD’S GUIDANCE.  Whenever we are uncertain as to our course, we can rely on God, in His wisdom, to shut doors against us — every door but the right one.  When we cooperate with God as He engineers the circumstances of our lives, there is no limit to what He can do.  God opens and closes doors before us at His will.  When we don’t understand what He is doing, we do well to remember that we are not fulfilled by the plans we create but rather by following God’s plan for us.

Our lives are filled with many questions that may never be answered, but that’s okay if we let God lead and direct us.  We may not understand why certain things happen or why we have to go through difficult situations.  But the one thing we can know for sure is that God is always in charge. (Elaine Wright Colvin in Treasury of God’s Virtues, Publications International, page 297)

Your life isn’t a dress rehearsal, and it’s time to live like you are completely alive, celebrating the blessings you have been given by God. ~ Elaine Wright Colvin