Introduction
Last week we looked at some of the people in the Bible who made an impact by taking hold of their “Such a time”. We are all destined to have a “such a time as this” moment. Last week we looked at:
Preparation – sometimes this is longer than we might expect, but it will never be without purpose.
Serving – finding whatever is in your hand to do to serve somewhere in church or community
Risk – knowing the season and being prepared to take a risk to step out and into what God has for us.
Our destiny is not something that falls to our lot. It is not an act of fate. Our destiny is foreordained by God. We walk in our destiny when we choose to engage with what God has planned for us. The choice is ours. Will we engage with God’s plan and purpose for our lives or will we choose our own way and miss what God has planned?
1.God’s ways are not our ways
Our destiny is God ordained and God directed, and doesn’t necessarily go how we planned. God never said that stepping into our plan and purpose would be easy. He says we will have trouble. Stuff will happen. Just because stuff happens does not mean our destiny is lost or unattainable. The stuff that happens becomes part of your purpose.
One thing I’ve learnt over the years is that God does not always do things the way we expect or even want. But he does have our best interest and our purpose at his heart. We don’t always understand the way God works, but understanding this actually enables us to take hold of what God has planned.
When we can put our own plans aside and truly trust God for his purpose for our lives we embark on an amazing journey. We don’t know what Joseph and Esther thought about the things they didn’t understand. We see what they went through and we can learn from them.
What can we say? To walk into our “such a time” requires us to trust God, even when it seems all is falling apart.
Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.
We want to trust our own understanding. We want answers, to understand, but God says: trust me in everything, don’t rely on what you understand.
Isaiah 55:8-9
8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
We know this, and we quote it. But if we are to walk into our purpose, God’s plan for us, then we need to really live it. I love these verses because they remind me that God thinks differently to me. His thoughts – devices, plans and purposes are different to ours. God’s purpose for us is not always what we want or expect, but it is always better than anything we could think of.
Isaiah 26:4
4 Trust in the Lord always,
for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.
Trust in God, in his solid character and his strength. He is totally trustworthy.
What areas of life do we struggle to trust God? Decide today that even when we don’t see it, we can trust God for his good plan and purpose.
2. Make each day count
This means placing value on each day, so that we live a life that is different to others. This does not mean cramming every day solid with stuff. It does mean being deliberate in choosing how we use each day and what we choose to do.
2 Thessalonians 3:11-13
Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. 12 We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. 13 As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.
Romans 12:11
Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.
We are not meant to be idle, just waiting for stuff to happen. When we are active and involved, opportunities will come our way. These opportunities propel us into our “Such a time” if we make the most of them and make the most of every day. If we are to step into our “Such a time” then its important to create a lifestyle and habits that propel us forward and don’t hold us back.
Ephesians 5:15-17
So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.
We are to live wisely. Developing Godly habits is wise. Last year we talked about renewing the mind and right thinking. This was all about developing the right habits around the way we think. It is true with any habit. Paul exhorts the Ephesians to live wisely in this world, to be careful how we live and in what we do (develop good habits) and to make the most of every opportunity.
Making the most of every day that we are given is done by creating good habits and living by them. Our habits determine our future and will stop us from walking in destiny and purpose or will help us to take hold of it. I like the following thought. It is all about consistently using each day well.
Bob Gass Devotional – Tues 18 Feb
A dream becomes a reality as a result of your actions and your actions are controlled mostly by your habits. Life is nothing more than the sum total of many successful years; a successful year is nothing more than the sum total of many successful weeks; a successful week is nothing more than the sum total of many successful days. That’s why practising successful habits, day in and day out, is the most certain way to win over the long term.
Joseph developed habits of working that led to success in whatever he did; habits of trusting God; habits of ethical behaviour. Habits that developed character and built integrity.
Steve Covey in "The 7 habits of Highly Effective people" writes about several habits that help us to win in life. They are worth looking at and require us to take a good hard look at how we live; how our habits affect us and others; and what we can do to change. Good habits do not mean life has to be boring. In fact good habits means that life can be exciting and amazing, and we can actually maximise the opportunities.
What is important to you?
What habits do you have that hold you back? What habits would you like to have/will help you move forward into God’s good plan and purpose.
What will you do today to start working on and beginning to change habits that are detrimental to you, and replace them with habits that are helpful to you?
3. Focus on what you have
One of the main reasons we don’t take hold of and engage with our “Such a time” is because we focus on the wrong things. It’s easy to focus on what we don’t have, but this saps our energy and causes us to strive after the wrong things. It puts our energy into the negative basket and it just drains our strength.
Focussing on the right things enables us to use our energy to propel us forward, focussing on what we have and being thankful for what we have. Being thankful for what we have opens us up to the abundant life that we have in God and his abundant blessings for us. The Bible talks a lot about being thankful. This is because when we are thankful, we stop focussing on the negative and we get our thoughts into the right place. When our thoughts are in the right place we can maximise what we have to the glory of God. Jesus says don't worry about what you don't have. Focus on kingdom purpose and what you do have, because God knows and will give you all you need.
Matthew 6:25-33
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
What is Jesus saying? People who don’t understand his purpose will always be seeking in the wrong direction and expending unnecessary energy. When our thoughts are dominated by lack; when our thinking is cluttered by wrong things, we are not free to pursue God’s purpose. Worry is expending energy on a perceived lack, rather than looking at what we actually have.
Our “Such a time” is not about having these things. God says he will provide them. We can stop thinking about what we don’t have and place our focus in the right place – God’s Kingdom. “Seek first the Kingdom” is an attitude that expends energy in the right direction propelling us into our future and into our destiny.
When we focus on what we have, we are able to use what we have to maximise our potential. Sometimes we are so busy thinking about what we don’t have that we forget what we do have. When we focus on what we do have, we can become creative in the way we use it and maximise what God has given us.
Some quotes about thankfulness:
Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have you will never have enough - Oprah Winfrey
Ingratitude to God does not rely only on our refusal to give the verbal thanksgiving due to him, but also resides in our inability to appreciate his gifts and potentials in us by leaving them untapped - Israel Ayivor
Sometimes we focus so much on what we don’t have that we fail to see, appreciate and use what we do have - Jeff Dixon
When we focus on what we don’t have we miss what we do have and the potential that lies therein. When we focus on what we do have – we release that potential. This is what enables us to take hold of opportunities, to engage with what God is doing and to step into our “Such a time”.
What are we focussing on?
Conclusion
Engage with God’s purpose and destiny for your life by:
Trusting him completely – even when its seems different to our plan or difficult
Making every day count – by developing habits that release potential and maximise opportunity
Focussing on what we do have - expending energy in the right direction, releasing the potential therein.
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