“Destiny is Waiting On Us.” - Tisha Y. Lewis

Road of Purpose

God has a purpose for your life. Destiny is waiting on you. If you choose to go after it you’re going to run into opposition. You will struggle in some way, shape, form, or fashion. It’s going to be difficult. People will talk about you and some will deliberately try to stop you. But it’s waiting for you… this destiny that was created before the foundations of the world. Do you still want it? Good. Keep reading.

Have you stopped to think about this fact? “Destiny - God’s purpose for your existence - is waiting on you to arrive.” Your purpose is waiting for you step up and do the part that you have to do. Destiny won’t just “come” to you… it works in concert with you… quietly calling your name in the night and in the middle of the day when life is crowded and so loud that hyper-activity seems normal. But do you hear it? I just met a young woman today who is from the Congo in Africa. She’s a student here in New York and misses home. She has some family here, however the rest are back in Africa. I asked her if she liked America and she said that she did. Then she told me that even so, she did find it difficult here. “Everything is so fast-paced. There’s no time to slow down and spend with your family. There’s no time to think. You have to constantly be moving to make ends meet.”

And yet… Destiny is still waiting on us. How do we stop and listen to its voice? Taking time to read this article is one way. Let’s take a moment to review from Part One (go read it if you haven’t). God calls Abram, Gideon, Moses, the Hebrew people, Mary and others to receive and pursue their destiny. In every case, they were just going through the everyday motions of their lives… and then God dropped in on them and “greatness was thrust upon them.” But as some biblical accounts show us - destiny can be refused or not fully realized - thus is the nature of Free Will. And with Free Will there comes conflict. The conflict may be internal or external, but it comes as we pursue our destiny.

Abram heeds the voice of God and leaves what is familiar to journey into the unknown. No doubt there were family and friends and enemies who thought he was crazy for leaving to go to the Land of “I don’t know.” Had not the LORD appeared along the way, perhaps Abram’s faith would have faltered and his destiny wouldn’t have been realized. But he presses on, through fear of death, through lying about who his wife is, through internal strife with his nephew Lot, and through going to war to retrieve Lot from an enemy territory. He finally is blessed by the King/Priest of Salem and then is shown a vision by God, in which God expands Abram’s vision of his destiny. “Look up at the night sky. Are you able to count the stars, Abram? So shall your decendents be… just like the stars… many.” (Genesis 12-15) (My paraphrase) …your destiny is waiting - and there’s conflict along the way.

Gideon is told by an angel of the LORD, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of Valor.” Gideon responds, “If the LORD is with us, why has all of these bad things happened to us?” Have you ever felt this way? He continues, “Where are the miracles which our fathers told us about? The LORD brought us out of bondage in Egypt just to forsake us now and deliver us into more bondage?” (my paraphrase).

Gideon’s in a bad state. He’s focused on how reality looks before him. However, we see him trying to make sense of it all. (Some people give up trying or look in the wrong place for meaning.) Gideon has heard the accounts, but his reality says that times have been tough and nothing miraculous has happened in his lifetime - besides the angel talking with him of course! The angel does not refute Gideon. What he has experienced… he has experienced. But the angel speaks to the heart of the matter - the people need to be delivered, “Go in your strength and you will save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: did I not send you?” (In essence Gideon was told, ‘Suck it up. God is here now. Let’s get to work.’) Gideon goes through various internal struggles but when he finally accepts his calling and is prepared for battle, God reduced his army from 32, 000 down to 300 to fight against an enemy with soldiers as numerous as the sands. …his destiny was waiting - and opposition was there with him. (Judges 6-8)

Moses goes back to Egypt, with his brother Aaron and tells the King of Egypt, “Pharaoh. The God of the Hebrews says, ‘Let my people go!’” Pharaoh responds, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?” Just because God tells you to do something doesn’t mean that others will believe what you say and be eager to make your destiny happen. The Pharaoh does not comply and Moses faced opposition from the Egyptian and from the very people he was sent to liberate. Thus, began the great battle between the Will of God through Moses and the hard-heartedness of Pharaoh! Ten plagues later, the Hebrews are freed and Pharaoh is defeated. But opposition continued as Moses contended with a people prone to unbelief when times and situations became difficult. Yet… Destiny continued to call. (Exodus 3-15)

The Hebrew people began to enter the Promised Land and had to do their part and fight against the inhabitants to secure the area. They were slaves who had to learn the art of war from God’s perspective. Many battles would follow. …Destiny was waiting on them - and so was the opposition. (Exodus through Joshua )

The mother of Samson was barren until God touched her womb. Samson’s father, Manoah desperately wanted a son. The Isrealites were under great oppression - mainly because of their own negligence against the LORD. God blesses Manoah and his wife with a son, but there’s so much more! Destiny was waiting on them. Samson was used mightily. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, he was given great physical strength and mental dexterity. Destiny was waiting on him to begin to deliver his people from their oppressors. Samson faced great internal and external opposition - however, it was his internal opposition which cost him the most; causing him to not completely fulfill his destiny. And it took his life to realize that God wanted to do so much more had he been willing and yielded. He finishes his race… but not as well as he could have. Destiny was waiting for him, as was opposition. (Judges 13-16)

Our greatest enemy is said to often be ourselves…

Mary is filled with the Holy Spirit and the Son of God enters her womb. After some scorn from Joseph over the veracity of her claim, they prepare for Immanuel’s arrival. They hear many great prophetic words about the destiny of the Son of God. Their destiny is wrapped up in his own. However, the moments of trial and testing come: there’s no room in any inn for Mary to deliver the child in comfort. King Herod hears of Jesus’ birth and orders the execution of every male, Hebrew child within Jesus’ age range in hopes of killing the child to keep his own royal lifestyle secure. Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus must flee to Egypt.  Jesus grows up and begins his earthly ministry - going through being accepted by the people and then being ridiculed by the people. Mary is a follower of her own son, but then must watch him suffer and die at the hands of the Romans, through the manipulation of a few key religious leaders. But… she also witnesses her son’s resurrection. …destiny is waiting on her and along with that destiny comes opposition. (the Gospels)Are you willing to risk everything for your destiny?

Let me know what you think.

-Allen Paul Weaver III-