DO YOU KNOW WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO?
(6-minute read)
Wherever your starting point – whether you are busy raising a young family or are in a later life stage - seeking the fulfillment that comes from God alone begins with this question: do you know where you are going to?
Some may say that God has called them to move to a certain country, enter a different sector of work, or a way of life. They see the change itself as a mission, and getting comfortable in the new life station becomes their primary purpose. All they talk about is how much they enjoy life in the new place and how well they have adjusted to the change, turning their destination into an end in itself. The greatest danger in pursuing carpe diem and conflict-free living as life goals is the failure to see that believers are primed to take risks for God. It is the only way to fulfill our destiny or what God has predetermined for us
The Bible is full of stories of migratory people whom God called to greater purposes, but they all involved risks. God called Abram to leave his native country, family of belonging and community before he was renamed Abraham. He did not settle but kept going even though he became successful and wealthy everywhere he went. He did not equate success with permanence and calling (Genesis 12 & 13). God assured the Israelites of hope and future while they were still migratory exiles and had no place to call home (Jeremiah 29:11). Joseph only had a teenage dream when he was forced into labour from one place of work to another with nothing but human drama everywhere he went. Yet, he would go down in history as the one who saved Egypt and his father’s household from 7 years of drought. From the book of Esther, we read how one young lady did not think that the upward mobility that came from being nobody to queen was so precious and permanent that she would not risk it to pull the plug on Haman’s plan to systematically annihilate the Jews when she said, ‘If I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16). Out of a series of family deaths experienced by a widow named Naomi, we read in the Book of Ruth of how God would change her destiny through the daughter-in-law Ruth, who refused to leave her when all was gone. All of these people did not think that where they were and what they had was so precious that they would not risk it all to follow God’s lead in the trajectory of their lives.
It is clear from these biblical stories that God does not clean things up before He sends us to different places. In fact, He sends us to be involved in the transformations that He has in mind. If we head for the exit as soon as there are problems, we miss the point. Everyone who is called has to take the risk of being involved, the risk of losing what we have, and the risk of stepping into an unknown and uncertain future.
But if we believe that God is with us from the start, we can be sure that He stays throughout the journey with us. He never leaves us to fight our own battles. Where He sends us, He already has something planned for us that is bigger than just settling in and settling down.
Here are two important things to remember about God’s divine purpose and destiny so we won’t fail massively right where we are:
It Is God Who Determines Our Steps
God creates pathways where others see only impenetrable walls, closed doors and dead ends. Do not make the mistake of thinking that the dilemma and crisis you are experiencing right now is the closing chapter of your life. The widow Naomi thought it was her closing chapter when she prematurely lost her sons and husband, but it was not. Esther thought it was her closing chapter when she approached the king for an unscheduled appearance, but it was not. Likewise, this is not your ending chapter. You may have to end a relationship, but it is not your ending chapter. You may have to live with the physical disorder longer than you can bear, but it is not your ending chapter. You may feel powerless taking on giants in the workplace, but it is not your ending chapter.
‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.’ (Proverbs 3:5-6).
We must trust God as our Way finder as we sensitize ourselves to hear from the Holy Spirit, as we read the Word of God and pray. We may not always feel confident or be clear about where we are heading towards but God will steadily beckon us to stay on course with Him (Psalm 37:23-24).
It Is God’s Purpose That Always Prevails
It has been said that hardships prepare ordinary people for God’s extraordinary purposes. We are not on a cruise to nowhere, but we are on a life journey with different stops to fulfill God’s destiny - not only for our self-fulfillment but also to help other people find their specific God-given life purposes.
God’s purpose cannot be thwarted and His plans never fail. However, if we fail to step up, if we keep playing it safe for self-preservation, if we keep ignoring His prompting to speak or act on behalf of others or stand in the gap to battle alongside others, we need to go back and read the Bible and see that no one who stood up for God took a back seat.
In fact, we experience fulfillment when we do things for nothing but God’s glory, honour and praise because it is the highest calling in life! The apostle Paul – himself a radical convert called to share the Gospel to Gentiles, rulers and the people of Israel - was so convinced of this that he wrote, “For we are God’s handiwork (masterpiece), created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10). Always a man on a mission, Paul showed us that, just as Jesus died on the Cross for us while we were sinners, our passion for God must come with a price. Yet, God is always in control of the million pieces of disjointed intricacies that can seem overwhelming to us. Thus, Paul asserted, ‘And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.’ (Romans 8:28).
Finally, Proverbs 19:21 reminds us that ‘Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.’ So whatever happens, know that you are not walking this journey only for yourself. Your life is not only an instrument, but also the evidence of God’s presence in other people’s lives, too. Biblical heroes remind us that they fulfilled their destinies by getting involved instead of staying neutral and impartial to what was important to God. Their life trajectories might look very different from what they expected but they were sure of where they were going with God.
This is a summary and reflection based on a virtual BIR Session held on 7 October 2023.
