From Dream to Destiny: The Ten Tests You Must Go Through to Fulfill God's Purpose for Your Life (25 page)

Joseph knew that his brothers had sold him into Egypt through spite and jealousy. He knew what they had done was wrong. But that did not stop Joseph from believing that God was still in control. In the midst of all his trials, Joseph believed that God was working out His purposes and His plans. We, too, must come to trust God as Joseph did. We must understand that God can take even the wrongs that are done to us and use them for our good.

God can do much more than that. God can also take our own mistakes and failures and turn them for our good. (As you know, we’re often our own worst enemy.) I want you to know something very important: God is bigger than your mistakes and failures! And He’s much bigger than your own thinking and reasoning.

God says: “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:9). Our thoughts are not as high as God’s thoughts. Because we are human, we sometimes overlook this truth. But we don’t need to grieve over mistakes that we have made, as though our failures and
shortcomings had the power to short-circuit the purposes of God.

Recently my son had an opportunity to embrace God’s providence—and to decide not to grieve over what he viewed as a failure on his part. When he moved to Amarillo, we went with him to help him find an apartment and get settled. We didn’t know that area, so we just did the best we could in finding an apartment to rent. But after he’d lived there for a while and had gotten to know that area better, he found some better places to live—for less money. We were talking about that recently when he came home for a visit.

He said, “I wish that I hadn’t signed a 12-month lease. I wish that I had only signed a 6-month lease. Then I could move into a better place right now, and it would cost less.”

“Did you pray about it when you rented the place you are in?” I asked him.

“Yes, I did,” he replied.

“OK,” I said. “Then don’t grieve over that decision. If you prayed about it and made the best decision you could at that time, then you need to trust in God. You need to understand that God has a way that He can eventually turn that decision for your good. Who knows? In six months you might find an even better place to live, for even less money. You don’t know what God has planned! Or you could even be living in another city by that time. We don’t know everything that the future holds.”

In less than a week after that conversation, he went to the apartment office to check on getting out of his lease. He learned that even though he thought he had signed a 12-month lease, he had actually signed a 6-month lease and still received the benefits of a 12-month lease, which was one whole month’s rent free. He was able to move into the better place for less money, and he learned the valuable lesson that God is in control even when we think that we’ve messed up and there is no way out!

When you have made a decision and you are not sure whether it was the right one or the best one, don’t get upset second-guessing yourself about it. Don’t say, “Oh, that was probably a terrible decision. I shouldn’t have done that”—as though one mistake will derail you from
your destiny. Instead, trust that God is in control. Say, “God, I believe that You are working out Your purposes in my life. You can take this decision and turn it for my good. I know that You are in control, so please show me what You are doing in this situation.”

God is absolutely and totally in control. You must believe that—because if God is not in control, you need to find out who is and pray to him instead! Some Christians act as though they believe that the devil is in control instead of God—and he is not!

I don’t know if you know this, but God and the devil are not in a fight with each other. We might be in a fight with the devil—but God is certainly not! God has already won the fight and defeated the devil. If you think God and the devil are anywhere close to being equal, I feel sorry for you, because they are not comparable in any way!

Satan has no power compared to God’s awesome might. God has all the power in the world (and out of the world). If we are serving God, we do not need to be afraid of Satan—because God is the One who has the power! We serve the God of all power, and He is in control of our lives—so even when we make a mistake, God can turn it so that it ultimately works for our good. When we truly understand that, we won’t grieve over mistakes we have made.

Romans 8:28 tells us: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” This verse tells us that God is working all things together for our good. It also says that God has called us “according to His purpose.” God has a purpose! He has a divine purpose and an eternal plan, and each one of us is called to be a part of that purpose collectively. Within that eternal plan, He is working everything for our good!

But God also has a
specific
purpose and plan for each one of us individually. God has a
specific
purpose for you—and it is a part of His larger plan and His larger purpose. He is working in your life to bring about His plans and purposes. He is working in every situation you might face. And He can turn even bad decisions into good works for you when you are walking with Him—because He is in control.

Isaiah explains this mystery of God’s providence:

For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it (Isa. 55:10-11).

Do you fully understand what God is saying to us in this Scripture passage? God is saying that every time He speaks, His Words will achieve His purpose. Every time! There will never be an occasion when God speaks and His Words do not produce results. He says that His Words will never come back to Him empty—His Words will always achieve the purpose for which He sent them. That is amazing! When God speaks, His purposes are going to come to pass!

Why is this so exciting? Because
God has spoken over you!
God spoke His purpose over your life when He created you! And the words God has spoken over your life will not return to Him void. They will accomplish the thing that He sent them to do.

So trust Him. Trust that He is working for your good in every situation. Trust that He has spoken over your life—and that His Word will accomplish what He purposed for your destiny.

Discover Your Gift and Your Direction

An important key to understanding your purpose can be found in discovering the gifts God has given you. Remember, God has designed you with a purpose in mind. So the gifts He has given you will always be related to your purpose in some significant way. If you just look at the gifts God has given you, they will tell you a lot about your purpose. Those gifts can help you understand your destiny in God.

If you’re not sure what your purpose is, ask yourself these questions: What has God gifted me to do? What am I good at doing? What jazzes me? What gets me excited? What floats my boat? What churns my butter? When something energizes you and causes you to get excited, it is probably related in some way to your gift and to your purpose.

All too often we have wrong thinking about the plans God has for us and about the reasons God made us the way we are. Our thoughts might go something like this:
Well, this particular thing is what truly excites me. This is what I would really like to do with my life. But I suppose that isn’t God’s will for me. I suppose God probably wants me to do something dull or unpleasant.

I don’t know where we got that sort of thinking. Why would a good and loving God call you to do something that you don’t even like to do?

I have to admit that I had ideas like that about God when I was growing up. I can remember thinking that if I wanted to serve God, I would probably have to marry an ugly woman and move to Africa. How ridiculous! Now, please don’t misunderstand me—if you like moving to Africa and you like being married to an ugly woman, then you may be called to do that. But only if that is what you like!

Our God is a good God! He wants you to have fun serving Him! He wants you to enjoy life as you serve Him!

Does the Bible say, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son—
so that He can ruin our lives”?
No, that is not what the Bible says! Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Jesus came to give us life, and life that is
more abundant.
A more abundant life is a life filled with more good things, not less!

God wants to give us good things. He wants us to enjoy the life He has given us. So He has designed us with gifts and desires that are suited to His purpose for us. When we are using the gifts God has given us, our lives are more exciting and more fulfilling.

When you do the things that God has purposed for your life, you will be happy and fulfilled. So you need to discover your gifting! And remember that the gift that God has given you will be something that you like to do.

While there are probably as many unique giftings as there are people that God has created, the Bible describes seven specific gifts and encourages us to use those gifts “according to the grace that is given to us” (Rom. 12:6). In other words, these gifts come to us by the grace of God. So it is important for us to understand our gifting and use it according to God’s design. Paul talks about this in Romans.

For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness (Rom. 12:4-8).

Paul says that just as our physical body has different parts with different functions, each of us has a different function in the Body of Christ. None of the parts of the physical body has the same purpose; but each part has a specific purpose that is an important part of the whole. In the same way, we as individuals each have a specific purpose that is an essential part of the Body of Christ. If we don’t find that purpose and do it, the Body of Christ will be missing an important part!

Paul mentions seven specific giftings, which are often described as motivational gifts—in other words, gifts that spring out of the deep motivations in our nature. What follows here is just a brief overview of
these seven gifts. I have given titles to these gifts that may help us to understand them and remember them.

Motivator (“Prophecy” [v. 6]
). A person with the gift of prophecy desires to motivate other people to serve God. He or she desires to reveal the motive of people and see conformity to God’s will. They tend to focus on “right” and “wrong.” Those who have this gift are very interested in the motives within people’s hearts. (Unfortunately, when a person with this gift is immature, he or she may be too judgmental about the motives of others.)

Servant (“Ministry” [v. 7]
). The Greek word for “ministry” in this verse actually means “attendance” as a servant or “service.”
¹
A person with this motivational gift desires to meet the needs of people on a practical basis. When you go out to eat at a restaurant, a person with this gift will start to clean the table off after you have finished eating. Although the waiter might be standing right there, a person with a “servant” gift just can’t resist pulling the dishes together and wiping the crumbs off the table. People with the gift of serving will be motivated to serve others wherever they may go.

Teacher (v. 7
). The teacher is a person who loves to study and to present truths to people. These are people who like to read more than one book at once. They also write me e-mails with questions such as this: “Pastor Robert, I know that you’re busy—but could you please just answer one question for me?
Could you please explain the book of Revelation?”
People with a teaching gift just can’t seem to get enough of studying God’s Word! (By the way, I don’t want to get any more of those e-mails, all right? You see, I can’t explain the book of Revelation to you—I’m still trying to understand it myself!)