From Dream to Destiny: The Ten Tests You Must Go Through to Fulfill God's Purpose for Your Life (26 page)

Encourager (or “Exhorter” [v. 8]
). Those with the gift of exhortation just love to exhort people and encourage people. We all know people with this gift. No matter what you say, they will try to encourage you. If you say, “I just lost my job,” an exhorter will say, “Don’t worry about it. You’ll get a better job.” If you say, “My house just burned down,” an exhorter will say, “Well, it was old anyway. God will give you a better house.”

Giver (v. 8
). A giver is a person who desires to meet the material needs of others. Those who have this motivational gift absolutely love to give.
They are thrilled when they have the opportunity to meet a financial need.

Administrator (or “Leader” [v. 8]). A
leader is a person who desires to help people through the gift of organization and administration. This is a person who has his or her socks organized by color and by style—and if you get a sock out of order, watch out! I have a man on my staff named Ed who has the gift of administration. I hired him for that purpose. His gift is very evident when he comes into my office and happens to notice that something is one inch out of place. His organizational gift will immediately manifest, and he can’t help but move that item back by one inch to its “proper” location. (Of course, after he leaves my office I move it back again—just to annoy him!)

Sympathizer (or “Mercy” [v. 8]
). The person who has this gift desires to identify with people and to empathize with them. My wife has this gift. (Interestingly enough, she has the gift of mercy, and I have the gift of prophecy—two gifts that many consider to be opposite of one another. But it is a good thing, because God balances each of us through the gift that is in the other!)

Each of these gifts is different, and each of these gifts has a part to play in fulfilling the purposes of God. If you’ve ever served on a team, you’ve probably had an opportunity to witness these gifts in action. For example, if you had a committee meeting, the meeting would probably be led by the “administrator”—who would start by passing out an outline, with detailed notes organizing the structure of the meeting. But if someone should mention in passing that Brother So-and-So has just lost his job, you would suddenly see all of the different motivational gifts going into action.

The prophecy-gifted person might say something like this: “He probably has sin in his life. Maybe we should go and confront him about that, and help him get the sin out of his life.”

The teacher would say, “If he would just do what it says in 1 Timothy 3, he would be just fine. There are seven principles in 1 Timothy 3 that give the answer to this problem (they all begin with the same letter, by the way)—and he needs to know what those principles are.”

The encourager would already be on the phone, calling the person who lost his job. The encourager would say something like this: “I heard
that you lost your job, but it will be all right. God will get you a better job, and you’ll be happier.”

The person with the serving gift would have left the meeting by that time—to go and mow the person’s yard for him.

The giver would probably be trying to take up an offering for the man who had lost his job. He would be saying, “OK, how much do you think he needs? We could take an offering right here in this room today and help this guy out.”

And the mercy-motivated person? Why, the mercy-motivated person would be sitting over in the corner, crying tears of compassion for that man and his family—and would already be thinking about picking up a card for him on the way home and mailing it!

That is just a light-hearted illustration of the different ways that these gifts work to meet the needs of people. Remember, God’s heart is always about people—so every one of these gifts has to do with people! Whatever your purpose in life, it will be related to other people in one way or another.

Each of these gifts is different, and each one has a part to play. All of these gifts have to do with helping people! And each gift will be motivated to help in a different way.

Together all of these gifts make up the Body of Christ.

As a member of the Body of Christ, you have a gift, and your gift is an important part of God’s plan. It is important for you to determine what your gift is and to begin moving in that gift. When you start to operate in your gift, it will give you a
direction
.

Your Purpose Gives Direction, Not Specifics

You may not have a specific picture of your final destination—but you do have a gift. And when you determine what your gift is, that will help to bring
direction
to your life. Once you determine your direction, you can begin moving in it. Your purpose provides
direction
toward your destiny, but it is important to understand that your purpose does not contain the
specifics
of your destiny.

Joseph had a dream from God, and it gave him vision and direction. But he didn’t know what the final manifestation of that dream would look like. Joseph also had a gift from God, and that gift gave him purpose in his everyday life. But he didn’t know the
specifics
of how that gift would be used in his destiny.

It is pretty obvious that Joseph had a gift of administration. While Joseph was a slave in Potiphar’s house, he organized the house and became the overseer of the house (see Gen. 39:3-5). When Joseph was in the prison, he organized the prison, and became the overseer of the prison (see Gen. 39:21-23). We don’t know much about the pit—but my guess is that it was the most organized pit ever!

Joseph seemed to understand that he had a gift of administration, and he was faithful to use that gift wherever he went. But Joseph didn’t know the
specifics
of how that gift would play a part in his destiny. While he was serving as a slave in Potiphar’s house and while he was organizing things in the prison, Joseph had no idea that he would one day be doing that for the entire nation of Egypt. God never showed Joseph the specific details about the destiny that He had planned.

It is important to understand this truth if you want to pass the Purpose Test—because your gift will only point you in the
direction
of your destiny. Your purpose will provide a
direction
, but it will not provide the
specifics
. This is where faith comes in. Because it takes faith to keep moving in the direction of your purpose—especially when you don’t know the specifics of what waits at the end of that journey!

Are there specifics to your destiny?

Yes, there are.

Can you know the specifics of your destiny?

Yes, you can.

When can you know the specifics of the destiny God has for you?

After you have carried them out!

When you finally step into the destiny that God had in mind all along, you will understand the specifics of His plans for your life—but not before that!

As you move toward your destiny, you will have to keep walking by faith. You will not know the specifics. All you will really know for certain is that you have a gift and a direction from God. So you must
be faithful
to that gift. You must
be faithful
to the direction God has given you.

After you have stepped into your destiny, you will look back, just as Joseph did (see Gen. 45:5-8), and understand the specifics of your purpose. You will say, “Oh, now I understand why I had to go through that. Now I know why God brought me here. This is the reason God worked in my life in that way. This is the reason things happened the way they did. Now I understand the purpose of all those things that happened!”

When you finally step into your destiny, you will see the full picture of God’s purpose—but not before. You can’t see the picture before it happens. But you will be able to see the
direction
. This is a promise we have from God.

The Bible says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105). Notice that it doesn’t say, “Your Word is a bright spotlight that allows me to see three miles down the road.” No—it says God’s Word is a lamp to your
feet.
That means that it shows you the
next step.
It shows you just enough light to take the next step in front of you. And that light is all that you need to keep moving toward your destiny.

You may not know what is at the end of that road in front of you. But if you are faithful and keep walking in the direction God has given you, He will guide you into His purpose for your life. He will lead you into the destiny that He has planned for you.

Your purpose is a
direction
toward your destiny, but it is not the specifics. So determine your direction and begin heading toward that. Then trust that God is in control. Allow Him to direct your steps into His purposes. Rest in the knowledge of His goodness.

Let me tell you a few things about a man who had a purpose and a gift. He was faithful to develop his gifts. He headed in the direction that his gifts brought him—but I am certain he had no idea of the
specific destiny
to which that purpose would lead him!

• In his twenties, he failed in business twice, was defeated for the legislature and had a nervous breakdown; even worse, the woman he deeply loved died before they could be married.
  
• In his thirties, he was defeated for Congress, was later elected to Congress and later was defeated for Congress again.
  
• In his forties, he was defeated for the Senate and for the office of Vice President.
  
• However, at 51, he was elected President of the United States. His name was Abraham Lincoln.
  ²
  

God put Abraham Lincoln in the right place at the right time. He became one of the most pivotal presidents in our nation’s history, leading our country through a civil war that seemed certain to tear the nation apart. More important, he righted one of the greatest injustices in which our country has ever been involved—the institution of slavery. As He had done with Joseph, God put Abraham Lincoln right where He wanted him, at the exact moment in history when He needed him.

Abraham Lincoln faced many obstacles. While he was dealing with those obstacles, he had no idea of the
specifics
that God had planned for him. But he developed the gifts that he had, and he allowed those gifts to give direction and purpose to his life. Because he stayed focused on the
direction
God had given him, he was able to be where he needed to be,
at the time when he needed to be there.

His gift and his purpose was to be a leader. But his destiny was to change the world.

Set Your Course and Be Faithful

We can all learn a lesson from Abraham Lincoln’s example. Determine what your gift is and allow that gift to give you direction. Then
set your course
in that direction and simply
be faithful
. Don’t get sidetracked trying to figure out the specifics. You get into problems when you try to dictate the specifics to God.

“But, God, I’m supposed to be a pastor. But, God, I’m supposed to be in business. But, God, I’m supposed to be a teacher. But, God, I’m supposed to … I’m supposed to … I’m supposed to.”

What makes you think that you can tell God what you’re supposed to do? He is God! He created you! Don’t you think that He already knows what you’re supposed to do?

When we imagine the specifics of our lives and they don’t happen the way that we think they should, we are going to be disappointed. We might choose the city we think we’re supposed to live in, the job we think we should have or the ministry we want to operate in. Then, if an event doesn’t unfold the way we had planned, we say, “God, You’re not keeping up Your end of the deal.”

But all the while God is saying to us, “One step at a time. I have it all under control, within My plan and purpose. Just keep your eyes on Me, and take one step at a time—and I will take care of the specifics.”

When we try to get involved in the specifics of our destiny, that is when we become discouraged. So don’t get set on specifics. Instead, set your course in the direction God has shown you. And be faithful to what God has called you to do. Because it is faithfulness that will carry you through to the destiny God has planned.