By Jeff Green

I wanted to know what kids thought about "destiny," so I asked my children and a few of their friends "what is your destiny?" The most common answer was "what?" The problem, of course, was not that they didn't hear me. Most of them had simply not pondered their destiny and, apparently, have never been asked. My 9-year-old son immediately said "a pastor." My 14 year old daughter said "get married, have kids. To help people." I thought these were pretty good answers. I could tell my 16-year-old son was having a tough time putting it into words with a final answer of "I have no idea," but I could also see the wheels turning as he walked away. He's probably thought about it more as he approaches the age where he'll venture out on his own and confidently fulfill his God-given destiny.

Wait a minute. Did someone say "God-given?" I guess I did. The dictionary defines destiny as "The inevitable or necessary fate to which a particular person or thing is destined; one's lot. A predetermined course of events considered as something beyond human power or control. The power or agency thought to predetermine events. "Inevitable," "predetermined," "beyond human power," words that suggest destiny is more than individuals can accomplish by themselves. Ephesians 2:10 says "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do." Are the "good works" our destiny? If God prepared them, that takes care of the "predetermined" piece and the "beyond human power" piece, so that must be our destiny? It can't be that simple, can it? Just go out and "do good works" to fulfill your destiny? Or did God prepare certain works for us to do?

It seems fitting that an article about destiny would have more questions than answers. As I look at my own life, it seems like the more I try to fulfill my destiny, the more questions I have! I remember the point at which I first "reached my destiny." I had been in ministry for 8 years, always hoping to get back to a certain church to work with people I had wanted to work with ever since I started in ministry. Finally, we received a call to work there. My wife and I were so excited, we'd finally reached our "destiny" in ministry. Surely God had prepared this work! Those were three of the hardest years of ministry we had ever experienced. The church declined and eventually led to our being let go due to financial considerations. We were briefly hired back in another position before being called to help start the church we are at now. Must not have been our destiny, right?

Actually, I've found the hard times of life to be the times that clarify destiny more than the easy times. Destiny, in my opinion, is short for destination. I was foolish to think I could "fulfill" my destiny by age 32 anyway. The apostle Paul wrote a letter to Timothy near the end of his life. He said in 2 Timothy 4:7 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." He had reached his "destination," fulfilled his destiny. "It will take our lifetimes to fulfill our destinies. However, I at least, want to be heading in the right direction. I want to be "on the way" to my destination. When life gets easy, sometimes it's tempting to stay on the path of least resistance, but this is not always the path that leads to my destination. Difficult seasons cause us to ask questions and ponder our direction. Proverbs 4:25-26 says "Let your eyes look straight ahead. And your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established." There is a "path" in life. A wise man ponders his feet and ponders the way ahead, creating a healthy mix between living in the moment and planning for the future. Wouldn't you change what you're doing now if you knew a significant event was coming in your life and you had the ability to prepare for it? For example, if you knew the stock market was going to sky rocket next summer, how would you change your money management style now? I'd start saving and investing all I could! Pursuing destiny is similar to me. If I'm planning and saving to invest, there are no guarantees that I will make lots of money. On the other hand, if I never plan or save, I'm guaranteed not to make money! As I pursue my destiny, every situation won't be easy, fruitful and profitable. But I will learn from my mistakes and correct my course and keep walking. In this way, I'll draw near to my destination, and on the way, I'll keep encountering those "good works" that God prepared for me to do. Inevitably, I'll reach my destiny by some power beyond my own.

There is much more to be said on the topic of destiny, however, I am not destined to write it at this time. This is a euphemistic way of saying I don't have any more time to write and I feel it would be counter productive for me to continue to discuss the topic of destiny and risk the potential boredom of the reader. May God be with you as you pursue His plan and destiny for your life.