Bible Studies

It is interesting and assuring to know that God wants us to be more fulfilled, fruitful and productive than we could ever wish for ourselves. He knows that if he can get our 
attention and have our minds stayed on him, then we can be what he has called us to be. In Isaiah chapter 26 and verse 3, it is written, "thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee...."

Just to add to this, when God asks us to give of our finances toward his work, He does not ask us to do so because He is so in need that he has to fall back on us. No! He is El-Shaddai, the strong and breasted one, and is in himself sufficient for all things. Jesus said clearly that where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:21). So when God asks us to give, He is actually after our hearts and not really our treasures. When God gets our attention, then we can become what He has called us to be, fulfilling destiny in Him.

A man's destiny is basically the purpose for his being. Man was not designed by God to come to life by accident, live as an accident, and one day pass on by accident. No! He was created as an answer to a question around him. He was designed to be a solution to a problem in his world. God said to Jeremiah, "before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet to the nations". Jeremiah may have spent the years of his life before this time doing other things, but when he positioned himself in contact with God, he received a clear statement of God's purpose for his life.

God's purpose and destiny for our lives always pre-date our knowledge of Him. God is no respecter of persons. He sanctifies us and ordains us from the onset of our years unto a particular purpose. However, salvation as it pertains to destiny is the receiving of God-given ability to fulfil that purpose.

As we ponder on these thoughts, a very interesting truth comes to light; "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye" - Psalm 32:8. Further study of this portion of scripture reveals that the original Hebrew word translated 'teach' is 'yarah', which means to cast, to shoot or to pour. The most common uses of the word have to do with shooting arrows. It definitely has the connotation of aiming and controlling. This is indeed remarkable and obviously far removed from the common usage of the word 'teach' as we know it in the English language.

In Psalms 127:3-5, it is written, "Lo children are a heritage of the Lord;....as arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children.....happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them". Here the scripture paints the image of God in our hearts as a mighty man whose quiver is full of arrows. When anyone receives salvation through Jesus Christ and comes into a vital relationship with God, that one is shot by God, as 
an arrow, onto a target (destiny). But no good archer shoots without first choosing a target and aiming. God is our brilliant archer who chooses our destiny before shooting 
us onto its paths. If you are in Christ, then you are on your way to the target. That's why he said 'I will teach you in the way which you shall go'. In other words, 'I will catapult you into the paths that would lead up to your destiny'. 

As every archer knows, choosing a target and shooting is not all there is to it, as the wind can cause the arrow to make a detour and miss the mark. So our God and great archer shoots his arrows and takes the responsibility of protecting them from the wind. Therefore He went on to say 'I will guide thee (counsel thee) with mine eye'. That is, having shot us into the paths of destiny, he sees to it by His Spirit (His eye) that we do not make a detour from these paths of life. The spirit of counsel instructs us unto correction if we ever deviate. See Isaiah 30:21 - "and thine ears shall hear a 
word behind thee saying, this is the way, walk ye in it , when ye turn to the right hand and when ye turn to the left".

It is beautiful to know that God has loved us so much and has made all things necessary for the good life and the God life available to us by His word and His Spirit. Thus in him we have great assurance that as long as we sincerely keep a heart that is open, vulnerable and perfect toward Him, ready to heed when He nudges, we shall not fail to fulfil destiny and accomplish that purpose for which He has specifically called each of us into His glory in and by Jesus the Christ, who is blessed forevermore.