"When we have our destiny tied to what we do here on earth, our identity is able to get so convoluted that victim thinking can really take over. This is particularly the case for those who have felt God leading them in a particular direction only to have that direction fall short of their expectations in one way or another."
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 189.
It is so easy to view destiny as a straight line. I'm here, my destiny is there. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Makes sense to me - right? Problem is that the things in this life are rarely that simple. The same goes for destiny.
I can't tell you how many times I have felt God leading me towards what I thought was a destiny in my life. There are times where I could actually see the results of what God was leading me to do. Those are exciting times to say the least. When you feel the leading of God and actually have a vision of what you think God wants you to do there is a confidence that wells up from deep down inside.
In every one of those situations where I felt so completely lead by God I have failed to end up where I so clearly thought I saw God wanted me to go. The disappointments I have felt over those failures has driven victim thinking deep down into my soul. In fact, I now have to fight a lingering doubt in my life that says, "Maybe I cant' trust the things I think I'm hearing from God in my life."
I coming to believe that it isn't that I can't trust God or what God might be saying in my life. I'm learning that I need to hold loosely how I interpret what God is saying and adjust my actions accordingly. What I'm really learning is that the path to destiny isn't a straight line, it is a lane. Lanes aren't straight, they are winding. Twists and turns will be a part of our path. Though we may end up exactly where we thought we would at the very beginning of our journey, the path will be anything but straight. That's a fact that I think God has ordained in life so that we won't loose sight of our dependence on Him and His love for us.
I was talking with a friend of mine the other day. He was expressing how he is searching for his purpose in life. I could hear the familiar strings of victim thinking coming through my friend's words. It isn't that it is wrong to ponder one's purpose. It is that victim thinking can latch on in insidious ways when we become preoccupied with finding that purpose. I could hear in my friend's voice that he was beginning to link purpose to his identity. In other words, my friend was starting to believe that his identity wouldn't be all it could be unless he identified his purpose and took steps to make that purpose a reality.
Sorry to be so blunt, but that is what I'm starting to call, "straight line thinking." Here's what I have found with straight lines in life. The only straight line in the human experience comes about when we tie anything we can conjure up to identity. It is when we associate who we are with anything we are able to set out to do that we are lead down the straight line to victim thinking. Purpose and destiny isn't a straight line between here and there, but victim thinking is when we tie purpose or destiny to who we think we are.
Today's Bible reading is such a simple yet powerful reminder of what God is doing as we go down the twists and turns of the life He has made for us. It says,
The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands. Psalm 138:8 (NKJV)
This is the last line of Psalm 138. The Psalmist is going through some hard times. He said earlier in the Psalm "Though I walk in the midst of trouble..." Maybe David was remembering some hard times he had faced when he penned these words. Maybe he was in the middle of a set of hard times as these thoughts came to mind. Either way, David is a prime example of his path to destiny being anything but a straight line. The path God had David on took him into some deep and dark places. Those places nearly wrecked David to the point of surrender. Yet just at the right moment God would show up and another turn in the path would be experienced.
There's a beauty and elegance in the first line of today's reading. It says, "The Lord will perfect that which concern me..." He has given you a destiny. Your purpose is secured!
I take this promise from today's reading as a promise that that destiny will happen. It will be perfected even though it looks as though the path I am on right at this moment is taking me exactly in the opposite direction of where I need to be in order to see that destiny come to fruition in my life. Lanes do that from time to time. They will turn in the exact wrong direction to get you around an obstacle so that you are better positioned to get to where you need to go.
God is the business of being the perfecter of all that concerns each and everyone of us. He is in the perfect position to see that the path we are on now is leading us to exactly where we need to be even though that path is anything but a straight line. The process of perfection doesn't always require speed and efficiency. If it did, then a straight line from here to there would be exactly the lane God would place us on.
The key is to let God be God on this journey. As we meander on this path God has made for us there are two things we have to hold on to. First is to remember who we are. We are God's Child and that makes us a victor more than arriving at our destiny will ever be able to confirm. Secondly, God is in control. He knows what He is doing. Even when our path seems to be heading in the wrong direction we have no choice but to trust that He is doing exactly what He needs to be doing to get us to where He wants us to be.
What would you describe as being your destiny for today? Know this, though your path may straighten out from time to time, there will be a randomness to the twists and turns on your path that might get you to think God has dropped the ball when it comes to your destiny. When those thoughts come up, stop and ask God what's going on? If adjustments are required He will show you. If not, take another step into the fullness of the destiny God has made for you, His beloved Child.
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