Destiny
Stepping into your destiny is both exciting and unnerving, as we don’t know what the future holds. I had a colleague say to me this week that God brought me into his life “for such a time as this.” That is a Biblical reference from the Bible when Esther stepped into her destiny to become the Queen, and in doing so, she had the power to help a lot of her people.
I believe this year IS a year of destiny not just for me, but for many others whom God has been preparing. I believe that all of us have the opportunity right there in front of us, but we have to step up, not give up. We have to believe, persevere, be diligent, continue to sow, and work like crazy, because this is the year of harvest.
Last year, I was given the word Shalom as my word for the year. That word is incredible. It means completeness. Complete health, complete wealth, complete peace, freedom from stress. Freedom! Is there anyone on this planet that does not need that? It also describes the characteristics of God. How cool is that? That word came in pretty handy at many times for me this past year when I found myself in the storms of life. My problems did not go away. In fact, some of them escalated. What changed was my reaction to them….my peace in the eye of the storm.
This year, the word that has been given me is harvest. I am about to experience the harvest. All of the years of sowing, the years of labor, the frustrations I have faced, are now coming to bear fruit. I see it happening in the relationships I have, in my finances, in my work, and in my very relationship with God. I believe I had to understand and experience Shalom before I could truly appreciate the harvest. The harvest, by the way, is not for me to just keep for myself. It is to bless others and it will.
Maybe you have been in the same situation. Maybe you have wondered if things were ever going to change. I am just telling you, don’t give up! The harvest time is here but you have to go to work. It does no good to be at the harvest if you refuse to go to work and bring in the crop. Get up, get focused, get to work, then get ready…because God is going to do some incredible things in you and through you that will be beyond your wildest dreams if you let him….but it won’t just be because of you and your work, oddly enough. It will be because God is allowing you to participate, but it is He who brings the harvest.
You may be thinking that I am mistaken here. Well, let me give you the analogy of the farmer. He has to do his part. He has to prepare the soil, sow the seeds, and tend the crop until harvest time. But he does not make it grow. He did not create the seeds, the sun, or the soil. God sends the rain and the natural nutrients necessary for the growth to happen. He is the one who actually brings forth the fruit of our labors. We just have to do our part, then He allows us to reap the rewards.
Don’t let the trials and tribulations of the past keep you from stepping into your destiny. The harvest is here. Who knows, but perhaps you are where you are today “for such a time as this.”
What are you going to do?
Shalom!
Dan Skognes