Destiny Matters

2 Tim.3:^16-17 “Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.” (MSG).

A man went to his doctor to complain, he was convinced that something was wrong. The doctor ran some tests and presented his findings to the man. The doctor told him that he needed to change something urgently. So, the doctor proposed that the man should look into his diet but the man protested and gave excuses for everything on his diet. So, the doctor advised that perhaps the man should start with increasing his daily activity level. And again, the man protested, he said he leaves his house before the sun comes up and gets back home when it is dark. He has no time to exercise. The doctor then said, ‘What about this your habit of smoking?’ and the man said, ‘Oh doctor, I cannot drop that because it calms my nerves when I cannot focus at work.’ At that point, the doctor threw his hands up and told the man to prepare to die.

Eccl.10:^16-17 “A country [a destiny] is in trouble when its king is a youth and its leaders feast all night long. But a country [a destiny] is fortunate to have a king who makes his own decisions and leaders who eat at the proper time, who control themselves and don’t get drunk.” (GNT, emphasis added). Many of us need help with the fork. We need to sacrifice the fork and be active. They say the fork contributes to eighty percent of your fitness level and the other twenty percent is from your activity level. So, you need to drop the fork. Sometimes, we do not know what we are up against. We think it is a joke; we think that we can consistently defile ourselves, in this case with what we eat, and expect that everything will be fine. All we need to do is pray, or go for a vigil, or get people to pray for us. There has to be a lifestyle change because these little things that give us relief now can cause us problems down the line.

These little things may be getting you through the day, but they are actually shortening your days. The man in the story earlier said his cigarette was getting him through the day but it was actually shortening his days. He was going to his barn rather than staying safe. What is that barn that you are running to? It may be getting you through the day, but it is shortening your days. I know it is not a popular thing to say, but it is better said now when you can still make adjustments. God has spent the last few days talking to us about taking care of our bodies because of worship and because of discipleship, is it that important? Absolutely! The reason is, caring for your body is actually caring for your destiny. Paul was saying to Timothy in 1 Tim.4:¹⁶ “Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.” The King James Version puts it this way, “Take heed unto thyself…”; take care of yourself first. I know many of us want to be good spouses, parents, entrepreneurs, citizens etc. But God is saying, take care of yourself first. If you do not take care of yourself, your spouse, your family, your nation will miss you.

Prayer: Father, thank You for shaping my destiny through Your Word, in Jesus Name. Amen!