Goals vs Destiny

Happy New Year to everyone. With Christmas and New Year's behind us, I have been considering the direction that lies ahead for our family. I've been trying to find moments of time to scratch down goals and talk with Karen about what the year holds. After wrapping up a last few "Thank You" cards, we will quickly focus on what lies ahead. But one of the most profound things I've discovered since we made the move to Charlotte, is that having goals isn't quite the same as having a sense of destiny. 

Growing up, I always suffered from lack of goals and "progress" that I felt was tangible. I remember attending events and listened to successful people who talked about making goals, but when I tried to do it, I would find it to be an empty proposition. Even if I squeaked out a few goals on paper, I couldn't muster the discipline to actually follow through. My heart usually wasn't in these goals because I had made them up to try to feel good about having a life purpose, and I knew that they would be "worthy" things to accomplish.

The deeper issue that I could not understand at the time, is that goals can only be built on the foundation of true destiny. Destiny is the core expression of who we are. It is the passions and desires in our heart that provide energy to move forward against all oppositions. Goals are simply the steps required to complete that destiny. But if the destiny is not clear, it is impossible to write down the goals. When this happens, we often feel frustrated with life and our own performance, and lose heart that our lives will ever amount to anything. But often times, even in these periods of frustration, God is refining our trust and character.

Since childhood, I can look back and identify that sense of destiny threaded through various thoughts, activities, and events that took place in my life. But the trick was pealing back the "layers" to get to the heart of that destiny. This is the hard part. Often times, peeling back those layers involves blind obedience (or perhaps faith is a better word) to the leading of God, when we have not yet come to grips with who we are and the gift that is dormant inside of us. I firmly believe that many people never make it this far simply because they aren't willing to take a risk and come to the place where God is calling them to come. Whether that place is a move to a new physical location, or a life event change, or what have you, we must be willing to step into the invitation to follow God to the next phase of life. If we don't, we will find ourselves stagnated in the very circumstances of life that used to provoke passion and excitement. Many Christians think it is evil to follow after such passions, and I admit that there is a balance between being "flighty/uncommitted" and being courageous enough to take a risk. Often that difference lies in the character that God is trying to work out in our personality. The best litmus test for this is to ask yourself whether you are running AWAY FROM a circumstance or responsibility, or if you are running TO a great one. But all of that aside, Christians at large suffer more from fear of taking a true risk in life than from being flighty.

I wouldn't dare put a formula to this process of uncovering true destiny because I believe it is different for each person. As Aslan says in "Prince Caspian", "Things never happen the same way twice." But I know that for me personally, marriage was one key to unlocking that destiny. The relationship spawned between my wife's own sense of destiny and mine created a synergy that has continued to move us forward much farther than we could have gone alone. Another key was making the move to Charlotte for the Morningstar School of Ministry. This was a tremendous risk with no sense of tangible reward. A third key has been a divine appointment to work with my current employer. I have found that being willing to move with the Lord's first call, often leads to the next call...in ever increasing frequency. Many people have not considered that they might should be living in a different city, or working for an employer making half of their current salary. Why? Because they are all risks. Here again, I do not want to set formulas, but merely to challenge the status quo in our lives. Comfort is the greatest enemy of destiny. It is in accepting God's invitation (taking the risk) that we find keys that unlock the doors leading to the core of our being. Every key moves us closer to the heart of what we are created to be...to the place of passionate destiny.

My experience was that between the key of marriage and the key of moving to Charlotte, I spent 4 years wondering what was the next step. All the while I was serving in a ministry and allowing God to form a level of character in my through ministry and marriage. The third key took one year. And now, it seems like keys happen monthy in some form or another. God has detailed and elaborate plans in store for us, which sometimes require fundamental changes in our life experiences and understanding of life, and knowledge of the world. Until we accept the first invitation, these changes cannot be made. Once the process begins, we experience layer upon layer being peeled back to our heart as one experience/training builds upon the next. In this process of following God's invitations, goals are good to have in place to give sharper direction to daily activities. But don't mistake having a list of goals for having connected with your full purpose. Instead, while unlocking your purpose, create goals. Since coming to this realization, I've been able to rest alot more in times when I am feeling frustrated about lacking true purpose. I realize that God (not the Devil) is in the details. Each transition, each circumstance, and often the frustrations we experience, are all part of the process of moving into true destiny. My friend, don't let fear or circumstances, or people hold you back from accepting God's invitation. Welcome to passion.