فصل 6

CHAPTER 6

Discovering Your Destiny

Before you were born, God saw you, and He endowed you with gifts and talents uniquely designed for you. He’s given you ideas and creativity, as well as specific areas in which you can excel.

Why, then, do so many people today feel unfulfilled in their lives, merely going to work at some mundane job, trying to earn a living, stuck in a career they don’t even like? The answer is simple: They are not pursuing the dreams and desires God has placed within their hearts.

If we are not moving toward our God-given destiny, tension and dissatisfaction will always exist in our inner being. It won’t go away with time; it will be there as long as you live. I can’t think of anything more tragic than to come to the end of life on earth and realize that you have not really “lived,” that you have not become what God created you to be. You simply endured an average, mediocre life.

A major reason why so many people are unhappy and lacking enthusiasm is that they are not fulfilling their destiny. Understand, God deposited a gift, a treasure inside you, but you have to do your part to bring it forth.

How can you do that? Simple: Determine that you are going to start focusing on your divine destiny and taking steps toward the dreams and desires that God has placed in your heart.

How do you discover your sense of divine destiny? It’s not complicated. Your destiny has to do with what excites you. What are you passionate about? What do you really love doing? Your destiny will be a part of the dreams and desires that are in your heart—part of your very nature. Because God made you and He is the One who put those desires within you in the first place, it shouldn’t surprise you that your destiny will involve something that you enjoy. For instance, if you really love children, your destiny will probably be connected to something that has to do with kids—teaching, coaching, caring for them, mentoring them.

Or maybe you love seeing things built or renovated. Most likely, your destiny will probably fall into the fields of construction, design, or architecture. I know people who are extremely helpful, so compassionate, and caring. No doubt, their destiny will probably push them toward some field of social work, or possibly even a medical field, as a doctor, a nurse, a caregiver, minister, or counselor. Your destiny will usually follow the dream about which you are most passionate.

From the time I was ten or eleven years old, I was fascinated with television production. I loved the cameras, editing, and the production of television shows and movies. Every part of the process excited me. As a young man, I spent most of my weekends at Lakewood Church, where my father was the senior pastor. At the time, the church owned some small industrial cameras, and I’d spend all day Saturday playing with the television equipment. I didn’t really know how to run it, but I was fascinated by it. I’d turn the camera on and off, unplug it, plug it back in, coil the cables, and get the equipment ready for Sunday. I was passionate about it because it was what came naturally to me.

When I got old enough—maybe thirteen or fourteen years of age—I began helping to run the camera during the services; I became pretty good at it, too. In fact, I soon became one of the best cameramen that we had. It wasn’t hard for me; quite the contrary, I loved it; to me working behind the camera seemed almost like a hobby.

Looking back, I see now that my love for television production was part of my God-given destiny. God had hardwired that into me before the foundation of the world.

I went to college and studied broadcasting for a year, returned home, and started a full-fledged television ministry at Lakewood Church. Today, I am on the other side of the cameras, and I can see how God was guiding my steps and preparing me for the fulfillment of my destiny.

Maybe you don’t like the field in which you are working; you awaken each morning dreading going to your job. The work is meaningless and mundane.

If that sounds like you, it may be time to reexamine what you are doing. You are not meant to live a miserable and unfulfilled life. Don’t spend twenty-five years in a meaningless existence, doing something you dislike, staying there simply because it is convenient and you don’t want to rock the boat. No, step into your divine destiny.

I really believe when we get into our destiny and we are doing what we know we’re called to do, enthusiasm and excitement will exude from us naturally. We may not jump up and down every day, but deep within, we’re going to know: This is what I was called to do. This is why I was born. This is my destiny.

My father loved traveling to India. That was one of his main passions. Two or three times a year, Victoria and I would travel with him. Oftentimes, after we landed in one of India’s major cities, we would travel for four or five more hours, deep into the country, to one of the little villages. Of course, there weren’t any nice hotels—or often, any hotels at all—back in there. Nor was there any food that we might want to eat. Added to that, the weather was usually hot and sticky, and within minutes after our arrival, we felt dirty and uncomfortable. But my father had a great love for the people of India, so we went year after year.

We sometimes stayed at this old, run-down Indian army barracks. It was nothing more than four concrete walls, with no inside bathroom, no air-conditioning, no sheets on the bed—in fact, it had no beds, just dingy, narrow, uncomfortable cots. At night, all sorts of bugs and other bothersome insects seemed to take over. Victoria and I never complained about the conditions, but we could not wait until we got out of there.

On one of Victoria’s first trips to India, shortly after she and I had married, we were staying at those army barracks. Early one morning, my father and I were out on the front lawn eating breakfast. Suddenly, we heard Victoria screaming at the top of her lungs. I’d never heard a woman scream like that before.

Daddy and I dropped our breakfast plates and ran toward the building. As we approached, we saw Victoria running outside and down the stairs violently shaking her long blond hair just as hard and rapidly as she could. About that time, we saw the problem: A large iguanalike lizard was hanging in Victoria’s hair. Noble newlywed husband that I was, all I could think of was, Girl, just keep on shaking! If you’re looking at me to get that thing off you, you’re looking at the wrong person!

Finally, much to my relief, my lovely Victoria shook that lizard out of her hair. I thought I was going to have to resuscitate her.

But my father barely seemed to notice the uncomfortable surroundings. Daddy acted as though he were staying in a fancy hotel. He didn’t smell the smells. He didn’t feel the heat. He didn’t see the bugs. He was as happy as he could be. In fact, I had never seen my father any happier than when he was in the villages of India.

He told me one time, “Joel, if I didn’t know I was supposed to pastor Lakewood Church, I’d live right here.”

Why was that? Why wasn’t he uncomfortable? It’s because it was a part of his destiny. He was passionate about it. Just as God had hardwired television production into me, God had hardwired missionary work into him.

If you are not fulfilled, it may well be because you are not pursuing your destiny. Make sure that you are fulfilling the dreams that God has placed in your heart. Are you tapping into the potential that’s on the inside? Have you discovered what you do best, what comes naturally? Are you excelling in that area?

If you are called to be a stay-at-home mom and raise your children, do it to the best of your ability. Don’t allow society to pressure you into some career simply because your friends are doing it. Recognize your purpose and do it well.

If you are gifted in the area of sales, don’t sit behind a desk all day long in a room by yourself. Get into the area of your gifting and do it to the best of your ability. If you’re going to fulfill your destiny, you must do what God hardwired you to do. Make sure you operate in a realm where you are passionate.

My desire for you is that you will follow God’s divine destiny for your life, discover your calling, and stay in your purpose. Make a decision to keep pressing forward, keep believing, and keep stretching until you see your dreams fulfilled. Then one day, you will look back and say with confidence, “This is why God put me here.”