What's on the Agenda...

Many times in life, I’ve found myself wondering, when will I ever reach my destiny? When will I ever reach "that place" where my passion becomes my career. I thank God for my job, I really do. But I also recognize that God's purpose for my life is far beyond my current employment. God has given me a glimpse of where He wants to take me and how He wants to use me, but I sometimes wonder if I'm taking the right steps? Am I "on schedule?" My flesh, or impatience rather, causes me to second guess if I'm on the right track. I know I’m not alone in this. God has given us a book full of His promises, that we all want to see come to past. As I was praying the other morning, God reminded me that He knows exactly what He's doing.

Jeremiah 29:11 (MSG)
11 I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out-plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

How many times have we allowed our impatience to second-guess God's all-knowing and omnipotent ability? How many times have we said, “God are you sure we're going the right way? I don't think this is going to bring us where we're trying to go.” The Bible says that God knows exactly what He is doing and that His plans are going to bring us right to the place we hope for, the place where we can flourish in our gifts. When we submit ourselves to Him fully, we can rest in confidence that His ways are going to lead us straight to success, straight to our destiny. We only frustrate ourselves when we grow impatient, totally ignoring the process and development, totally negating the refining that God is carrying us through to prepare us for "that place". James 1:4 says, "When your patience is finally in full bloom, then you'll be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete." When we try to figure things out or conjure up our own plans, we eventually end up way off track. As believers, we have a direct connection with the one who knows what the end looks like, who knows what lies in the middle and who stands at the beginning with his hand outstretched, ready to lead us to the end. Even in our weak moments, He’ll carry us through the rough parts…if we allow Him to. We don’t have to live a life full of hits and misses.

The enemy finds pleasure in our frustration and impatience. His goal is to get us to turn completely around and go back to the life that God Himself is leading us from. He wants to distract us and cause us to think that things were better without God's guidance. Clearly, we can never reach our destiny if we are constantly looking backwards. Jesus explains this to travelers in the book of Luke.

Luke 9:57-62 (MSG)

57 On the road someone asked if he could go along. “I’ll go with you, wherever,” he said.

58 Jesus was curt: “Are you ready to rough it? We’re not staying in the best inns, you know.” Jesus said to another, “Follow me.”

59 He said, “Certainly, but first excuse me for a couple of days, please. I have to make arrangements for my father’s funeral.”

60 Jesus refused, “First things first. Your business is life, not death. And life is urgent: Announce God’s Kingdom!”

61 Then another said, “I’m ready to follow you, Master, but first excuse me while I get things straightened out at home.”

62 Jesus said, “No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God’s kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day!”
Verse 62 (NIV)
62 Jesus replied, No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.

Ouch! Jesus was very clear that this attitude is not suitable for God’s ambassadors. He requires an enthusiastic readiness that cancels out every other agenda outside of His. Sometimes, in our impatience, we try to take matters into our own hands and we get caught up in other things that totally pull our focus away from God's original plan for our lives. Now the scary part is, we don’t always know every single detail of what His agenda entails. But this is where we must employ our faith AND patience. How much do we trust Him? Would a father lead his child to danger? Absolutely not! The Bible assures us that God’s plan for our lives leads us straight to success!

God is ready to lead us to our destiny, right now! At this moment! Although, it sometimes seems that we are way off, or we are never going to reach "that place", we have to trust that every part of our lives, including where we are right now, is all a part of God's plan to lead us to our destiny. We must be open to his guidance and trust that His plan is perfect. He is ready to use us right where we are but we must be ready to drop our own agendas and get connected to His divine agenda. For many, this is a scary thought…it sounds a bit sacrificial, but realistically it’s more beneficial than wasting time trying to figure things out ourselves and consistently messing up along the way.

Proverbs 16:9 (NLT)
9 We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.

I encourage you to trust God. Trust that He knows every detail of His plans for your life. Trust that He's going to lead you to success. Employ patience as you exercise your faith in Him. Allow Him to do a work in you that will ultimately enable you, prepare you, and lead you straight to your destiny. Stay focused as you put your hand to the plough and know that He will lead you right to the promise. The temptation to look backwards will come. The enemy will throw every type of distraction he can to get you off track. However, you must be able to recognize and identify those distractions and know that your priority and your main focus is to please the Heavenly Father.

II Timothy 2:4 (AMP)
4 No soldier when in service gets entangled in the enterprises of (civilian) life; his aim is to satisfy and please the one who enlisted him.

Be encouraged! See you at the top!

God Bless,
Queen