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The Destiny Diva!

Embracing Your Destiny: What's Stopping You?

Life's adverse situations have caused many a believer to accept the downs of life as the final verdict over the jurisdiction of our lives. This is not just a mere statement; this is something I know for myself. When you have given and given and given all that you have and then find that the very essence of who you are and what you have done is all on the ground, there is a feeling of defeat that can penetrate your soul to the point where you may never feel any self-worth again, let alone that there is an appointment with destiny. Read more inside...
Pastor Alonia JerniganEmbracing Your Destiny: What's Stopping You?

Written by Alonia Jernigan



 

 

What a joy it is to meet you here again this month on preachingwoman.com!  It is my sincere hope that our time together here will be a blessing to you.


 


Last month, I talked to you briefly about destiny.  Standing on Jeremiah 29:11 and 3 John 2, I asserted that all children of God can rest assured that He does, indeed, have an ultimate plan for your life.  Please understand that this plan is a good plan.  The problem, however, is that the pressures of life have caused many to believe that destiny is simply something that either does not exist or that it is out of reach.


 


Let me reassure you, dear friends, whether you define destiny as a place, a state of mind or a state of being, it is still something that is essentially the end result of God's ultimate plan for your life.  Every believer is equipped with at least one spiritual gift, according to 1 Corinthians 12:7 and 11 and Ephesians 4:7.  Therefore, I am of the further persuasion that, in the life of born again believers, your spiritual gifts are to be used for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God, and that they are to be used to help usher you into your destiny.


 


Yet, I have discovered in all too many instances, that life's adverse situations have caused many a believer to accept the downs of life as the final verdict over the jurisdiction of our lives.  This is not just a mere statement; this is something I know for myself.  When you have given and given and given all that you have and then find that the very essence of who you are and what you have done is all on the ground, there is a feeling of defeat that can penetrate your soul to the point where you may never feel any self-worth again, let alone that there is an appointment with destiny. 


 


Such would perhaps be true if we were to allow the enemy to have his way.  But because we are more than conquerors, because we know that God truly wants to see us succeed, and because we understand that delay does not mean denial, we have more than enough within us to open our eyes, hold our head up high, square our shoulders, stand and take authority and walk into the destiny that God has already ordained for our life.


 


What are some of the specific things that stop us from embracing our destiny?  There are many factors; I'd like to share a few:


(1)   Fear - The mature Christian understands that there is no need for fear in our lives.  Yet, the reality is that it is still very prevalent in the lives of far too many Christians.  What are we afraid of?  We have fear of actually succeeding, fear of what others will think of us, fear of failing, fear of repeating past failures, fear of launching out into the deep, among others.  But, we can be encouraged in knowing that God has not given us the spirit of fear.  And if we would be so careful as to seek the face of God in our every endeavor and then be obedient to that which He tells us to do, we will find that the true definition of fear is False Evidence Appearing Real.  Don't fear, awesome child of God.  And if you've fallen before, that's okay.  The key is to not stay down.  You've got to do as Pastor Donnie McClurkin has advised and, "Get back up again."  Put an end to your pity party and remember, "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).


 


(2)  Poor Self Esteem - Whether we want to admit or not, many of us have endured such abuse from others that we have developed a poor perspective of who we are in the Lord.  Whether the abuse has been verbal, mental, physical or emotional, its' after effects can cause us to believe that we are less than who God has said we are.  More specifically, the abuse has a peculiar way of damaging our self-esteem.  If you have consistently heard things like you're too ugly; you're too fat; why do you think you'll become a home owner when your whole family is still in the projects; the cycle of children born out of wedlock is standard for your family, so why do you think it will stop with you; or you'll never get that degree because no one in your family ever got one, chances are very high that they could take up residence within your inner man and cause you to believe that you cannot achieve anything of substance.  God forbid.  Remember, "Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4).  In other words, it's what God says about you that determines your destiny; what man says is irrelevant because it is God who has the final word.


 


(3)  Negative words from others - Many times, others can see your destiny even when you can't.  And if it's a person that does not desire to see you go forth and succeed, chances are, they won't have any problem offering words of discouragement.  Does any of this rhetoric sound familiar? "You mean you're going to do that?  I've seen a lot of failure in that area.  Why do you want to go that way?  I don't think you should.  Nobody else is doing that; why should you?  Why do you have to be different? You don't have what it takes."  These are just a few of the phrases that are likely to come out of the mouth of what the young folk would characterize as "haters."  To that end, my advice to you is to use wisdom and discernment in determining who you should share your hopes and dreams with.  Not everyone is going to be happy for you, and misery does love company.  In these instances, ask the Lord to make you as wise as a serpent yet harmless as a dove, as referenced in Matthew 10:16.


 


Prayerfully, the words shared herein have been a beacon of light to you.  I trust that you have been encouraged to push past whatever has been stopping you from embracing your destiny.  I look forward to sharing more with you next month.


 


Pushing You Towards Destiny, I am


Pastor Alonia Jernigan