Reaching Your Destiny

You can fly like the eagle! That is the destiny God planned for you, but you will only know its delight as you follow His plans, do it His way, as clearly outlined in the Scriptures.

We shall consider six steps to reaching your destiny in Christ and use as a guideline the story told in 2 Kings 4: 1 - 7.

The wife of one of the prophets came to Elisha and said to him, “Your servant, my husband is dead. He feared the Lord but left us with great debts that I cannot pay, and now the creditors have come to take my two children away to be slaves.” Elisha said to her, “What can I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “Nothing,” she replied, “except a small bottle of oil.” Then he said, “Go out and borrow every vessel you can from all your neighbours. Any shape or size but empty vessels, as many as possible. Then go into your home, shut the door, and pour the oil out of your small bottle into each of your neighbours’ vessels. When one is full, set it aside.”

She went and did what he told her, pouring the oil into each vessel until it was full. Finally, there were no more vessels to fill and the oil stopped flowing. She came and told the prophet Elisha what had happened. “Go, sell the oil,” he said, “pay your debts and then you and your children can live on the proceeds for the rest of your lives.”

The outlook was very bleak for this widow. She could see no way out of her dilemma for circumstances had overwhelmed her. All she could see was hopeless darkness. There appeared to be no way out of her valley. She needed a new VISION Two men in a prison cell, staring through the bars One only saw the darkness, the other saw the stars!

Both men had the same scene before them, but they had different vision! Their circumstances were the same, but they had different attitudes.

The widow’s heart was heavy as she was about to lose her two sons to the creditors. She carried a burden that weighed her down. She needed a different BURDEN A boy was seen climbing a hill with a crippled lad on his back.

A passer-by remarked, “My, you have a heavy burden there!” The boy replied, “That’s no burden! That’s my brother!”

Jesus wants us to carry a burden - His burden which is light. The burden you carry will only be heavy if it is not the one He has planned for you (and you for!)

The prophet seemed to ignore her circumstances when he asked her what she had in her possession. “Only a small bottle of oil!” She did not realise that that small bottle held all was necessary to meet her great need. What is in your hand - your GIFTING?

“What do you have in your hand, Moses?” God asked. “Only a shepherd’s staff,” his servant replied. “That’s enough,” said God, “for I want you to lead a flock of My sheep out of their bondage in Egypt” God always puts in our possession, the abilities, and gifts we need to carry His burden.

The prophet then gave the widow a task to do - a ministry to all her neighbours. It seemed a foolish thing to do. Why bring in so many pots and pans, buckets, and basins? All she had was a small bottle of oil, - but she did what she was asked to do. Each one of us needs a MINISTRY.

“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He was come from God, and went to God, got up from supper, .... and washed His disciples’ feet.”

Jesus said that He did not come to be served but to serve - and He expects the same from His disciples. As the widow poured out the oil an amazing thing happened! Can you imagine the look on their faces as the pots and pans were being filled to overflowing from the small pot of oil? God had blessed her obedience with His ANOINTING!

“Lord, all we have is five loaves and two fish!” “Distribute them to the multitude,” said the Master. They all ate and were filled - and they took up of the fragments, twelve baskets full!

The widow and her two sons sold all the oil to their neighbours. There was sufficient money to pay off all the debts and for them to live comfortably off the excess for the rest of their lives. They were blessed, their neighbours were blessed, and God was honoured.

They had learned to live in their true DESTINY - the freedom and blessings of God - flying like the eagle. The apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Philippi: “I am confident in this, that He who began a good work in You, will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

So we outline SIX STEPS: VISION BURDEN GIFTING MINISTRY ANOINTING FLYING!

We shall consider these in more depth in the coming chapters.