via Streams Ministries
by John Paul Jackson
Each year as January 1 approaches, many of us begin to think about making New Year’s resolutions. This year, as you contemplate potential changes in your life, remember that the choices you make today are important; they are uniquely powerful because God wrote your capability of making choices into your destiny.
We have the option of following Him, obeying Him and walking in wisdom; He instilled within us the ability to gather knowledge, assimilate it and then make the best decision we can based on our understanding.
This means that we are the architects of destiny. God is not the “architect” as much as He is the Creator of the spiritual and natural laws of the universe. In the midst of these laws, we devise our plans and draw up the architectural designs for our lives.
An example of a spiritual law would be that of sowing and reaping. No matter what type of seed we use, we will reap what we sow. If we sow discontent, we will reap discontent. If we sow faithfulness, we will reap faithfulness. An example of a natural law would be that of gravity or even glass — we discover right away that glass makes great windows but very poor load-bearing beams. These are laws, or “rules,” of the spiritual and natural realms.
For more about this topic, check out Maximizing Heaven's Help by clicking here.
We Design Our Plans Within God’s Confines
God gives us our callings, and we start planning for the future within His laws. However, Proverbs 16:9 says, “A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.” So all the while, we think we are putting together these grand architectural designs for our lives, but we are actually doing so in coordination with God as He helps us work through the laws and various steps of what He has called us to do.
Quite often, our choices are more important than we realize. God doesn’t command us to do what He has called us to do. He does not lay our destiny out before us and declare, “You will do this!” Instead, He looks for us to interact with Him in our process of walking it out.
He wants us to choose to seek His input — but we do not have to seek His input. The choice is up to us, because we are the architects.
I don’t know about you, but I have been guilty of designing my own plans, and they weren’t what God wanted me to do. Sometimes, God allows us to make a wrong choice; He lets us try to build something for Him that He does not want. This is like baking an apple pie for a friend who does not like apple pie. It could be the best apple pie in the world, but the friend will still say, “I don’t like apple pie.”
“But this is the best apple pie!”
“But I don’t like apple pie.”
The great thing is that if we have a heart for God, we will recognize that our choice was wrong, repent for it and then apply ourselves to what He has actually called us to do. For a season, I thought I was supposed to be in the business world. Even though I was successful, God let me know very, very clearly that business was not what I was called to do.
The Choice Is Up to You
The architect designs what the owner wants. If the owner wants a shopping mall, we design a shopping mall. If the owner wants an amazing high-rise building, we design an amazing high-rise building.
The owner tells the architect what he or she wants, and that person becomes the designer of that desire. Obviously, if we are walking with God, He has a lot to do with that design, but many, if not most, of the choices along the way remain in our hands.
Do Not Be Afraid of Mistakes
You, as an architect, employ everything you have (all of your skill, your knowledge of God’s Word and His ways, your discipline, your wisdom, etc.) to design the building God has called you to build: the destiny that God purposed you for. He created the spiritual and natural laws of the universe, put a destiny within you and then told you, “Now I am going to give you choices in this. You can get to do this.”
What has God told you to do? What architectural design waits on your table? In the process, don’t be afraid of making a mistake. The “owner” of this building project has an incredible love for you, and He is stronger than you are — He is fully able to keep you from falling (Jude 1:24). So keep your eyes on Him. Watch Him and see what He is doing. Then make your choices and step forward, holding firmly to His hand.
http://www.streamsministries.com/index.php?page=eletter&article_id=180#.Tv831uRsiSo
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