Your Disaster Doesn't Determine Your Destiny!

Philippians 1:3-6

“3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

I have been going through a difficult time the last two weeks, there was a shake-up in our ministry.  We lost a very important person suddenly, when they decided they wanted to quit.  I have been mourning the loss, trying to figure out why it happened, and trying to make sense of the whole deal.  But God showed me something that I felt I needed to share with all of my friends.

Regardless of what you are currently facing or what situation you may find yourself in, the truth is your greatest days are in front of you. You’re not a finished product!  You have not yet reached your potential!  The work that the Lord has started in you, if you do not grow weary and quit, He will bring to fruition!

You may be in the midst of the greatest battle you have ever faced.  Hell may have launched an all-out assault on you, maybe you are in the middle of a trial, an affliction, or a setback, and you cannot see any way out; I have good news for you!  Your Destiny is greater than this disaster!

Hell doesn’t have enough devils and you don’t have enough enemies to keep God’s purpose for your life from being fulfilled!  Satan does not determine the outcome of your life!  You don’t belong to the devil; you belong to God.  Just like the Satan could not keep Jesus in the grave, he can’t keep you in the trial, the setback, or the affliction that you are in right now. Your Destiny is greater than your disaster!

Acts 2:24

“But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” (NIV)

Peter said, “It was impossible for death to hold Him.” Jesus did not have enough enemies. The Roman soldiers did not have enough power; even Satan himself could not stop the resurrection. Jesus was destined to go into the grave and He was destined to come out!  Jesus knew that He would be crucified but He also knew after the crucifixion there would be a resurrection. He knew that the cross was not the end but only the beginning.

Listen to me!  Every single one of us will encounter setbacks as we serve God.  It’s the nature of the life that seeks to be a threat to hell by attacking the strongholds of the devil.  But a setback doesn’t mean it’s over.  A setback is positioning you for a comeback!  A door shut means a door is about to open.  An ending only means that there is getting ready to be a new beginning.  The road to destiny in Christ always consists of endings and beginnings, setbacks, and comebacks. If you are experiencing a great setback at the present time, get ready to experience a great come back!  Your Destiny is greater than your disaster!

Job experienced great loss, but in the end the Lord blessed him with twice as much as he had before. His latter end was greater than his beginning.  Job’s destiny was greater than his disaster!

God will bring you out of this trial, this affliction, or this setback you are experiencing.  God brought Joseph out of the pit! He brought Israel out of Egypt! He brought Daniel out of the lion’s den and the three Hebrew children out of the fire!  Their Destiny was greater than their disaster, and so is yours!

No storm is made to last forever, neither should your trial, affliction, or setback. You shouldn’t be fighting the same battle today that you were fighting last year.

Romans 8:37

“37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

In how many things do we conquer?  All things!  I know it’s hard to understand. I know in the natural you cannot figure it out, but the truth is; God will take what looks like a curse and turn it into a blessing! He will take what the enemy meant for evil and turn it to your good. Regardless of what you may be going through, regardless of what you are facing, you have the promise that: “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” - Romans 8:28

If we stay faithful in the hard times God will turn our adversity into advancements, our disappointments into appointments, and our opposition into opportunity.  Your Destiny is greater than your disaster!

There is no pit deep enough, no fire hot enough, no storm powerful enough, and no chain strong enough!  Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love or our God given Destiny!  We were created to be victors!  We were made to win!  Our Destiny is greater than our disasters!

Listen to what I’m trying to tell you: Hell is not fighting you because of who you now are, where you are now, or what you have now, Hell is fighting you because of who you are about to become, where you are about to go, and what you are about to have. Hell is afraid of your Destiny in Jesus.

You are not going through what you are going through because you have failed God. You are going through what you are going through because of something called “Destiny.”  And this is an important truth you need to hold onto: the people around you that are not going though anything, are the people that are not going anywhere.

If David hadn’t been destined to be king, he wouldn’t have had to run from Saul for thirteen years. If Joseph hadn’t had the promise of the palace he would have never had to go into the pit and then into prison.  If Daniel hadn’t been destined for favor with the king, he would never have been in a lion’s den.

But just like these trials could not hinder these great men of God from fulfilling their destiny, the trial, the affliction, or the setback that you are experiencing can’t stop you from fulfilling your destiny.  Your Destiny is greater than your disaster!

Your future is better than your past. Satan knows if he can keep you in your past that you will never move into your future. That’s why he is spending so much time talking about yesterday. Did you ever notice he never whispers in your ear about your tomorrow?  God will always lead you to forget the past and focus on what is ahead.

Don’t build your future around your past. Focus on your tomorrow and not your yesterday. Talk about your future and not your past. Don’t dwell on where you were yesterday; dwell on where you are today, and where you are about to go. It’s your future, your destiny, that Satan wants to keep you from entering into.  Why?  Because he knows, your Destiny is greater than your disasters!