#21 – Who controls our “Destiny”? – July 18, 2024

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them”.

Destiny – (“fate”) destiny refers to a specific future or outcome that results from a predetermined or inevitable course of events.  It implies something foreordained and often suggests a great or noble course or end.

God prepared a life for us.  How we react to His choice is up to us.  We can follow God’s lead, or we can bend the curve.  For instance, other than your moment of salvation, take a look back and picture one moment that changed your life; one that was not so much as a tiny thought to ever cross your mind…until it happened.  For me, it was when my dad died in 1966.  For my husband, it was when he joined a construction company in 1980.  For my daughter it was when she wrecked her car in 2001.  For my son, it was when he got divorced in 2020.  Those are only a few of many instances.  I could name several others but those were crucial in our lives. 

My dad’s death led me to be where I am, with the family I now have, and doing what God intended for me to do.  I wanted to become a teacher.  That, and nurse, were the dreams for girls back in the days of my youth.  Of course I wanted my dad to live, watch me graduate, see me go to college, walk me down the aisle at my wedding, and meet my children.  But God had different plans for me, and He made them happen.  Did I make mistakes along the way?  You bet I did.  However, God always put me right back on the track He planned for me, and I thank God He did.  For all my mistakes, my complaints, and my wishes that “could have been”…I have no regrets. Was it God’s destiny for my life to be changed so dramatically to make sure I’m right where I should be, and doing what He predestined for me?

My husband had a job working as a plumber.  But by changing jobs and begin working for a construction company he became a knowledgeable and dependable pipefitter and furnace technician.  He was able to learn and benefit more than he ever would have otherwise.  Within a few years, he was able to join the UMWA and remained with them until his retirement in 2010.  The benefits from his retirement have been a blessing to us through our retirement.  Was it God’s destiny to see that our needs would be taken care of as we grew older?

My daughter wanted to be a teacher, just as I had once, but her accident changed that and she became a social worker that is able to help others with difficult life situations.  The accident broke her back in four places and her first surgery, 2 days after the accident took 16 hours.  The doctors told us that the reason the surgery took so long was that one of the bones was less than 1/16 of an inch away from her spinal cord. If it had severed her cord, my daughter would never have been able to walk.  Was it God’s destiny for her to stand tall and “walk” with Him?

 My son’s divorce made him stronger and more determined to make life work in his favor, rather than sit around feeling sorry for himself.  I thank God that he and his ex-wife have remained civil and able to see that my grandchildren continue to have a stable environment.  God has brought a wonderful woman into his life now and he has become happier than I’ve seen him in many years.  Was it God’s destiny for all this to happen in order to bring him into a closer relationship with Him?

We see the evidence of God working in our lives, but we tend to label it as coincidence that just happened to “align with the stars”.  We don’t see it as an intervention in our lives that didn’t just change the trajectory of our path, but as a plan that has been prearranged for us to move us forward. 

  God’s destiny in our life is an awesome thing, if we just look for it.  But we have to open our eyes and really see it.

As we contemplate the events that have changed our lives, even those thought to be devastating, we should be able to see the good that came out of each one.  Without those changes that were predestined for us, where would we be?  If we relied on our own force of destiny, I shudder to think what would, or could, have become of us.

Thank God for the things happening in our lives that may seem tragic, but there’s a brighter side to the destiny that God has waiting for us.

Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor thing present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

If you would like to share a time in your life that “God’s destiny” made you realize just how close and protective He is in your life, I would love to hear about it.  Just feel free to email me any time.  My email is always open; unless the internet has other plans (thank goodness for the Geek Squad! lol).

                God bless, stay safe, and hold strong to the faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Nancy Stoppe                     

Stoppe123@comcast.net

Blog – inspirationalinsights6.com  (inspirational insights 6 .com)