PATHWAY OF DESTINY
Gen 12:1-4
Josh 3:1-4
Greatness is something that we were all created to be. As soon as you became born again, you received the audacity to achieve greatness in life. All you need to do is to hold on to God, follow your dreams and decide not to accept the status quo. You must decide that you must thread the unfamiliar pathways of life. You must be prepared to be different. This will not be an easy trail, but it will certainly get you there. You were created to be a trailblazer and a history maker. You cannot live a notable life until you begin to do what others around you are not doing.
Life is not survival of the fittest. If you do what others are doing, you will certainly get their results. Abraham decided to follow the unfamiliar and novel path. The calling originally belonged to his father, because they arose from the righteous lineage of Shem. Gen 11:26 says that Terah begat Abram, Nahor and Haran. Lot was the son of Haran, Abram's brother who died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, Ur of the Chaldees. Verse 31 says that Terah took his son Abram and Lot, and Sarai, his daughter in law, and they went forth from the Ur of the Chaldees to go into the land of Canaan, and hey came unto Haran and dwelt there. Terah died in Haran. Bible history tells us that Haran was a major trading post that occupied a strategic position in the route from Ur of the Chaldees to the land of Canaan. He must have been carried away by the seeming prospects of this bustling city that he abandoned his destiny. If he had not, probably, we would have all been called the children of Terah, instead of children of Abraham.
When God called Abram, he called him out of his country, kindred and his father's house into a land that he would show him. He was calling him from the familiar to the unfamiliar. Greatness is evolved in strange places. God told the ancient prophet Isaiah in Is 43:18 remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. That was why we have been talking of the I AM THAT I AM. He is the only one that is able to spring surprises to the adversaries. He is the one that will carry you through every unfamiliar terrain and no one will be able to touch you.
Joseph decided to follow the unfamiliar route. He chose not to do what his brothers were doing. His brothers did not like him for it, but it did not make any difference to him. It cost him some temporary challenges. He got sold into slavery from his fathers house and for a while it was as if he was dead. They actually told their father that he was dead, and the truth is that a man who was sold into slavery was as good as dead. No one gave him any chance of making it through life. They said let us see what will happen to his dreams. His brothers did not bargain for the power of resurrection.
In a world that applauds herd mentality and mindless allegiance to groups and accepted mind sets, it is so easy to lose your individuality and those things about you that will bring about your greatness. People generally do not want to pursue after the unusual and unfamiliar things in their lives. The pathway to destiny is a lonely road. What we often fail to appreciate is that the unfamiliar path is your limitless zone. It is the pathway that God has located all the limitless resources that our greatness require.
The familiar route is often limited. Too many people go through that way, so it can never have enough room for all. It is actually the pathway of bitterness, rancor, unnecessary competition and confrontation. Matt 7:13 Wide is the way that leads to destruction and many there be which go in thereat. Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads to life, few that be which find it. You really have to look for it, if not you will not find it.
When we talk about faith, it has no room for the opinion of men. The glorious liberty of salvation and its blessings only come to you when you release yourself absolutely to the will of God. Is 51:2 says, God called Abraham alone. I am sure that Abraham had the opportunity to consider the opinion of men, but he chose the lonely path. The unusual should be familiar to you as a believer, or it should come as second nature to us because we were created to be peculiar. 1 Pet 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar or unusual people, that ye should show forth the praise of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
The truth is that there is too much life out there for you to uncover, you can't afford to live one more day, restrained, restricted and limited. You have the option of making the best out of your life. I would rather that you step out in faith into unknown territories and see if God will let you die. If you will walk with God and ride on his wings, then you must step out of the crowd. Eagles fly alone, they do not go in groups. That is probably the reason why they do not run away from storms.
As a believer, you are not expected to be stuck in tradition. That was the biggest problem of the scribes and the pharisees and the reason why they failed to accept Christ. You are allowed to break from the ranks and attempt new things. All you need is to cede absolute control of your life to God. Since you heard that life is about survival of the fittest, so we all try to outmaneuver and outlast the opposition when there is enough room under the sky for everyone to succeed. Eccl 9:11 I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill. Time and chance happeneth them all. It is time to get it right. You must realize that when God steps into your life, you will experience a change in your direction. God wants to do a new thing in your life.
The four Hebrew youths in Babylon were not afraid to go the unfamiliar route. In Daniel 1:8 the bible said that Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself with the king's meat, nor with the wine that he drank. Meat represents doctrine and the philosophy of the Babylonian kingdom and the wine represents the spirit of the demonic kingdom. It was the way to go and everyone was partaking of it. But Daniel and the other Hebrew youth decided to abstain. It was not a familiar route. They told the king's Eunuch, prove your servants in ten days, then you can compare us with those who have partaken of it. At the end of the ten days, they were better than their contemporaries. It was the beginning of an extraordinary life for each of them.
