Sermon on Destiny.
May I speak in the name of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit. Amen.
Destiny or fate as it is sometimes referred to determines the quality of our life. If it shines on us, we do well. We may succeed in business beyond our wildest dreams, become rich by winning the lottery or football pools. We could reach the top position in our company with little effort on our part, possibly have the best looking partner in the world, which others may drool over. In the end, absolutely anything we may desire according to God’s will is achievable. (Luke 11:9)
Many people believe that destiny is preordained. They have no control whatsoever over it and just have to accept it as it happens. Although this is partially true, it does not always have to be the case. Occasionally people do have a certain amount of control over their life. Choices can be made that significantly alter the predetermined events to come and can make the difference between happiness or misery. Destiny may be controlled by God or from another form. If it is from God, we often don’t know why we have to follow a particular road in life or where it will lead to. (Proverbs 16:9) Sometimes we just have to trust to God that it is often His wish. He has planned a course for us to follow with an ultimate aim in mind. A goal for us to achieve. It could be considered as a walk with God through the forest of life. A walk where God holds our hand and leads us every step of the way. (Joshua 1:9) To what end? we may ask. All will be revealed in a future time to come. We may rest assured that it will certainly be a better life and be worth all the effort. We just need to have faith. (Micah 6:8)
Uncertainty often holds a person back, they become fearful of the unknown or what is to come. Unless they have a clear notion in their head as to why they have to do something it can be unnerving to their inner confidence. They feel unsettled in themselves. They find themselves stumbling for the least of setbacks because they don’t understand the ultimate goal. There are passages in the bible which portray significant stories where people are asked by God to undertake tasks without explanation or reason. The stories of Moses and Abraham are two in particular.
There was once a beautiful young lady called Veronica who was just 24 years old and had always dreamed of meeting a man of a near-identical age with similar interests in life. As part of the advancement in her career, she was required to move to a new city many miles away from her home town and therefore needed different accommodation. She regularly perused the local papers to see if there were any suitable flats that she could rent on a long term basis. Good accommodation was extremely hard to find in the city where she had been located as it was extremely popular for businesses to operate from. One day she noticed an apartment that was advertised for rent which was situated very close to her place of work and incorporated the precise facilities and amenities that she had ever hoped for. She knew that she had to act quickly as it would not be long before this flat had been taken and she would have to restart her search again from scratch.
She telephoned the estate agent advertising the flat and made an appointment to view it that same morning. As soon as she walked into the apartment she knew it was the ideal place for her and had the distinct feeling and impression that she would be extremely happy living there. She asked the agent if she could take it and was relieved to hear that it was still available.
Two weeks later she made the move to her new home with the help of a friend from work. The following day she left her flat to go to work and at the same time, the door opposite her apartment opened and to her amazement, a handsome guy was standing there looking at her. He smiled and said “Hello.” She was so awestruck at his good looks that she stumbled to put words together but did manage to respond with a smile.
That night after she had returned from work there was a tap on the door and when she opened it, she found that it was her new next-door neighbour. He asked her if she would like to join him for a meal in his apartment. He informed her that he was in the middle of cooking a Spaghetti Bolognese and had accidentally made too much. Rather than waste the excess, he wondered if she would help him out if it was the sort of food she liked, and if she was feeling hungry after her day's work. She informed him that she loved all pasta type food and would be delighted to join him.
During the meal, they discussed many matters and found that they had much in common. He was the same age as her and also single. They both believed in God and attended church. They liked the same type of music, food, travel and a host of other things which made the evening very informative, with the newly acquired knowledge, appetising in its content and intake and extremely nourishing and fulfilling for her inner body. After the meal, she said "I think this must be my destiny in life. I have been wanting to meet someone with similar interests to myself for some time and now completely out of the blue, I find that you, who appear perfectly suited, have become my new neighbour. How strange is that?" They began to date and within two years agreed to become engaged. They had a time of much excitement and happiness ahead to look forward to on their continued journey through life. Fate had once again played its role.
If a person consistently tries to walk a righteous path in life, at times, opportunities can be presented which may be considered as golden, but often only occur once, so it may be prudent to grasp them with both hands and make the most of them. If we misunderstand as such and make the wrong decision then we only have ourselves to blame. As the proverb states: “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” We do need to maintain balanced thinking and take advantage of the opportunities on offer. However, we also need to consider both the pros and cons of any predestined action that fulfils our will or desire as we see it. To make and achieve the best from life, each set of opportunities has to be viewed on their individual merits and then ultimately, if we choose to accept them, trust and have faith in God to accomplish them.
Amen.
