The Choice of Destiny 

By L.A. Jackson

I was shaped by many things. My mother, my father (even though I did not spend enough time with him, the time I did spend with him would prove to be very impactful on my life), my grandmother, my music, my Siblings, my hood, my friends, the Television, my School, my Pastors, and my Church. These many influences, as a child, shaped my understanding of life and its issues. My tendencies were formed as outputs from these influences. All of these things affected me in a profound way, but somehow I was supposed to hear God through all of this constant noise. It was quite challenging for me to find my way in life, let alone know and pursue my destiny. These things pulled on me everyday without a pause for commercial. Everyday there was some influence calling me to render myself to it. One of the greatest influences calling to me was the life of my father.

My father was called
to be a pastor and follow in the footsteps of his father, my grandfather. My father was an intelligent man. I am told that he starting preaching when he was just 14 years old. His favorite magazine was Reader’s Digest. He was a well- educated man with a bright future ahead of him. But like many of us, life happened to him and he began to try different things. He tried different drugs, because he thought his mind was strong enough to handle anything and not be addicted to it. God indeed gave him a strong mind, but it was to rightly divide His Word, not overcome drugs he did not need to try. Once addicted to drugs, he then began to pull further and further away from God and his destiny. He started stealing from his own father to satisfy his hunger for the drugs. When his father wouldn’t give in to him anymore, he took to robbing. That landed him in jail and started his perpetual downward spiral. The story ended in a North Florida prison where he died of cancer. I was 21 years old and needed him. My children need him. They need to hear his jokes that would always make you laugh. They need to hear him sing one of his old school songs you never heard of. They need his hugs and kisses. They need to sit on his knee and play. They need to hear his wisdom, just like I still do. No one can ever convince me that this was God’s will. To give a man all of these talents and gifts, then let him die in a prison before he uses what God gave him. I don’t think so. My father had a profound affect on me and his memory will always be a place-holder within me. He was a sweet breeze through a window that closed far too soon.

A voice above the noise of influences was my Grandmother. I thank God for my Grandmother; she is a bright shining light atop my family tree. God used that light and her willingness to obey him to reach out to me and save my life. God used her to teach me His Scripture which allowed me to see life from a different spectrum. The Scripture became an influence that changed my life forever and challenged the thoughts that I had allowed to become truth to me. God’s Word in my life literally saved my life. It gave me the strength to choose my destiny. Studying the Word brought a much needed biblical and spiritual influence to my life. As I studied the Scripture more and more, I began to realize that the challenge to pursue destiny was not my experience alone. There were many people in the Bible that struggled with this same challenge. One that comes to mind is the Scripture about Saul becoming king over the Children of Israel.

Although the Children of Israel were warned by Samuel about all the things that a king would do to them, they still chose to have a king placed over them. It is amazing at how we can see the bad things that can happen to us if we chose a certain thing and yet still move forward knowing what the outcome will be (1 Sam 8:7-22). Sometimes we are blinded by our own desires, so much so, that we lose sight of God’s desires. We must remember God at all times and desire his ways more than our own. This is, of course, easier said than done.

Because of their insistence God gave Israel what they wanted, a king to rule over them. He gave them Saul. He was the hottest man in the kingdom (1 Sam 9:2). Nobody was better looking than Saul and when Israel first saw him they were just like a man looking at woman that has all the bumps and curves he likes. Frozen!!!! They thought this is going to be great. We finally have a king to rule over us. Even though God warned them against it. Don’t miss the powerful message here. Sometimes we think we know what’s better for us than God does. That is amazing, but very true. Needless to say, the children of Israel would regret their decision many times over.

The Bible is full of examples of people and a people (the Children of Israel) disobeying God. In many cases all they had to do was call on Him and He would restore them. God, by his own nature, is a Redeemer (Ps 19:12-14). God will preserve your destiny just as He did with the Children of Israel many times over. God understands the many influences we face. This is why he tells us to put on the full armor of God (Eph 6:9-11). God will put you in position, but it is up to you to choose your destiny.  Saul’s disobedience cost him his destiny and he eventually took his own life (1 Sam 31:3-5). Chase your Destiny my friends. Chase it with abandonment of the influences that try to detour your course. Trust God and listen to his voice. He will guide you to your Destiny just like He did the children of Israel. Pursue your destiny with tireless ambition. Pursue it like your life depends on it – because it does! He is the Creator and we are the creation (Gen 1:27). There is no knowing oneself without knowing Him. I chose my destiny over my influences and sometimes in spite of them. What will you choose? God is still in the destiny business. Are you?