The Lord spoke these words:
"Rejoice! Again I say rejoice! If I have given you a destiny, no one can take it away from you! But you've got to look to Me, not to man! Choose to look to My wisdom, instead of the wisdom of man. Choose to walk in My ways and timing, instead of the ways of this world."
The word 'destiny' in English is derived from the Latin word 'destinare', which can mean 'to establish, to appoint, to make firm, to put in place'. 1 Thessalonians 5:9 (Amplified Bible) says, 'For God has not destined us to (incur His) wrath (that is, He did not select us to condemn us), but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ'. This verse speaks of our general destiny as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
But how about our specific God-given destiny for each of us? The Scripture has many verses to show us that the Lord has indeed established us, appointed us, and put in place a specific destiny for each one of us. No two persons are exactly the same. Each one of us is unique and special in our own God-given ways. Ecclesiastes 6:10 (NLT) says, 'Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there's no use arguing with God about your destiny'.
The good news is His destiny for each one of us is always the best-suited one, simply because He knows each one of us inside-out, more than we know ourselves. Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) says, 'For I know the plans I have for you. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope'. Our part is simply to heed Him and follow His ways (and timing)!
Let's look at David's life now, and we shall see as long as he heeded the Lord and followed His ways (and timing), no one could take away the destiny God had given him! Proverbs 16:20 (NIV) says, 'Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord'.
It all began when the Lord spoke to prophet Samuel to anoint someone from among the sons of Jesse as king of Israel. 1 Samuel 16:1 (NLT) says, 'Now the Lord said to Samuel, "You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king."' Soon, Samuel found David as the one he was to anoint, the youngest of the eight sons of Jesse. And David was only fifteen years old at that time.
However, if you look at the Scripture, it took many more years before David eventually became king. After Saul died a tragic death (1 Samuel 31:1-10), David was installed as king not long after, but only as the king of Judah (2 Samuel 2:1-4). He was thirty years old at that time, about fifteen years after prophet Samuel anointed him. Through those years, it was a time of preparation for David, and even a test of faith and patience for David.
Even then, this wasn't exactly the fulfillment of his God-given destiny, because he only became king of Judah, but not yet king of Israel. And the reason why David was not yet installed as king of Israel was Abner (commander of Saul's army, who was also a cousin of Saul). Abner knew God had designated David as the next king of Israel, and so did the people of Israel those days. But out of his own self-interest, he installed Ishbosheth (a son of Saul) as king of Israel instead! (2 Samuel 2:8-11) With that, Abner became the 'brain' behind Ishbosheth, who was merely a puppet-king. Abner then challenged the servants of David to a fight; and a long, exhausting war between the house of Israel and the house of Judah ensued (2 Samuel 2:12-17). But as years went by, the house of Judah (under David) grew stronger and stronger, whereas the house of Israel (under Ishbosheth, who was a 'puppet' of Abner) grew weaker and weaker (2 Samuel 3:1).
Very interestingly, through those years (when Abner stopped David from becoming king of Israel), David did not oppose and react against Abner who installed Ishbosheth as king of Israel. Why? Because he understood it is the Lord who holds one's destiny, not man. If it wasn't his time yet, then so be it! Furthermore, David had made a promise never to cut off Saul's descendants. Therefore, he would not (by any means) remove Ishbosheth as king of Israel, whether through subtle ways or by force.
As you can see here, David learned to wait on the Lord, and he chose to walk in God's ways (and timing), not man's ways (and timing). Some seven years later, things turned around when Abner was killed, and Ishbosheth too was killed (2 Samuel 3:27, 2 Samuel 4:5-7). David's time eventually came, and he reigned over all of Israel and Judah from then on (2 Samuel 5:1-5), ushering in what historians call as 'the golden age' of the united kingdom of Israel and Judah.
As David reminisced in his old age, he wrote Psalm 37. In verse 4 of that psalm, he wrote, 'Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart'; and in verse 23, he wrote, 'The steps of a good man are ordered (appointed, directed, established) by the Lord, and He delights in his way'.
The word 'delight' in verse 4 is 'awnag' in Hebrew, and in this context, it means 'to be soft (before the Lord), to be pliable (before the Lord), to be easily bended (before the Lord)'. The opposite of this word 'delight', by the way, is 'blame, a hardened heart'. Now, here's the secret to David fulfilling his God-given destiny: David had learned to be soft, pliable, and easily bended before the Lord!
Not only that, David had learned to be patient, instead of blaming and complaining! He chose to believe there's still justice on earth, because his God's not dead! He knew God would eventually turn the tables on the wicked, and true enough, God did! The truth is God had never forgotten what He had spoken about him through the prophet Samuel!
People of God, like David (whose name means 'beloved'), you too are God's beloved. Do not lose heart therefore if what God had spoken to you (about your destiny) seems so far-fetched at the moment. The truth is He hasn't forgotten you, and He hasn't forgotten His destiny and 'appointments' for you on earth. Never mind if things look impossible at the moment. Never mind if you think you have recently missed your opportunity. Look to Him, and return to His ways. Trust in His perfect wisdom and timing for your life! And just as happened to David, God will know how to turn things around for you too, even in ways you cannot imagine yet. Your waiting time will soon be over. In His time, He will make all things beautiful. Amen!
