Jesus constantly surprised people, was always doing and saying things that people didn’t expect. Because the idea of a Messiah had been ingrained in them for centuries, the Jewish concept of what He should be and do was pretty fixed. Perhaps the most significant way in which Jesus went against the grain of their expectations was His love for humility – it evidenced itself in His personal character as well as in what He looked for in His followers.

Which is why He took such delight that God was revealing Himself to the simple and hiding Himself from the arrogant. Those with proud hearts, especially religious pride, found themselves blinded to the truth of Jesus’ person, Jesus’ power, and Jesus’ teaching. But those who come with trusting, open hearts of children receive the treasures of heaven.

Prayer: God, let this quality of simple trust and childlike faith define my heart and open my eyes to all that You are today.

God does not usually just catapult you into the fullness of your destiny. Generally, He equips you little by little, increases your faith by incremental stages, so that you are eventually qualified to step fully into your calling. In the midst of this process, it is easy to get discouraged with the smallness of your labors.

Zerubbabel knew this feeling all too well. As governor of the Israelite colony returning from captivity to reclaim their homeland, the process had been painfully slow. The foundation of the Temple had lain barren for two decades, mocking his destiny. God said, “Don’t give up. Don’t despise small beginnings. Your destiny still awaits you!” And this is your charge as well – don’t quit. Don’t look down on unimpressive beginnings, but trust God for your full destiny.

Prayer: I will trust You with the “small beginnings” of my life, God. You are big enough to finish what you have started in my life.

Jesus came to reveal the Father – the love of the Father, the intent of the Kingdom, and the culture of heaven. He modeled the Christian life. In fact, Jesus is the only real Christian who has ever lived. But He invites you into His life, into the reality He lived in. You, too, can know the Father, live in the Father’s will, and move redemptively in the earth. Generally speaking, this is the destiny of every Christ-follower.

So, if you want to do the things that Jesus did, you’ll need to do it the way Jesus did it. And this is His intention. At the root of all He did lay this fundamental reality: Jesus didn’t make His own autonomous decisions. He watched what the Father was doing. He listened to the voice of the Spirit. This heavenly communion will release your destiny, too.

Prayer: Tune me in, God! I set my heart to say that You’re saying and do what You’re doing. You hold my destiny.

This is the “sun” around which your destiny orbits -  being convinced that God knows what He’s doing! If that conviction ever gets lost, your destiny spins off into oblivion like a lost satellite. But this truth has a way of anchoring your heart and exerting a gravitational pull that keeps your God-given future in motion.

He has it all planned out – your abilities, your spouse, your work, your ministry, your passions, your relationships. These things are carefully kept in His heart for you; they cannot be lost or stolen unless you give up on them. There is no mistake that He cannot redeem and restore.

God, and His plans for you, is the entire basis of hope for the future. He has it all planned out, and He’ll never quit leading you into your destiny.

Prayer: Thanks for not abandoning me, God. I’m so glad that You’ve got my future all figured out, because I could never figure it out myself.

If anything lies at the center of God’s heart, it’s His redemptive nature. He is a restorer, a rebuilder, a renewer of broken dreams and broken lives. If paradise had not been lost and there was no potent spiritual foe, this facet of God’s nature would not be seen. Of course, as it is, there is every present opportunity to observe and experience the redemption of God.

It’s this certainty of God’s nature that equips you with the confidence that God is taking every circumstance you encouter – the good, the bad, and the ugly – and transforming it into an unstoppable force for good in your life. Wow! Is that incredible or what?

God’s Spirit really does know you better than you know yourself. He knows that you are expectant with destiny. And so He keeps you centered in the goodness of God.

Prayer: God, I know that not all my circumstances are good. But I also know that You can, and will, release good things in my life through them.

People who grow up with old money are shaped in their identity by the consistent presence of privilege in their lives. Frequently, they innately believe they can truly do anything, and they have the means to accomplish it. It’s not a bad picture of the spiritual reality behind your Kingdom inheritance.

You have some seriously old “money” in your account: It’s who God says you are, what He envisions for your destiny, and the sum of His resources to enable you to accomplish it. When God talks about your inheritance, it would be prudent to show as much interest as you might have in a large natural inheritance. It will change your life!

Those who understand the limitless resources of their inheritance don’t place arbitrary boundaries upon their destiny: “Oh, I could never do that.” With God backing the operation, you can be and do everything God intends!

Prayer: I accept Your good intentions for my life, God. I won’t limit my destiny by small thinking but trust You for my future.

Vision is a powerful force in the life of a man or a woman of destiny. Vision directs, vision focuses, and vision restrains.

Vision is not mystical; it is simply a desired future. God’s desired future for you. It is the ability to look ahead with spiritual sight and see who you will be and see some of what you will do to participate in God’s kingdom plan for planet earth. When this vision is kept front and center, it restrains you from getting involved in activities that would be contrary to that vision or hinder it in any way.

The person with vision has a measuring tool to evaluate every opportunity – does it or does it not advance the cause of Christ in my life and move me toward my destiny? This dynamic effectively shapes men and women to live purposefully for God’s purpose and plan.

Prayer: Shape me, God. Give me Your vision for my life so that I can be directed, focused, and restrained to be who I’m meant to be.

Do you believe God has a destiny for you? Does that seem far-fetched? Wishful thinking? Well, believe it. It is true.

Every woman or man of God is born into purpose. Your purpose existed in the mind of God long before your parents came together to create you. And that purpose is reflected in the unique blend of strengths and weaknesses, of spiritual gifts and natural abilities that you now possess.

The apostle Paul looked back hundreds of years to comment on the life of King David and set all of David’s failures and successes, his trials and his triumphs, into one snapshot of meaning: He fulfilled his destiny! God had a specific purpose for David’s life that reflected God’s larger purpose for that generation. And despite significant mistakes, David held true to his purpose. How is yours coming along?

Prayer: God, make my destiny clear so that I can own it and stay true to it, whatever the obstacles. I want to be tunnel-visioned!

Joseph…the boy of great dreams…the boy of his father’s favor…the boy sold into slavery who watched his destiny shrivel before his eyes. He didn’t forget who he was either.

Joseph maintained his integrity even while life handed him blow after unjust blow. Miraculously, he did not become bitter but rather used every adversity as an opportunity to adapt and grow and shine with his own inner light. As a household slave, he rose to the top; in prison, he rose to a position of authority; and finally, he obtained the favor of Pharoah himself and rose to the number two position in the land.

You can be relevant in your world, no matter whether you find yourself in a “prison” of oppressive circumstances or in the “royalty” of ideal circumstances. Adapt to cultural shifts but retain the integrity of your identity in Christ.

Prayer: God, I will allow any circumstance to define me. I know who I am and, with Your grace, I will be relevant in any situation.

Esther did not forget who she was – a Hebrew God-worshiper in the courts of a pagan king. But, as they say, timing is everything. And Esther’s timing was beautiful as she waited for the perfect moment to reveal herself to the king.

And that’s not all. In order to be “relevant” to her audience (the king), Queen Esther learned from the culture she was in, not in a way that compromised her intergrity, but for the purpose of making effective connections for God’s purpose. Through the king’s aide, she wisely studied the values of this foreign environment in order to make herself presentable.

Once she obtained favor, Esther was able to be a spokesperson for the intentions of God and make a way for His miraculous intervention. All because she didn’t forget who she was!

Prayer: God, with Your help I will always remember who I am – a son or daughter of the King – and live true to that calling.