You Are Called to Choose Destiny by JoAnn McFatter

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations."—Jeremiah 1:4-5

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.—Psalm 139:16

As with Jeremiah and David whose call came before entering into their mother's womb, so it is with every man and woman born. However, through the provision of free will, God has left it to each one's choosing as to whether or not that call will be lived out. Jesus said it Himself:
For many are called, but few are chosen.—Matthew 22:14

The choosing comes by the decisions we make along the way as to whether or not we are able to be a resting place for the fullness of His glory. He will not put on us that which we are not prepared to carry, lest it destroy us. Destiny calls each one of us, and it is the exercising of our free will that determines the outcome of that calling. As our hearts continually respond to the voice of our Creator, "I choose You! Above all else, I choose You!" we navigate our way through our destiny.

Our Destiny is Not the End Product, But Rather the Journey to that End
He is our origin and He is our destiny. We were in Him before the world began and we return to reside in Him, and are even now residing, as we partake of His grace by way of accepting and receiving the benefit of the shedding of His Blood.

It is the journey from here to there as we "run the race" that plays out the days written in His book ordained for each one of us. It happens one day at a time, one decision at a time to choose Him above all else. In this living out of our lives, turning toward Him at every juncture and, once again, consciously making a decision to "choose Him," we find ourselves in the middle of our destiny, for it will only be found in Him.

And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, "For we are also His offspring."—Acts 17:26-28

In our western mindset we have made our destiny to be an end to a means, a job or a title that we attain to. It is a form that we desire to create for ourselves, a position to be held such as a singer, a pastor, or perhaps a banker. I'm not sure that is what God had in mind at all. For many of us it might just be the reason that our destiny seems to elude us as the years wear away on our hopes of stepping into what we perceive as our destiny. We try to create a form within which we will function. Form first, and then function comes as a result of our Greek reasoning that has so enamored our culture.

Our true destiny is hidden in the function of "living out" the days He fashioned for us, not a title or job description. It's not about being a prophet but rather the process of learning how to hear His voice and prophecy in love with the heart of the Father. In that functioning as a prophet we truly find our destiny, which is to become like Him. It's the same for every job and/or ministry title you can come up with. Though we all have different days written out for us in His book, still the process of learning how to function in it is the walking out of our destiny—to be like Him, to be one with Him.

Our destiny is not the end product but rather "the journey" to that end—our days lived out as God Himself has written them in His book. Our life lived in Him day by day is our true destiny as we become more like Him; the form in which that takes place, whether it be, as I said, as a teacher, evangelist, or a baker is secondary to the function of walking out that process. I'm afraid we lose the joy of that journey because we are waiting to attain a position or name or whatever. It's the days that we have lived up to this point with all of the mistakes and all of the failures and even successes that make up our destiny.

Destiny is a Verb—Destiny is a Person
I believe we get misled by regarding destiny as a noun, when, in God, it really is as much a verb as it is a noun. It is probably even more accurate to say it is a Person—the process of becoming one with the personhood of Jesus Christ. Regardless of the job, the process is the same. The functioning of our calling and the process that brings us to maturity concerning it is our real destiny. It is the same for all of us.

So we are exhorted to "not despise the day of small beginnings" and to "count it all joy" as we maneuver through life, through the good, the bad and the ugly, through the gory and the glory of it all. Whether you are aware of it or not, you are IN your destiny right now. All of our days are the summation of who we become in Him. The ones lived out behind the scenes are just as, if not more, important than the ones in front of people in that perceived place of successfully functioning in our calling. I find that very encouraging, knowing that this is ALL working toward the fulfillment of our destiny.

It's about the choices we make in those days of disappointment, heartache and being betrayed that bring us to the place of love and unity with God. We can choose to feel sorry for ourselves, or to complain about where we are at and how long we are there, or the seemingly bad break, which actually probably kept us from going through a door that would have led us in the wrong direction. Our other option is to look into His eyes and say, "I choose You! Whatever that looks like and however long that takes, above self and all else, I choose You!"

It is also about how we handle promotion, favor and prosperity. The point is not that we receive those things, it is about how we rule and reign in that position. Do we take advantage of it for ourselves or do we use it to pour out on others? Do we use our favor to strengthen and lift others in their calling, even above ourselves? In the midst of all the advantage it affords us, is there still an automatic cry that comes from within, "Lord, I choose You! You are my portion, You are my destiny!"? Song of Solomon says it well:

Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is as strong as death, jealousy as cruel as the grave; its flames are flames of fire, a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly despised.—Song Of Solomon 8:6-7

He Is Our Destiny!
The questions asked when we pass from this life are more like, "Do we look like Him?" "Did we learn to love?" "Did we die daily to ourselves so that it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me?" Our true destiny is IN Him, to become like Him, regardless of our calling. That puts us all on the same level before Him no matter what our job description or calling is. As the Bride of Christ we are to take on the very nature of our Bridegroom and move through life as He did. To look like Him, to act like Him, to respond like Him, to be one in Him is our destiny, regardless of the form. He IS our Destiny!
...that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in Heaven and which are on the earth—in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.—Ephesians 1:10-11

As we approach this "fullness of the times" there is a gathering together of those who function with this understanding. We are to be those who love as He loves, to the extent that we become walking love and would be willing to lay down our very lives, preferring others before ourselves. That is our destiny in this hour. Regardless of what form our life takes, the purpose is to function in that kind of selfless love as we become one with Him in His likeness. That level of maturity, death to self, will draw His Presence.

We are called to be the Bride of Christ, fully functioning in our Destiny as we live, move, and have our being in Him. It is only out of this place that He can trust us with the never before seen authority and creative word that is about to be released through those with the cry of, "We choose You! Above all others and all else, we choose You!" We have walked out our destiny as we have made Him and Him alone our boundaries and borders, a city whose walls are made of His fire; His jealousy, His authority, His very presence upon us as we become His resting place.

"For I", says the Lord, "will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst."—Zechariah 2:5

JoAnn McFatter
Email: contact@joannmcfatter.com