“Then Jesus got into the boat and His disciples followed Him.” Matthew 8:23 NIV.
Destiny moments are times when you are offered choices that shape your life.
My thoughts and comments today are about “destiny moments.”
Every day is filled with opportunities. Some you take and wish you hadn’t; some you overlook and wish you had not. Many of those will not make much difference in the overall scheme of your life. Destiny moments are times when you are offered choices that shape your life. There are not a lot of those, but there are moments that have the power to reach into your future.
Jesus often presented destiny moments to people. Stopping along a seashore, Jesus invited fishermen, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19 NKJV. Beside Bethesda’s pool, Jesus asked a man suffering a lifetime of pain and helplessness, “Would you like to be whole?” Instructing ten lepers, Jesus said, “Go, show yourself to the priest.” Those were moments of destiny, shaping their lives and futures forever. God has such moments for you.
Others missed destiny moments, and many who do so yet today. A rich, young Ruler asked Jesus how he might inherit eternal life, but found the requirement more than he was willing to do. Read Mark 10:17-31. “At Jesus’ words, his face fell, and he went away grieved.” Vs. 22.
Matthew reports another occasion when Jesus invited two men, “Come; follow Me.” See Matthew 8:18-23. Both wanted to do so, even asked to do so. Yet when the opportunity was offered to them, they each had something else they needed to do first. Afterwards, they would follow Jesus. “Later” likely never came for those two. Their own agenda caused them to miss their destiny moment, the opportunity of a lifetime. Jesus said then and now, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33. Not all opportunities offer second chances.
The first year I pastored, a talented, naturally charismatic young man and friend of mine felt called to ministry, as well as evidencing exceptional gifts. However, his business soon became more successful than he anticipated, and he temporarily set aside thoughts of ministry. Success and significant wealth followed, and until his death he never found “the right time” for ministry. Possibly, procrastination shifted the direction of his life and cost his destiny moment.
My friend, Campbell, once said a few words that still measure my devotion, “I want to lean on Jesus so completely that if He moved and I wasn’t looking, I would fall flat on my face.” Matthew, a disciple of Jesus, wrote a simple phrase that intrigues me, “Then Jesus got into the boat and His disciples followed Him.” Matthew 8:23 NIV. That’s what a disciple does. They follow; not living life as they wish, but closely following Jesus – going where He goes and doing what He directs. Jesus said, “Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am, My servant also will be.” John 12:25-26 NIV/See Luke 9:23-25 NKJV.
Today, Jesus may be saying to you, “Come follow Me.” The secret of any destiny moment is simply following Jesus, always, in all ways. The longer and more closely you follow Jesus, the more opportunities you have, and the fewer you miss. Who sets the direction and pace of your life? If not Jesus, you likely are not following Him as you must.
My prayer for you today is: keep your eyes on Jesus and your heart safely in His hands.