This morning I am bleary-eyed. I stayed up late last night to watch the climax of the opening ceremony of the paralympic games as the torch was brought into the stadium by an athlete screeching down a zip-wire into the cauldron of the arena. One of the aspects that moved me the most was the interviews with athletes while the scenery was changed behind them. They spoke of a sense of privilege and pride in competing and in particular they have a sense of destiny. Competing in these games was their reason for being alive at that moment.
By the time you read this the games will probably be over but their sense of destiny will still be alive. As a Christian I too have a deep sense of destiny. My life (and yours) is not a mere random accident of cause and effect: it was the deliberate and conscious choice of a loving and generous God to bring you into this world. Even though your life may have had its unfair share of sadness or pain, still God’s love extends towards you and his desire is to see you thrive, whatever life may throw at you. Just like some of these courageous athletes.
One man in the Bible impresses me in this regard. The prophet Isaiah had a stunning experience of seeing God in heaven and hearing his voice commission him to go and communicate His word. If I had been granted such an audience with the Lord I think I’d shout about it from the rooftops. I’d make sure my testimony was heard loud and clear in churches and at the most influential conferences.
But wait. Isaiah’s call to preach was only half the story. God added a caveat that few of us would want to hear. “You’ll preach” said God “but nobody will listen because their hearts are too hard.” (You can read about it in Isaiah chapter 6). While being ignored is an occupational hazard for all preachers, this was completely different. Isaiah’s name carries the idea of “God saves” or “God is salvation” so when Isaiah preached God’s message was “If you follow me, I will rescue you, lift you from your despair and give you hope” (just look at Isaiah 61:1-5 to hear this). But in his day only a tiny fraction of people heard him and took God’s message to heart.
When I read about persevering men like Isaiah or watch extraordinary paralympic athletes compete in the games it makes me want to be the man God made me to be – whatever life may throw in my direction. I believe that God has a destiny for each of us that will bring joy to his heart and to ours – and that never ends until we see him face to face.
So in this Olympic year why not make it your aim to understand your destiny clearly and know the Lord personally.
God bless you
Ian
