By Pastor Colin Ruddock
Are you living right now with your destiny in mind? Are you thinking where will my destiny be? Are you thinking where do I go when I die?
When you enter your destination into the sat nav, you know where your meant to end up, you even know pretty much what time you should arrive. Technology is amazing, back in the day we had to stop and ask along the way, write down landmarks, and get maps out. Turn left at the White Lion! We had no idea what time we would arrive. 😁
The times we are in, can dictate our future if we don't decide for ourselves where we want to be in 5, 10, or 20 years.
There is something you have to do, to gain any result about anything in life, and that is to prepare. Preparation is paramount for the success and the outcome we want with anything we set out to do. The things I didn't prepare and fell into, left me anxious, uncomfortable, and worried, as there was no preparation.
Sitting an exam calls for revision (preparation). If you sit in an exam and you haven't revised, then all of a sudden you start to sweat, and wish you had!
The old testament prophets were called by God to prepare us for what was to come. The biggest prophecy was given by the prophets who foretold the coming of Jesus Christ.
In one sense, all the Old Testament prophets were voices, crying in the wilderness. Each one was a mouthpiece of God, who were calling-out a message of repentance and hope, in a desert place - in order to clear the way for the Lord, and to straighten the highway for the God of Israel.
Isaiah the prophet spoke,
"A voice of one calling: In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord ; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 40:3-5 NIV
When you look at where we are today, there has never been a better time to understand the need to prepare for the future. The challenge we all have is that there is so much uncertainty, how do you prepare? Its OK planning and preparing for a holiday, its a different matter when your preparing for your future.
The season we are in calls for us to reset, in resetting we can think forwards. To not reset, I believe will bring you into a place of unfruitfulness, ineffectiveness, and fear. I tell you why I say this. We are in a new season that no-one has been in before. We can't continue doing the same thing and expect a different result.
Your future and your destiny is dependent on the decisions you make.
Every child of God should be preparing for the return of Jesus Christ. The believer can't fall into the trap of... Jesus hasnt turned up yet , so I will do the bear minimum. The unbeliever can not afford to not accept Jesus into their heart and thus not prepare for His return.
Listen, He is either coming back whilst your alive, or when your dead, those are the two realities.
We must first recognise that he is coming back. Then we must be prayerful and applying the word. And finally, we must surround ourselves with those that are constantly working towards His return.
There is no better time than now to prepare your mind, your heart for your destiny. Put your future in the hands of Jesus.
Pastor Colin is the Senior Minister of Victory Outreach Birmingham.
