Destined for Greatness

Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Luke 2:34-35 (NIV) 

God had a destiny for Jesus to fulfill. A destiny is something that is  beyond human power or control. If God had a destiny for Jesus (when he would be born, where he’d be born, what impact his life would have), then God also has a destiny for our lives (I John 3:1).

In verses 34-35, we see that Jesus life was to be a sign that awakened and pointed men’s hearts to God.

We are prone to judge success by the index of our salaries or the size of our automobiles rather than by the quality of our service and relationship to mankind.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Great Courage

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,

Luke 1:29-33 (NIV)

God’s promise to Mary was that her son, Jesus, would be great. We can often feel troubled and fearful when God calls us to do something great because what God calls us to do seems far beyond our current ability and requires us to have faith.

Fear led Zechariah into unbelief and sin in Luke 1:20. God has something great he wants to do with our lives. He knows our true potential and will help us reach it.  What do we have to do to respond?

Great Trust

And blessed (happy, to be envied) is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of the things that were spoken to her from the Lord.

Luke 1:45 (AMP)

When we believe God has a great destiny for our lives then it will lead to joy because we know that whatever we go through will serve to better equip us to fulfill God’s promise for our lives.

• Happy in trials of sin, fear, and hurt (James 1:3-6)
• Happy for others success (John 13:34-35, John 17:23)
• Happy being a light for others (John 15:8)

For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.

Luke 1:37 (AMP)

Faith in God’s words empowers us to do the impossible. Faith empowers us to fulfill God’s destiny for our lives and have great impact the lives of others.