Birthing the Purposes of God

I have been focusing on writing a new book called Discovering Your Destiny. The manuscript is coming along quite nicely and I find myself in a great flow of writing. As I work on the manuscript, I will share snippets from time to time here on my blog.

Below is an excerpt from one of the chapters:

One of the ways to look at the process of fulfilling your destiny—or in some cases, facets of your destiny—is to compare it to the progression of giving birth. God will partner with us to birth His purposes in the earth. Mary experienced this quite literally as she was chosen to birth God’s Son into the world. When she said yes to God’s call, she risked her reputation and future relationship with Joseph. In fact, Joseph was planning to leave her until God spoke to him in a dream. In the dream, he was reassured that “that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20).

Before Jesus could be born into the world, He had to be carried in Mary’s womb. And before He could be carried He had to be conceived. This sequence is similar to how God births His purposes through our lives.

As we grow in relationship with God and interact with the Holy Spirit, things are conceived in us. It is inevitable that as we get to know God and have encounters with Him, seeds will be planted in our hearts of purposes that He wants to see accomplished. It might be a calling to a particular nation, an idea to write a book, a business plan, or a ministry to launch. Just like Mary, that which is conceived in us is of the Holy Spirit.

But when something is conceived, it is not time for it to be birthed yet. Now it must be carried inside of us. During this time, God’s purpose is growing in us, just as Jesus grew in Mary’s womb. Though not visible to the outside world, the seed of destiny that was planted begins to develop and grow.

God works inside of us before He works outside of us. Mary couldn’t bring forth the Son of God into the world until He was first formed inside of her. In the same way, we can’t produce externally what we don’t possess internally. God wants His purpose to “become flesh” in us before it is brought into the world.

Just as a baby needs to be at the right stage of development before being birthed into the world, there is a right time for the purpose of God to be birthed through our lives. When a woman goes into labor, there is no stopping the process. I remember well when my daughter was born. I was just closing my eyes to go to sleep at midnight, after a very long day. As I was drifting off, my wife startled me awake with news that her water had broken. There was no holding off until morning! In the same way, when God’s appointed time of fulfillment comes, things will begin to rapidly take place to bring to birth what has been conceived.

As we seek to walk out our destiny, it is important to keep in step with God’s timing. One of the greatest temptations is to try to rush the process and get ahead of His appointed time. But God is not in a hurry and His timing is best. Submit to His process and let Him lead the way forward!

Stay tuned for more updates about Discovering Your Destiny coming soon!