Your destiny is greater than your disaster

Several years ago, I heard a Florida pastor tell a congregation this message: Your destiny is greater than your disaster.

That statement has never been more true than today, but you can reference plenty of biblical examples to remind you that God uses ordinary men and women for extraordinary times.

Whether you look at characters like Jonah, David or Job or you dig deeper to read about Joseph’s years in slavery or Moses’ insecurities or Gideon’s hiding out, you’ll see that destiny wins out over disaster, calamity and failure.

Where are you in life today? Are you in a season of lull or an era of no harvest or do you feel as though you’re in a repetitive cycle of time outs?

Remember: Your destiny is greater than your disaster.

Do you think God has forgotten you or that your miracle isn’t coming? Have you given up on the breakthrough, or you’ve stopped praying and believing? Read Daniel 10? No, seriously, stop now and read the whole chapter.

All too often, we become buried in our situation and don’t see the way out and can’t see the coming rescue. And, all that time, God is working in the heavenlies on our behalf to prepare the escape that will lead to our destiny.

Your destiny is greater than your disaster.

Don’t stop believing if you’ve asked God for something and it hasn’t come to pass. Don’t give up, just shake your head and throw in the towel. Don’t stop doing the things that will nurture and cultivate that dream, hope or prayer. Remember: God is working in the heavenlies on your behalf. Sometimes, your answer will come in the 11th hour.

Consider the lesson of the Chinese bamboo tree as a source of encouragement. When you plant the Chinese bamboo, nothing happens (or so it seems) for four years! No sign of life. No indication of growth. No leaves, no spouts. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. For four years, you have no idea whether the seed you planted will actually come to fruition. For four years, you wait, water, hope, believe…and wait.

Then, in year five, boom, there it is! Suddenly, it shoots through the ground and can grow as high as 90 feet in six weeks!

If Noah had given up, or Job had quit, or Joseph had said “to heck with it”, we wouldn’t have some of the most significant examples for our lives. If McArthur had thrown in the towel or JFK decided the Cuban Missile Crisis wasn’t worth the effort, we would live in a completely different world.

So what would change if you don’t give up today? What lives could you affect if you keep walking through the valley? It’s not over, the best is yet to come.

In his great song It’s Not Over, Israel Houghton writes: “It’s not over, it’s not finished. It’s only the beginning when God is in it.” So it doesn’t matter how old you are or how many times you’ve been around the mountain, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Get up and get moving! No matter where you are in your journey, tomorrow the sun will shine brighter, and the roses will be more spectacular. The best is yet to come!

Your destiny lies ahead. And, it’s greater than any disaster you have experienced or are experiencing today.