Cooperate With Destiny
Individuals have destinies (Jer 10:23, TEV; Ps 75:7, BV; Ps 139:16, CEV). This is also true of larger groups such as generations and nations (Acts 17:26, AB-1st ed). We do not choose our destiny. The Lord determines it. We can cooperate with His plan for our life or we can reject it then fulfill it involuntarily, so to speak. As Thomas Fuller put it, “Destiny leads the willing but drags the unwilling.” This is consistent with passages like Eph 1:11 (GW) and Prov 16:9. “All things are ordered by God, but his providence takes in our free agency, as well as his own sovereignty” (Tryon Edwards).
We should act vigorously to fulfill His plan (Phil 2:12). Living in this present evil age, with minds that need to be renewed to truth (Eph 4:23-24), it is impossible to know precisely how free will and destiny fit together. However, perhaps there is a hint in the Lord’s Prayer where we are to pray that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. His will there is done consciously and joyfully. That is frequently not the case now on earth.
May we be willing to seek to know His will and do the very next thing He asks of us. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Set yourself earnestly to discover what you are made to do, and then give yourself passionately to the doing of it” (Martin Luther King, Jr.). May we do His will with passion, gratitude, and delight. This will enable us to be optimistic and energetic and to gladly run the race He has for us.
Instead of being timid, learn to be appropriately bold.