Destiny Demands Diligence

[itua70]

Main Texts: Judges 13:1-18, Rom 8:28-30
“For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no
razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be
a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to
deliver Israel out of the hand of the
Philistines.”(Judg 13:5)

Destiny defined: State or condition appointed or
predetermined. It also means a fixed order of things
established by a divine decree. In other words,
destiny can never be changed!
Diligence defined: Steady in application to business;
constant effort to accomplish what is undertaken;
exertion of body and mind without unnecessary delay or
sloth. It also means due attention, industry and
attentiveness.

Now if you marry the aforementioned definitions and
scripture together, you will come to the understanding
that God is totally and actively involved in your
deliverance; in fulfilling you because He sat down and
formulated your destiny and He is watching over it to
see that it comes to pass. However, that does not mean
you do not have a part to play—it takes diligence in
work to fulfill your destiny. You cannot fulfill your
destiny on a theory; it takes work. All things work
together for the good of them that love the Lord, to
those who have been called according to His purpose.
According to Romans 8:28-30, the process is this: God
predetermined what will happen; He then went to the
conclusion of the matter. Then He began in the
beginning—He called the person to fulfill what He has
predetermined. Every man has a destiny to fulfill.
When God predetermined that destiny, then He called.

You cannot dream yourself into what you could be, no
matter how accurate your dreams are. Dreams always
come into manifestation through diligent application
of business principles—you cannot dream yourself into
greatness; you have to work. A belief is worthless
unless it is converted into action! One of the reasons
we do not see manifestation of God’s Word is lack of
prophetic responsibility. When the word is spoken is
when work begins—you have to diligently work by the
divine direction of the prophecy. Your belief remains
a simple fantasy until it is converted into
action—wishing has never made a poor man wealthy. Many
children of God are languishing in lack and poverty
because they have refused to be diligent in business.
“…A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding
of the hands to rest; so shall your poverty come like
a prowler and your need like an armed man...” (Pro
24:30-34).

You have a destiny in God, and it is your
responsibility to locate it, and be diligent in
ensuring that you fulfill it. God has predestined some
things for you, but you have the responsibility to
manifest and anchor them. None of the secrets of
success will work unless you work (Psa 1:1-3). God
does not make apple juice; He only makes apples; it is
through diligence in work that apple juice is made. In
other words, there is no destiny fulfillment without
work “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of
it spring the issues of life.” (Pro 4:23, 2 Pet 1:10).


7 characteristics of a diligent man

A diligent man is a rich man (Pro 10:4).
A diligent man rules (Pro 12:24).
A diligent man possesses precious possessions
(Pro 13:4).
A diligent man is creative in his thinking
A diligent man tends to abundance. There are no
hopeless situations; there are only those who think
hopelessly (Pro 31:5).
A diligent man is a man of high class (Pro 22:29).
The Lord rewards the diligent (Heb 11:6).
A diligent man is a man of honour

Show me a man who fulfills destiny, and I will show
you a man of diligence, discipline and discretion; a
man who is dynamic, a man of distinction. God makes
apples; He does not make apple juice. It takes work to
fulfill destiny. He who does not work, let him not
eat.

 

[Dreamer]

I find this article very helpful. Thankyou, itua. Our dreams, if God has given them to us, will not become reality unless we take the steps God puts there for us... and WORK. Just sitting by idly and thinking about dreams does not make them come true.

Oprah Winfrey has been spreading some strange new gospel about thinking postively and that all your dreams will just come to you like magnets. This is ungodly advice. It's from a book called "Secrets", or something like that.

Thank you so much for posting this; I think every man and woman should read it and apply these truths to their lives as by God.

Praise Him!

 

[Faithful Son]

I think we really need to step back and note what Jesus said. I'm just starting to speak from the standpoint that is mentioned in this post.

It says:

A diligent man possesses precious possessions
(Pro 13:4).

That's not what my Bible says:

Proverbs 13:4
4 The sluggard craves and gets nothing,
but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

It further says:

Proverbs 13:7
7 One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing;
another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.
Proverbs 13:8
A man's riches may ransom his life, but a poor man hears no threat.
Proverbs 14:20
The poor are shunned even by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends.
Proverbs 18:23
A poor man pleads for mercy, but a rich man answers harshly
Proverbs 28:6
Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a rich man whose ways are perverse.
Proverbs 28:11
A rich man may be wise in his own eyes, but a poor man who has discernment sees through him.
Proverbs 28:20
A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.
Proverbs 28:22
A stingy man is eager to get rich and is unaware that poverty awaits him.

And Jesus said:

Matthew 19
The Rich Young Man
16Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"

17"Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."

18"Which ones?" the man inquired.

Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'"

20"All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"

21Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

22When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

23Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?"

26Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

27Peter answered him, "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?"

28Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

I would rather be poor.

God bless
Much love
teraside

 

[Dreamer]

Yes, being rich has nothing to do with being Christ-like. I'm glad you saw that and pointed it out with Scripture, teraside.

My attention was caught by the scritures about working hard, but I failed to notice the point brought forward about possessions.

Jesus had very few possessions. It seems he had only a few pair of clothes (maybe even just one robe) and a pair of sandals.

Job had lots and lots of possessions. But they were all taken away one day; and even his children. God decided to bless him once more in the end; but that was God's decision, not Job's.

 

[Faithful Son]

1 Timothy 6:17
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

Revelation 3:17
You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

I think material wealth and riches the Bible mentions, or rather, when the Bible uses the words rich and wealth, we have to read in context and make sure what it says. Being wealthy, having wealth or being rich in God is on the inside, it's what our spirits have, but material wealth is nothing.

Even Jesus will have wealth, the wealth will be His flock, the sheep that are waiting for Him.

Revelation 5:12
In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"

My wealth in my life is in my day's, I have wealth in the fact that God blessed me with a good day, like I mentioned before I forget the past, I never really think about it, I don't think about tomorrow either.

It's mentioned in the Bible, brother Paul or Timothy also had this gift from God.

Philippians 3:12-14
12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.