Nick Poole

Destiny is such an interesting topic.  Some would argue that our destiny (God) controls our lives and we really don’t have any control over what happens.  In Christian terms, this would be referred to as Calvinism.  As easing as it can be to be released of all responsibility, I don’t really believe that’s correct, or really even biblical.  Telling people God is simply a being pulling strings from a distance is like saying, “I want you to run this marathon, but it doesn’t really matter how hard you try, the winner’s already been chosen.  But you need to try hard.”  No one would actually try hard in that type of situation.  This belief really comes from an extreme interpretation of a couple passages in scripture, but that’s a topic for another day.

Another view of fate is that we have complete control over our destiny.  Whatever happens to us in life is completely dependent upon the choices we make.  Once again in Christian terms, this is known as Arminianism.  This is improper as well.  In this approach, God is seen as a distant being that created us and now has stepped back to ‘let the chips fall as they may.’  I think God is a little too interested in His creation to simply let everything just happen.
The problem I see with these two views of destiny is that both eliminate the holy partnership between a righteous, loving God and His prized creation, humanity.  While I’ve heard many convincing arguments from both sides, ultimately we can’t accomplish anything of value apart from God (God’s choice).  But God in His gracious love has chosen to use us as His instruments.  And He won’t work through us until we allow Him to (our choice).  Where does that leave us then?  To answer that, I’ll leave you with a quote I once heard, which is a great formula for walking into your destiny:

“Pray like everything depends upon God.  Work like everything depends upon me.”