Monthly Archives: November 2023

Keys to Destiny

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INTIMACY WITH JESUS, THE FATHER, THE SPIRIT

Men and women of lasting significance know their Maker, seek His wisdom, and bow to His government. King David penned the glorious truth of ultimate fulfillment in Psalm 16:5: “Yahweh, You alone are my prize, my pleasure, and my portion. You hold my destiny and its timing in your hands.” Indeed, the Father said of David, the one called to be the shepherd of Israel and the very picture of the Great Shepherd of Israel and the grafted in Gentiles—the King of kings to come, “I have found …a man who always pursues My heart and will accomplish all that I have destined him to do.” (Acts 13:22 TPT)

King David’s heart for God is to be ours in terms of what comprises our chief pursuit. He wrote,

“The one thing I seek above all else: I want to live with Him every moment in His house, (c) beholding the marvelous beauty (d) of Yahweh, filled with awe, delighting in His glory and grace. I want to contemplate (e) in His temple….I heard Your voice in my heart say, ‘Come, seek My face;’ my inner being responded, ‘Yahweh, I’m seeking Your face with all my heart.” (Psalm 27:4, 8 TPT)

(c) A temple had not yet been built when David wrote this psalm. He was saying that he longs to be surrounded with God’s presence, enclosed and encircled with holiness.

(d) The meaning of the Hebrew word for “beauty” (no’am) is not easily conveyed by one English word. It can also be translated “sweetness,” “pleasantness,” “friendliness,” “graciousness,” “goodness,” “loveliness,” “splendor,” or “delightfulness.” Take each of these terms and read the verse again, inserting the possible alternatives. We must be captured by the awesomeness of God each time we come before Him and rejoice in His friendship. 

(e) The Hebrew verb baqar can also mean “inquire,” “meditate,” “take pleasure in,” and in a general sense, “worship,” “pray,” or “seek [guidance].” However, baqar comes from a root word that means “to arise at dawn.” Perhaps David was saying that he would arise every dawn to take pleasure in God.

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God’s Boundary Lines and Bliss

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From the beginning in the garden of Eden (and the word Eden means a paradise of unbroken fellowship and rich pleasure as this garden was God’s heart for man and woman), the subtle and crafty enemy of humankind challenged the truth of God’s communication to His offspring, Adam and Eve. Satan suggested, “Hath God said?” with the intent of challenging the goodness or blessedness of His Lordship in forbidding partaking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil with its deception of a life of independence from the Creator. As we know, Adam and Eve bought the lie about God and cut themselves off from the tree of life. 

Fast forward to our day, and we have the Holy Bible, God’s Covenant Book, again telling us of the way God has given to return to Him as our source of His satisfying eternal life. Jesus Christ once received as Savior and Lord is pure fulfillment to the human heart. John 14:6 records the Redeemer’s words, “I am ·the way, and the truth, and the life [orthe one true way to have life]. ·The only way to the Father is through me [No one comes to the Father except through me].” (EXB) And John 10:10 sets before us the reality about life in God vs. the death the enemy prowls around to bring. Jesus’ wake up call here is, “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).” (AMPC)

The essential thing is to let the Person of Jesus be our very life—our feed. And, the way we feed on Jesus is through taking in His Word and spending time before Him drawing ever closer to His heart. We talk with Him and sit at His feet and listen. [We go within where He resides in our spirits by way of the new birth John 3; we are one with Him there, 1 Corinthians 6:17 reveals. His kingdom is inside us, John 17:21 states.] And we then partner with Him in becoming His yielded instruments of righteousness to realize His heavenly will done in us and through us on earth. 

Yet, as the antagonist of truth still comes with, “Hath God said?” when we are tempted to yield to that in us that is of Adam, it’s profitable to put before us what God declares about His commandments. The Bible is spiritually discerned i.e. deeper and deeper levels of experiencing it and understanding it open up as we obey it. 

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