Devotional - April 9, 2004

Have you ever heard, "It the journey and not the destination?" Moses could have said that for all we know. Most of the friends he had when he left Egypt were dead and their children were looking for someone to take them into the Promised Land. But Moses was not going where they were going. As he blessed them in chapter 33 of Deuteronomy, he reviewed their journey and charged the people to learn from the past and live victoriously.

It would only be a few short days before Jesus' life on earth would be cut short. He knew what lay ahead of him in Jerusalem, but he continued to minister on the way to his destiny. What was Jesus' journey like? According to how you felt about him, you viewed his testimony as either a blessing or blasphemy. For example, Luke noted his opponents were humiliated but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing. (Vs. 13:17)

Today, you are one step closer to your destiny. Some view the word destiny as evil because it invokes thoughts of predestination and fate, but it's actually nothing more than the root word of destination and the place where it ends, good or bad. Destiny is not necessarily predetermined, but neither is it random like the roll of dice. Destiny is what lies at the end of your journey if you keep going the way you're going. (Re: Prov 16:25)

That's can be a good thing if we're walking with Jesus by our side, but can be a bad thing if He's headed in the opposite way. So I (re) introduce you today to the word that defines how you can change your destiny: repentance.

Jesus said, "Unless you repent, you too will all perish." Repentance is God's remedy to turning from going the wrong way and go the right way. But repentance can go the other way. Remember Judas also repented, but he went the wrong way. He was going in the same direction as Jesus, but decided to betray His trust and turn Him over to those who would crucify him.

Which way are you going? Can you see far enough down the road to clearly view your destination? If you could, I wonder how many of us would do anything to change our destination? Our Lord saw where He was going and could have exchanged it for something better at any time. But, He stayed on course and finished his trip, faithful to the end. He completed his trip and endured the cross so that you and I could be spared a similar fate. He finished his work because He considered us worth the cost.

Seeing that Jesus paid such a high price to redeem you, don't you think you need to repent and point your life in the direction he's going? "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." 2 Cor 7:10