Today, we continue our series entitled “Laser Focus,” emphasizing living with a Laser Focus on the Fixed Purpose God established for us before the world began.
(Proverbs 4:25 TPT)
Set your gaze on the path before you. With fixed purpose, looking straight ahead, ignore life’s distractions.
Scriptures for today:
(James 1:2-4 TPT)
2 My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties, see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can!
3 For you know that when your faith is tested, it stirs up power within you to endure all things.
4 And then as your endurance grows even stronger it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.
(Ecc 3:1 ERV)
There is a right time for everything, and everything on earth will happen at the right time
(1 Sam 17:52,53 ERV)
52 The soldiers of Israel and Judah shouted and started chasing the Philistines. The Israelites chased them all the way to the city limits of Gath and to the gates of Ekron. They killed many of the Philistines. Their bodies were scattered along the Shaaraim road all the way to Gath and Ekron.
53 After chasing the Philistines, the Israelites came back to the Philistine camp and took many things from that camp.
Setting the Stage.
It’s Friday, and as we close out the week and prepare for the weekend, I want to highlight some aspects of David’s story from the perspective of what I have learned over the years in this fantastic journey the Father has me on. On Monday, I shared a message entitled, “Understanding Grace, Favor, The Blessing, and Faith.” In that message, I took a somewhat broad view of these concepts and how they applied to David’s life and our own. While I look at taking one or two verses and seeking to glean as much as I can from portions of the stories we are studying, I believe it is also essential to take a broader view, from time to time, to see the bigger picture and how it applies to our lives.
That said, I will take this broader view again today as we discuss Purpose, Vision, Faith, and Grace within the context of David’s life, and, of course, we will seek to glean nuggets to apply to our own.
So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Purpose: Discovering Your Divine Destiny.
Before the foundations of the world, God established David’s purpose, ordaining him to be the King of Israel. Despite being born the 8th son of Jesse, a commoner, and raised as a shepherd, David was destined to be royalty, even when he did not know it. Like all of us, he was born ignorant of God’s plans.
David’s seemingly strange start for a future king showcases how God often uses the unexpected to confound worldly wisdom. Even while tending sheep, David’s actions hinted at his greater purpose as he killed a lion and a bear, developing his reliance on God. Similarly, your purpose was established before you were born. While you were ignorant of it, once you are Born-Again and the Holy Spirit reveals it, you can look back and see how God has been preparing you all your life for your assignment.
Since we are born destined, success in life (in God’s eyes) comes down to FINDING, FOLLOWING, and FINISHING our purpose before we die. Purpose cannot be decided; it must be discovered because God decided it before you were born.
Once you discover your purpose and start walking in it, your life will have a new level of clarity, and things will begin to make sense, just as they did for David when Samuel anointed him.
How this applies to you:
— Your purpose was set before you were born, giving your life divine meaning.
— Discovering your purpose brings clarity and helps make sense of your life’s journey.
— You may notice certain tendencies that indicate you’re pre-wired for a specific purpose.
— Understanding your purpose helps you recognize why you’re uniquely equipped for certain tasks.
— Embracing your purpose aligns you with God’s plan for your life.
— When you stand before God, in hopes of hearing “well done,” just know that God will measure your impact in this world against the purpose He sent you to the planet to make. He will not measure your success in money, houses, cars, fame, titles, positions, or any worldly standard. God will measure your success in purpose!
2. Vision: Seeing Through God’s Eyes.
For David, divine vision was crucial. He saw himself killing Goliath and cutting off his head well before it actually happened. However, at that point, God had not yet given David the full vision of ruling as king. This illustrates how divine vision is both incremental and progressive. God gave David enough vision for his immediate challenge (Goliath) but withheld the complete picture of his kingship until the proper time. In your life, once your purpose is known, the door to vision opens. Like David, you may receive a clear vision for your current season while only getting glimpses of what’s further ahead. As you walk with God and learn His ways, He will reveal more to you, equipping you to pursue your purpose effectively. This incremental and progressive vision allows you to maximize your current season while preparing for the next.
How this applies to you:
— God provides a clear vision for your current season to help you maximize it. But He may not tell you what is down the road until you are ready for it and you can handle it.
— As you grow spiritually, you become capable of receiving a more expansive vision. In other words, God can trust you with larger glimpses and stronger downloads from heaven.
— Vision equips you to pursue your purpose with clarity and direction.
— Expect glimpses of your future, but focus on the clear vision for your present.
— Your ability to handle divine vision increases as you walk with God. God should be able to trust you with more revelation today than He could 10 or 20 years ago, and 10 years from now, you should be able to handle more.
— The more you walk with God and grow, the more vision He will trust you to steward.
3. Faith: Aligning with Heaven’s Plan.
David’s confrontation with Goliath exemplifies the role of faith in pursuing divine vision. It took tremendous faith for David to stand before King Saul and ask for the assignment, to refuse the king’s armor, and to step into the valley with only a slingshot, stones, and a stick. David’s faith allowed him to access what God was leading him to do, defying conventional military wisdom. In your life, faith plays a similar critical role. When the Lord reveals your purpose and gives you divine vision, you’ll need faith to align with your divine assignment. Like David, doing what the Lord leads you to do will often require you to go against common sense and conventional wisdom. But if you have the audacity to believe God and step out in faith as David did, you will experience the supernatural in your own life.
How this applies to you:
— Faith enables you to agree with and act upon God’s revealed plan for your life.
— Pursuing God’s vision will often require you to go against common sense or societal norms.
— Living by faith (and not by sight) is how you will access supernatural experiences and outcomes.
— Stepping out in faith positions you to see God’s power manifest in your life.
— Faith is your active response to God’s revealed purpose and vision. It is making decisions in the present based on what God revealed to you about your future, even when it flies in the face of everything you see in the natural.
4. Grace: God’s Empowerment for Your Purpose.
God’s grace was evident throughout David’s journey. It was by grace that God interrupted David’s life as a shepherd to anoint him as the next king of Israel. Grace (and favor) enabled Saul to entrust the future of his entire kingdom to a teenager facing a giant. It was grace that empowered David to defeat Goliath – he didn’t accomplish this feat on his own strength. Similarly, in your life, God’s grace is essential for accomplishing His will. While knowing your purpose, receiving vision, and having faith are all crucial, without God’s grace, you will never be able to fulfill your divine assignment. Just as grace brought David from the sheepfolds to the throne room, it will elevate you to places you could never reach on your own. Faith is your part, grace is God’s part.
How this applies to you:
— Grace is God’s part in fulfilling your purpose; faith is your part in receiving it.
— Without God’s grace, you cannot fulfill your divine purpose, regardless of your efforts.
— God’s grace often interrupts your life to align you with His plans.
— Your faith accesses God’s grace, allowing you to experience His best for your life.
— Recognize that every step towards your purpose is empowered by God’s grace.
— When you walk and live by faith, you do so knowing that you are who you are by the grace of God!
In summary, your purpose was established before the world began. Once you are Born-Again, the Lord reveals your purpose to you, and He then gives you incremental and progressive vision to pursue it. You must then have the faith to do what flies in the face of common sense, and once you step out in faith, the grace of God will be on you to experience God’s best.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, You established my purpose before the foundations of the world.
I commit to discovering and embracing the unique destiny You’ve prepared for me, regardless of my current circumstances.
Your divine vision guides me in each season, revealing what I need now while giving glimpses of my future.
I step out in faith, ready to defy worldly wisdom to align myself with Your heavenly plans.
Lord, Your grace empowers me, elevating me beyond my own abilities to fulfill Your calling on my life.
I am equipped, enabled, and empowered to walk in Your perfect will for my life!
I am prepared to experience the supernatural as I step into the fullness of Your purpose for me.
Lord, I stand ready to defeat my giants and walk into my victory, just as David did throughout his journey.
Living this way, GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!
I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. AMEN!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
