On what does your destiny depend? II

Peace to you, dear readers of „Daily Word for Spiritual Edification”! Yesterday we began talking about a very serious topic and that is on how the condition of your heart determines the course of your life. Yes, it is the condition of your heart and what your heart is filled with that determine your destiny to a great extend and not the unfavourable outward circumstances or the negative attitude of people towards you.

«My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life» (Proverbs, 4:20-23).

Based on this Scripture, we can argue that the course of your life, my destiny or yours should not depend on somebody else but on ourselves. You must take charge of your life and destiny! How can you do that? By checking the condition of your heart. Watch carefully what gets into your heart. God says:

«Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life» (Proverbs, 4:23).

Keep the Word of God in the midst of your heart, because the Word brings life to everyone that fills his heart with the Word.  You must find time and make an effort to fill your heart with God’s Word and to keep your heart. The Word of God and your heart must become one, only then will life flow out of your heart. Many Bible characters that we read about often experienced unfavourable life circumstances. Besides, these people had numerous enemies that persecuted them and tried to ruin them. But in spite of it all, these people did something with their lives and became outstanding individuals. Let’s look at the example of the life of Joseph. His brothers hated him so much that they even wanted to kill him. They sold him into slavery, – that is how strong their hatred was. His blood brothers sold him for money just to get rid of him. We know that he was brought to Egypt, to the land of his slavery, where he lived and worked as a slave. But in spite of these circumstances Joseph became the steward of his master’s household. His circumstances did not affect his destiny. What his brothers did to him did not affect his destiny. His destiny was determined by the things he had in his heart. His heart was full of life. Joseph guarded his heart and the life of God was flowing out of it; this life overcame all the things that were against him in this life. Afterwards Joseph was thrown into prison, because he lived a righteous life; he was lied about and falsely accused. But even in prison Joseph was not looking for someone to blame for what happened to him. What people did to him and the negative circumstances in his life – all these things did not affect his destiny because life was flowing out of his heart. The things that were in Joseph’s heart topped everything else. Joseph rose higher and higher and became the main man in Egypt after Pharaoh. Wherever Joseph went he succeeded. Joseph was a steward in Potifar’s house; then he was thrown into prison. He excelled in the prison and rose again. Why is Joseph’s destiny so different from that of other people? It was because Joseph kept God’s Word in his heart. How did he guarded his heart? He filled it with God’s Word. Dear friend, if you want God’s life to flow out of you and if you want to overcome all the negative circumstances of life, then I have a word of encouragement for you: put God’s Word into your heart daily. The Word is full of grace and power; it is alive and powerful, it makes us wise, it heals us, and shows us the way out of the most difficult situations. God’s Word fills us with life and wisdom of God Himself! Peace to you! Pastor Rufus Ajiboye