What keeps you from your destiny?

“A man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder: an abandoned child and nothing, a nobody.” Thomas Carlyle

What is it that drives you? Everyone is driven by something good or bad. You may be prompted by a problem, pressure, or deadline at the moment. These things are only temporary. However, many of us are driven by some unconscious belief, fear, or painful memory. The Bible in Ecclesiastes 1:2, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” Without a clear and concise purpose, all is vanity and we are driven by the wrong things. These are some of the things that keep you from your destiny and your calling in Christ.

1. People are driven by guilt. Guilt will make you sabotage your own success. Is there an action in your past that made you feel guilty or someone made you feel guilty about something. We are all products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of our past.

2. People get carried away by resentment and anger. Some people hold on to hurts and never get over them. It’s like not forgiving someone for something they did to you in the past. It hurts you more than it hurts them. Your offender has probably forgotten you completely, but if you keep this pain inside you, it can prevent you from doing God’s will for your life.

3. People are carried away by fear. That’s me. I was driven by fear for many years. Fear is a self-imposed prison that will prevent you from doing God’s will for your life. Fears can be the result of many things, including a traumatic experience, growing up in a very controlling home, unrealistic expectations, and even genetic predisposition. People driven by fear miss out on many great opportunities.

4. People are driven by materialism. Many people, especially those of us in the Western world, base our happiness on material things. We get our material safety. The thing is, possessions only provide temporary happiness. Once happiness is gone, we need more things to feel safe and happy again.

5. People are driven by the need for approval. Many adults are trying to get approval from other people because they could never get approval from their parents. That’s me too. I always tried to please people because I couldn’t get my dad’s approval. He died and I am never going to approve of him. We cannot be controlled by the opinions of others or we will lose God’s purpose for our lives.

All these things that can drive us will lead to something, unused potential, unnecessary stress and an unfulfilled life. They take you away from your destiny. If you want to have the life that will fulfill your destiny, you must go to the giver of life and ask him to heal you and fill you with the right emotions for the task ahead.