destiny

Gettin’ Ready for New Wine

October 23, 2010 by Joey Hughes Leave a Comment

Know what happens when God gets ready to take you to a new season of your life?

YOU GET STRETCHED!!!

Ask any woman who has carried and birthed a child what it feels like to “get ready” for the new season that is about to take place in her life.

Mark 2:22 says: “ And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.”

We all rejoice when we hear a Word that confirms or awakens something in us that God has placed there, but we do not often realize that, in order for us to reach the destiny God has for us, our capacity to walk in the things of God must be enlarged. We must be “stretched.” Most of the time, this stretching is NOT comfortable. It hurts and, in some cases, it even leaves scars. It is, however, necessary because the way we have been operating in the current season of our life will not be able to sustain us in the next season God has for us.

The funny thing about the “stretching” is that it is completely our choice. We have the ability, as creatures of choice, to call a halt to whatever journey God has laid before us and stay where we are. This is where frustration begins to take over our minds.

Let me put it this way. Have you ever seen someone complaining about being cold while only wearing shorts and a tank-top shirt in the dead of winter? Funny, huh? The season changed, but they chose to continue wearing what they wore in the previous season. Maybe they would say “But, I really like these shorts! They look good on me!” all the while, not realizing how ridiculous they look and sound. Frustration (in the form of shivering) comes when our season is changing, but we refuse to change our wardrobe to go along with it.

We must realize that there are many things that will not look right on us in or make the trip with us to our next season in God, whether they be thought patterns, habits, things we say to ourselves, or even some relationships. Parting with some of these things will come with a price, a price that will sometimes leave marks… scars, even.

This is what I believe Paul was talking about when he wrote in Hebrews 12:

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Paul Had experienced the maturing process of God in his life. He knew what it meant to have to let things and even people go in order to move forward with God. This why he could say, when he knew his life was about to come to an end:

2Timothy 4:7-8,

“7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Are you allowing God to stretch you in order to move you to the next place in your life? Or are you frantically jumping around trying to get warm because you still have on summer clothes when it’s snowing outside?

“Father, help me today to know what to hold on to and what to let go of in my life. Help me to keep my focus on you as you lead me through this journey each day. Help me to be quick to repent and even quicker to realize that your plan is perfect for me. I trust you. I give myself to you. Make me the person you want me to be.”

“He Said What???”

October 21, 2010 by Joey Hughes Leave a Comment

I have recently been reminded of how much my life depends on me exercising my faith in order to reach the destiny God has set before me. It is not dependent on anything I am or anything I can do.

When God sends a Word to frame a new season in our lives, our first thoughts are for our current circumstances. Maybe you’ve said something like this: “How can I be called by God after all I’ve done?” Or perhaps you’ve felt this way: “I don’t have the education to do what God has called me to do.”

We must begin to understand that the calling of God on our lives is solely dependent on His power and grace.

In Romans 4:19-24, Paul says these words:

19 Abraham didn’t focus on his own impotence and say, “It’s hopeless. This hundred-year-old body could never father a child.” Nor did he survey Sarah’s decades of infertility and give up.20 He didn’t tiptoe around God’s promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God,21 sure that God would make good on what he had said.22 That’s why it is said, “Abraham was declared fit before God by trusting God to set him right.”23 But it’s not just Abraham;24 it’s also us! The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless.

It has nothing to do with us; our abilities; our education; or our circumstances. It has everything to do with the power of the “rhema” word of God being perfected in our lives.

Isaiah 55:11 says:

11 So will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed. They’ll do the work I sent them to do, they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.

What has god placed in front of you? What has he spoken into your life as a destiny and a purpose? As you begin the process of moving toward your destiny, allow God to reveal himself to you in the fact that if He has spoken it, He will perform it. He will bring you through any circumstance that may try to keep you from achieving the thing He has purposed for you to achieve.

“Father, help me today to trust you with every part of my life. Help me to know that you have set my feet on a good path and that since you started this work in my life, you will be faithful to complete it. Help me to not look at my circumstances and allow them to keep me from moving forward. Help me to trust that you are my perfect father, and you will not lead me into danger, you will only lead me to what will make me like you.”

Be Blessed Today!!

This Made My Week…

October 7, 2010 by Joey Hughes Leave a Comment

This morning, I had a meeting that had a profound impact on my week… maybe even on my life!

I met a man who told me of a painful life. He told me of things that happened in his childhood. He told me how his father passed away when he was 12 years old and the dramatic impact that had on his life.

He told me of things that happened to him as an adult which had made him want to take his own life.

He shared with me that he had grown up in a very traditional, non-charismatic, denominational church , but that God had begun several years ago to lead him on a journey that would take him into the deeper things of The Spirit. He said that he had become frustrated and disheartened because he felt that, for some reason or another, he was not worthy or that he did not deserve what God was offering him.

His next statement to me was the one that caused my eyes to well with tears of amazement at where he is in his life and almost shame at where I find myself most days. This is what he said:

“I’m afraid of missing the purpose and destiny God has for me.”

Wait! I forgot to tell you… This man is sixty four years old! Yes! You read it correctly! 64! I was completely amazed and humbled in the same moment. Here sat a man who, because of the events of his personal journey in life, no one would argue with or blame for saying “I just want to live out the rest of my life with my family and enjoy myself” but, with tears in his eyes, he was sitting in front of me crying out to God to not let his life be wasted.

I thought to myself as he was sharing, “This man came here for help today, but I’m the one getting the help.”

I wonder how many of us look at our lives and think “I can’t wait until the time when I can retire and do what I want to do.” I know that, at times, I have had those thoughts.

God’s destiny and purpose for our lives do not come with a “best if used by” date. They are for a lifetime.

Maybe you’ve thought, at some time, “I’m too old for that to happen for me” or “I guess my time has passed” or maybe you’ve given up on that dream that God placed in your heart many years ago. Perhaps the fear of failure or the pain of disappointment has caused you to stop short of fulfilling the purpose for which God created you.

Can I encourage you today?

God has not been surprised by anything that has happened in your life. If He knows the end from the beginning, then His plan cannot be so fragile that it could be made null by some event that comes along to distract us.

No mater what age you find yourself at, God has a plan for your life and your best days are still ahead!

So…. Let’s get busy!!!