Destiny, in simple terms, is God’s purpose for your life. It is your appointed or ordained future. We read of many godly men and women in Scripture whom God chose for a destined work or ministry but they ended up aborting his plan. They started out right, moving for a while in the power of their calling, but in the end, they died in shame and ruin, missing God’s destiny for their lives.
Saul was such a man. God himself chose Saul to lead Israel out of bondage to the Philistines. When the prophet Samuel first laid eyes on Saul, the Lord said, “There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall reign over My people” (1 Samuel 9:17). The Lord was saying, “Take a good look, Samuel. This is my choice to lead Israel.”
Samuel did not choose Saul nor did Israel elect him; rather, God said, “I have appointed this man!” The Bible says of Saul, “The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man” (10:6). Indeed, Saul was transformed by God’s touch on his life (see 10:9).
Here was a man appointed by God, moved upon by the Holy Spirit, gifted with a spirit of prophecy, destined by God to lead Israel — and God was with him. What more wonderful things could be said about him? For a while he lived his destiny, walking in the fear of God and winning great battles. But when he was appointed king over Israel, he began to fall apart. God fully intended for Saul to live out his days with the Lord’s blessing and be remembered as the man who delivered Israel from the bondage of the Philistines. But Saul missed his destiny as he began to cave in to his need for human applause and acceptance. He made compromises to attain these things and he missed the plan God had for him.
Beloved, if you are going to walk in your destiny, the only thing that will set you apart is your desire to surpass all others in the knowledge of Jesus. Spending time with him and eagerly accepting his marvelous adoption of you will make you great and enable you to continue to walk in your destiny!