Destination X

Your direction determines your destination.

(Illustration) During a momentous battle, a Japanese general decided to attack even though his army was greatly outnumbered. His destination was an enemy’s base camp to the north of his position. He was confident they would win, but his men were filled with doubt. He set his direction, NORTH. On the way to battle, they stopped at a religious shrine. After praying with the men, the general took out a coin and said, “I shall now toss this coin. If it is heads, we shall win. If tails, we shall lose. Destiny will now reveal itself.”

He threw the coin into the air and all watched intently as it landed. It was heads! The soldiers were so overjoyed and filled with confidence that they vigorously attacked the enemy and were victorious. After the battle, a lieutenant remarked to the general, “No one can change destiny.” At that point the general showed him the coin, both sides were heads.

The general’s direction determined his destination. His destination determined his direction. Your direction determines your destination! What is your direction, your life’s direction right now? That direction determines your destination.

Where is your nose pointing? On what path are you?

des·ti·na·tion: Definition: (noun)- the place to which someone or something is going or being sent. It is the journey's end, end of the line, landing place, point of disembarkation, finish line.

Back to Proverbs 7 and its author, Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, he discovered the futility of life when it is lived only for this world, on the wrong paths. He explored every type of pleasure and activity, every type of path.

Solomon had extreme physical pleasures. He had about 1,000 wives and concubines.

Solomon had wealth, extreme wealth, nothing he couldn’t buy.

Solomon had power, military might, he was top dog.

He didn’t withhold himself from doing everything he wanted, desired or could experience. He did everything on his bucket list plus everybody else’s bucket list.

Solomon, after exploring all of the world’s pleasure and disciplines, every path, gives these concluding remarks in the book of Ecclesiastes:

(Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

Ecclesiastes 12:13–14 NLT

13 That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. 14 God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.

The books of Proverbs and its surrounding books, Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon are “Wisdom Literature.” Having intelligence means you know things. Having wisdom means you know what to do in various situations. You can be smart without being wise. Wisdom literature was written to make us wise, to help us know what to do in specific situations.

“The Path.”         YOUR DIRECTION DETERMINES YOUR DESTINATION

                                  The path you’re on                    where you will end up

Here’s what we all know from our own real-life experience when it comes to paths: The road you’re on determines where you’ll end up. That’s true, isn’t it? If I head east on I-30 from Fort Worth, eventually, I will end up in downtown Dallas.

Whatever road, whatever highway, whatever path I’m on will determine where I end up. I can want to end up somewhere else. I can pack my Bible, my hymnal, give a lot of money to the church so to speak with every hope that I can go to heaven, but if I head down the path to Hot Springs, I’ll end up in hell—not heaven.

So here’s The Principle of the Path:

Your direction, not your intention, determines your destination.

As obvious as that is in the world of geography, when it comes to the rest of our lives, whether it be our family life, our financial life, our marriage or dating life, the way we raise our kids, our physical fitness, or our professional life, this same principle applies. In every area of life, my direction, not my intention, determines my destination.

Yet how many times have you been in a conversation with someone who is describing their life problems, or their marriage difficulties, or their failures, their financial, relational problems and you can see their good intentions but their direction doesn’t line up with their desired (intention) destination. All of life is involved in this ‘direction – destination’ principle.

For students: if you want good grades but don’t study, what happens? Bad grades

Your direction, the path you are following, not your intentions, determines your destination.

Let me show you this from what Solomon showed his audience 3,000 years ago. In Proverbs 7:6, Solomon is about to tell us a story. We don’t know whether it’s a true story or one he made up to demonstrate this principle. As he tells the story,

He is standing at a window, looking down at the street.:

Proverbs 7:6–9 NLT

6 While I was at the window of my house, looking through the curtain, 7 I saw some naive young men, and one in particular who lacked common sense. 8 He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman, strolling down the path by her house. 9 It was at twilight, in the evening, as deep darkness fell.

A young guy cruising the streets at sunset, heading in the direction of a specific woman’s home. As we will see in a second, he knew who this woman was, and he knew she was married. And, apparently, he knew that her husband was out of town and that she would be prowling around the street corner, looking for…well, just looking.

Proverbs 7:10–20 NLT

10 The woman approached him, seductively dressed and sly of heart. 11 She was the brash, rebellious type, never content to stay at home. 12 She is often in the streets and markets, soliciting at every corner. 13 She threw her arms around him and kissed him, and with a brazen look she said, 14 “I’ve just made my peace offerings and fulfilled my vows. 15 You’re the one I was looking for! I came out to find you, and here you are! 16 My bed is spread with beautiful blankets, with colored sheets of Egyptian linen. 17 I’ve perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18 Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning. Let’s enjoy each other’s caresses, 19 for my husband is not home. He’s away on a long trip. 20 He has taken a wallet full of money with him and won’t return until later this month.”

There was a marked contrast between what this man was expecting to experience and what Solomon knew was in his future. Why? Because the older, wiser man understood from experience where this path would lead.

The man was preoccupied with what he believed would be an exciting event—a night of passion. A night disconnected from every other event in his life.

But Solomon knew better. This night was not an isolated event disconnected from all the other events in this young man’s life. This night was a step down a path. A path, like all paths, that leads somewhere. This particular path had a predictable destination.

Proverbs 7:21–23 NLT

21 So she seduced him with her pretty speech and enticed him with her flattery. 22 He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap, 23 awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart. He was like a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his life.

The disconnect in Solomon’s scenario is easy to see, at least for us. A young man who wanted his life to be relationally richer chose a path that would ultimately undermine his relationships. A young man who yearned for something good chose a path that led to something not good. There was a disconnect. Solomon saw it from his window. We all have a propensity for choosing paths that lead us where we do not want to go.

For example:

A single woman says, “I want to meet and one day marry a great Christian guy who’s really got his act together” ...but then she dates whoever asks her out, as long as he’s cute.

A man says, “I want a great financial future” ... and so he runs over other people to get his money.

A married woman says, “I want to have a great relationship with my husband” ... but she makes the children a priority over him.

A husband says, “I want my kids to respect me as they grow up”... and then he openly flirts with other women in the neighborhood.

A young Christian says, “I want to develop a deep and lasting intimacy with God” ... so he gets up every morning and reads his newspaper.

A working man says, “I want to grow old and invest the latter years of my life in my grandchildren” ... but then he neglects his health.

A regular guy says, “I want to get thin and lose weight … supersize that.”

His intention is disconnected from his direction, his path.

A couple says, “We’d like our children to develop a personal relationship with God and choose friends who have done the same” ... but then they skip church every weekend and head to the beach, or sleep in and watch football.

Newlyweds determine to be financially secure by the time they reach their parents’ age ... then adopt a lifestyle sustained by debt and leveraged assets.

A high school freshman intends to graduate with a GPA that will afford him options as he selects a college ... but neglects his studies.

YOUR DIRECTION NOT YOUR INTENTION DETERMINES DESTINATION.

But like the naïve young man in Solomon’s story, the paths people choose eventually bring them to a destination that is entirely7 different from the one they intended.

If your goal is to drop two dress sizes, you don’t eat lunch at a donut shop. If you desire to remain faithful to your spouse, you don’t linger in an online chat room with members of the opposite sex. Those aren’t pastimes.

Those are pathways. They lead somewhere.

As I’ve already said, it is much easier to see these dynamics at work in other people than it is in ourselves.

Take a minute to think about your life and let me ask you this:

• Are there disconnects in your life?

• Are there discrepancies between what you desire in your heart and what you are doing with your life, the path you are on?

• Is there alignment between your intentions and your direction?

If you’ve ever gotten lost while driving (and who hasn’t?), you know that if you backtrack far enough, you can usually get your bearings and be on your way. Worst case, you’ve wasted a few minutes or hours. But when you get lost in life, you

can not backtrack, it’s done, it is lost. When you get lost in life, you don’t waste minutes or hours. You can waste an entire season of your life.

The principle of the path is operating in your life every minute of every day. You are currently on a financial path of some kind. You are on a relational path. You are continuing down a moral path, an ethical path, an entertainment path, a spiritual path. And each of these paths has a destination.

Your direction, not your intentions, determines your destination.

What direction are you headed today?

Get wisdom says Solomom.

Start 

Every day we make choices that shape our life story. What would your life look like if you let godly principles guide those choices? Over the next week, we’ll begin to explore seven principles from my Divine Direction book to help you find God’s wisdom for your daily decisions.

If someone asked you to tell your life’s story, what would you say?

You might start with where you were born and how you were raised. You might mention your first love. Maybe you’d talk about the big move your family made or when you left for college. If you’re married, you might describe how you met your spouse. If you’re not married, you might describe why. If you’re a parent, you might scroll through some photos on your phone and show off your family. Or maybe you’d describe your career path. What’s in your story? Most of us have chapters we’d rather not share with anyone. Maybe you’ve ended up somewhere you never wanted to be. You didn’t mean to blow it, but you did. You made decisions that took you farther than you ever intended to go. You did some things that cost you more than you ever thought you’d have to pay. You hurt people. You compromised your values. You broke promises. You did things you feel like you can’t undo.

Your story is not over. It’s not too late to change the story you’ll tell one day.

There’s good news: your story is not over. It’s not too late to change the story you’ll tell one day. Regardless of what you’ve done (or haven’t done), your future is unwritten. You have more victories to win, more friends to meet, more of a difference to make, more of God’s goodness to experience. Whether or not you like the plot so far, with God’s help, you can transform your story into one you’re proud to share.

Here’s one way to change your story: start something new.

No matter how uncertain, afraid, or stuck you may feel right now, your story continues today. What will you start today? Praying daily with your spouse? Reading a YouVersion Bible Plan every day? Going to counseling to deal with an unresolved issue? Living with greater generosity? Serving at your church or in your community? Now is a good time to jot it down. Open your notes and record your thoughts. Don’t overthink this. But do take a moment to get it on paper. Just a sentence or two.

Ask yourself: What do I need to start doing to move in the direction of the life story I want to tell?