Destiny by Tony Evans

Author:Tony Evans
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers

9

Experience

Life has a way of serving up a variety of situations. Some are good, some are bad, and some are bitter.

Things aren’t always good. But thank God that things aren’t always bad either. Still, sometimes things get even worse than bad, and those are the things that leave us with a bitter taste, a residue of undeserved or unfair pain.

The good experiences in life produce positive benefit. They are productive and enjoyable.

The bad experiences include times when you have done something wrong that has damaged a situation, yourself, or others. If you could roll back the hands of time, you wouldn’t choose to make the same life choice again. Perhaps you made a mistake, committed a sin, or suffered a failure.

The bitter experiences leave their mark on you, often through no fault of your own. Someone else caused something to happen in your life—maybe he or she mistreated you, neglected you, abandoned you, or used you. In a sinful world, we run into bitter experiences or bitter people almost by the minute. Unfortunately, hurting people often turn around and hurt others, causing a cycle of bitterness to continue.

Why do some people successfully live out their destinies while others aimlessly check off each day? The difference is often the way they view their life experiences. Successful people view them all—the good, bad, and the bitter—through the lens of purpose. These individuals realize that God is able to use all of it for His calling on their lives. Aimless people and bitter people cannot see the thread that connects their life experiences to their own destinies. These people’s hearts grow hard, their guilt piles high, and they are unable to move forward in life.

The way you manage or mismanage your past experiences has a big impact on your future. Learn from your past, but don’t live in it. Satan keeps you from moving forward by getting you to keep looking back. Are you the product of a dysfunctional family? God can use that for good. Did someone abuse or mistreat you? God can use that for good. Were you passed up for a promotion after years of dedicated service? God can use that for good. Has your marriage failed, did your dreams come crashing down, or did someone you trusted betray you? Did you make some decisions as a teenager that are still affecting you decades later?

God can and will use everything in your past for good—the good, the bad, and the bitter—if you let Him. Resist the tendency to grow hard-hearted and bitter. Move past your past. God wants to use the good, the bad, and the bitter to lead you into your destiny.

The Good

The apostle Paul is the foremost spokesperson for Christianity. Nobody can compete with Paul. He is the official theologian of the church. He wrote the church’s constitution, the book of Romans. In fact, he wrote 13 of the 27 books in the New Testament. God could have just zapped him his great ability, but instead, God used some things in Paul’s background to facilitate his mission to spread the Christian faith.

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