From my perspective, it is like there are two scrolls. One is the scroll written of me by the Father—it is the scroll of my destiny, of my identity. The other is the scroll that is the record of my life—how I have actually lived.
Some of my life has been aligned with that identity and destiny, and some of it has not. When I engaged the judgment seat of Christ and the fire of God’s presence, I took the scroll of my life. Literally, of course, it is me stepping into that place—but the scroll is a way of relating to the process.
The Bible describes scrolls being written front and back, and that was my experience too. I brought that scroll before the Father. All I saw was a consuming fire—His eyes—and the scroll was opened.
Understanding Our Destiny
On the front side of the scroll, I saw wood, hay and straw—and also gold, silver and precious stones. These represented the things I had done as a believer. This was not about my life before I knew Christ—because everything from that time, every action rooted in lost identity, has already been forgiven and dealt with at the cross.
What I was seeing was my life in Christ—how I had lived in relationship with God. Some things had mixed motives. I was doing certain things to affirm my identity, to validate myself through activity. They were not necessarily wrong, but the motive was not pure.
And He consumed all of those things—everything described as wood, hay and straw. But the gold, silver and precious stones remained. My scroll—my life—was refined. Everything contradictory was removed. There was no guilt, no shame, no condemnation—just love.
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Reflecting on Life Choices
On the reverse side of the scroll, I saw more gold, silver and precious stones—and more wood, hay and straw. This represented the things I had done in alignment with the Father’s heart, and also the things I had missed—things I could have done, but did not.
Some of those omissions came because I was not paying attention, or I was too busy, or simply unaware of what the Father was doing. As I began to feel sorrow and regret for missing those things, He just lovingly consumed it all—no condemnation, no guilt—just love.
That love removed all potential for the enemy to accuse me, or for me to condemn myself. He purified my scroll—my life—completely, so that nothing could hold me back.
The Judgment Seat of Christ
The judgment seat of Christ is not about punishment. It is about purification. It is about bringing our lives into alignment with who the Father says we are—not who we have been shaped to be by the world, our culture, our upbringing or religious systems.
Religion warps our identity. But God wants to reveal our true identity as sons. He wants us to operate from the truth of who we are in Him—not the false version formed by lost identity.
He has continued to speak to me—to reveal the vast sum of His thoughts about me, so I can come into deeper understanding of who I really am. I do not know everything yet—He is still revealing. But that is relationship. Sonship is discovered through relationship.
God’s Love and Forgiveness
In that relationship, He continues to purify and refine my life—removing anything that might hinder me from progressively knowing who I truly am and living from that reality. I know there were many times I acted from mixed motives—trying to earn or prove my identity.
But He has removed that mixture. The pure in heart will see God, and I did not want anything impure clouding that. In His kindness and generosity, He purified not only the record of my life, but also my memory of it.
There are things I can no longer recall—literally gone—wiped clean by His love and grace. And that is just His mercy and His wonderful, overwhelming love.
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When we think of wisdom, we often consider it as insight into what to do in a particular situation. However, wisdom is more about understanding the heart of the Father in that situation. We are then motivated by the Father’s heart, not by a set of actions we feel we must take. The expression of the Father’s heart can be revealed in many different ways, as there isn’t just one prescribed way to act. There are multiple ways that people might respond to a situation, all in line with the Father’s heart.
‘Cardiognosis’ refers to the heart-to-heart relationship in which the Father constantly reveals His heart to us, in every situation we face. We are called to be an expression of that heart in every dynamic of our lives. Wisdom, therefore, is the expression of the Father’s heart through us. It is being who we are in each moment, reflecting the heart of the Father. To understand the Father’s heart is to know Him intimately. It is through this experiential knowledge that we are guided and directed. Wisdom is the outworking of the Father’s heart within us, shaping our actions.
Many people seek to know their purpose, their scroll, or their destiny—what they are supposed to do. However, God doesn’t reveal to us what we are supposed to do; rather, He reveals who we are. When God shows us who we are in relationship with Him, He also reveals His heart. This allows us to outwork His heart through our own identity.
The scroll is, in fact, a revelation of who we are, not a list of tasks we must accomplish. This mindset challenges the common view, which often revolves around a works-based mentality—what do I need to do, what is God’s will? But God does not necessarily reveal His will in specifics; He reveals His heart, and from that place of intimacy, we act.
Jesus exemplified this perfectly: He only did what He saw the Father doing. This wasn’t about seeing a specific action; it was about the revelation of the Father’s heart. Jesus lived in constant union with the Father, expressing this oneness throughout His life. Jesus said, “I and the Father are one. If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father,” and this is how God wants us to be too. When people see us, they should see the Father because we are His sons and daughters.
Knowing the Father’s heart frees us, allowing us to express ourselves in line with His heart without rigid formulas. The Father’s heart is expressed differently through each of us because we are all unique. When we engage with others, we do so from our individual perspectives, which are shaped by our redemptive gifts and the way God made us.
This diversity is essential. If we all engage in the same situation, each of us will express the Father’s heart differently based on who we are. This is why we need more than one person to reflect the Father’s heart—it’s not about performing an exact action but about being the person God created us to be.
This understanding of wisdom brings freedom. We don’t need to strive to do things “the right way” or fear doing something wrong. Instead, we are free to be an expression of God’s heart—expressing His love to those around us. When we engage with others, we are sharing God’s love and passion for them. This creates a deep connection where people feel how much God cares for them.
In every situation, I can be an expression of the Father’s heart. It doesn’t matter if I know exactly what to do or if I am following a specific set of actions. What matters is that I am being me—an expression of God’s heart. My scroll isn’t a checklist of tasks, but the freedom to live as God designed me.
This freedom is rooted in intimacy. To know the Father’s heart, we must be close to Him; we cannot engage from a distance or through mere intellectual understanding. Cardiognosis is a heart-to-heart union with God, where His heart is continually revealed to us, and we receive it deeply, not just in our heads, but in our hearts.
As we grow in intimacy with God, we will begin to experience the illumination of our hearts. This deeper, instinctive understanding will guide us in outworking the Father’s heart. It’s not always about doing something specific—it’s about being the person God made us to be, reflecting His love and wisdom in every moment.
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If you are operating from the Father’s heart, doing only what the Father’s intentions are, then you can take the promise that all these things will be added to you and then outwork that promise. When it says, “take no thought,” it does not mean trying to live in denial or suppressing what might be the truth. Rather, it means not worrying about it, as your trust is in God’s provision.
God’s provision can come in many different ways—sometimes through work, sometimes through people blessing us, or in other ways. The phrase “take no thought” does not mean to avoid thinking about a situation but instead to avoid worry. It encourages us to bring the situation to the Father. Scripture says, “Come boldly to the throne of grace when you have a time of need to find grace and mercy.” There is nothing wrong with coming to the Father, saying, “I am running out of money for the end of the month,” and seeing what the Father’s heart is on the matter. Yet, you do not come from a place of worry or lack, but rather with a heart that shares your needs and life with the Father. Sharing your life with the Father is good and healthy. “Take no thought” does not mean you cannot think about it; it simply means not to dwell on it in a negative way based on worry, anxiety, or fear.
When you seek first the kingdom of God, all these things will be added, but that does not mean we are not involved in the “adding.” For instance, we may, as the Father directs us, call for things that are not as though they are. We can call for finance to manifest in our lives or for the manifestation of other things we need. We do not have to be negative or passive about it; we can be active and seek the Father’s heart for any guidance He would provide. We might be involved in that manifestation spiritually, by establishing things in heaven so they can be manifested on earth, or physically and practically, such as by taking up a job or something similar. But that involvement is as the Father directs us. The key is to seek first the kingdom, meaning to seek first God’s rule and His way of life.
The kingdom should not be thought of as a vast realm encompassing the universe; rather, consider the rule of God in and through your life. Ask yourself: what is God calling you to establish on earth as it is in heaven? Break it down to the basics and assess whether what you are doing aligns with God’s purpose for you. Are your actions consistent with who He made you to be? It is good to take time to reflect—are you in the right place, doing the right things and walking in line with the Father’s Heart?
Remember, your destiny is not a list of tasks but the person you are meant to be. It is about who you are, and once you understand that, it will naturally shape what you do. Sometimes, reflection with the Father reveals that you are on the right path, and you can continue looking for daily opportunities to outwork that. Other times, He might signal that it is time for a change—a new season, place or direction. Make changes only if you are led by the Father to do so, but remember that asking Him is always welcome. The Father wants us to ask. Scripture reminds us, “You do not have because you do not ask.” This is not about pleading but sharing your current state with Him so He can guide you, bring you peace and rest, and help you outwork these truths in your life and heart.
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When it comes to framing or co-creating, the key is aligning yourself with God’s heart and purpose. This is not something you can do by your own strength or for your own ends; it must be rooted in God’s intentions. Intimacy with the Father is essential. Understanding the Father’s heart—whether through personal direction or what you might call a ‘heart-to-heart’ infusion—enables you to align yourself with His will. Once you know you are in sync with God’s heart, you can then begin to frame your life accordingly.
Framing your life involves nurturing or ‘brooding’ over what you want to bring into existence. Just as a hen sits on her eggs until they hatch, you must incubate your intentions. If you are double-minded, it will not work. You are effectively creating a reality where light and the enabling power of God respond to your expectations, collapsing a wave function to bring that reality into being. It is crucial that you observe and speak as though this reality has already occurred. As God calls things into existence, so too must you align your words and authority with His, speaking with conviction and faith.
Brooding
The process of framing often starts with God’s promises. If you are seeking first the Kingdom, you can confidently expect those promises to be fulfilled. This means framing your life around expectation, calling forth God’s protection, provision, and direction for each day. You are not merely wishing for things; you are living from the expectation that you will have everything you need, with an abundance for every good work.
This framing process creates an atmosphere around your life that draws in the reality of God’s promises. However, it cannot be done out of anxiety, fear, or worry. You must be in a state of rest, characterised by contentment, peace, and joy, with an attitude of thanksgiving and gratitude. Even before you receive what you are calling into existence, you must live as if it is already yours. Gratitude and thanksgiving are vital components of this process because they reinforce your faith that what you are framing is already a reality.
Speaking with Authority
When co-creating, whether calling forth new realities or framing promises around your life, you need clarity. You cannot randomly decide to create something—like calling 15 angels into being—without knowing that you have permission to do so. As a son of God, once you know you have that permission, you can call things into existence that did not previously exist. For example, I have created guardians after receiving permission from the Father, brooding over the intention until I knew it was aligned with God’s heart. Once I had that assurance, I spoke with the voice of God and the guardians manifested. There was no doubt or double-mindedness, just a clear understanding that I was acting with God’s authority.
Intimacy and Rest
Framing your life around God’s promises begins with intimacy and rest. Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing, and we are called to operate in the same way. This is not about manipulation or control; it is about aligning your life with God’s purposes and seeking to bless others. You cannot use this process to manipulate people or situations to your advantage. Instead, you can call forth opportunities to bless others or to meet people you can help. It is a process rooted in love, aimed at bringing out the best for yourself and others.
Expect that there will be a process involved. Jesus said that when you pray, believe you have received, and you will receive. This means living in an attitude of thanksgiving, gratitude, and contentment, trusting that what you are framing will manifest in time. Some things may happen instantly, while others may take longer. It is important to avoid negative thoughts or speech that could undermine what you are working towards. Stay positive, remain at rest, and keep your focus on your intimacy with the Father.
Ultimately, you can frame your life according to your destiny and identity as a son of God. This involves calling forth the wisdom, insight, resources, and everything else you need to fulfil your God-given purpose. By framing your life in this way, you can live with the expectation that everything necessary for your journey will be available to you.
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When you’re in the process of transitioning from being a doer to ‘be-er’, it can be quite disorientating because the previous ways you learned were mostly about being directed or feeling that you needed to do what God said—the dos and the shoulds. When you come to a more intimate place, there’s a transition into knowing, sensing, and being connected to the Father’s heart.
You start feeling His heart, and He gives you more space just to be, often removing a lot of the ‘doing’. It’s not that doing things is the issue, but they can be driving you if you’re so used to living that way. Until you get some space to find this other way and become more comfortable with it, sometimes God removes some of the doings. You find you’re losing some of your anchor points, which were likely based on the familiarity of the shoulds and dos, and your mindset towards God probably came from a more works-based way of thinking.
Hearing His voice does become more instinctive, more about knowing and being at one with Him. Instead of external directions to go this way or do that, He’s giving you more freedom to be you, to mature, and to grow in sonship. That is a great thing, although I understand it can be disorientating, and I’ve gone through it myself. However, the closer you are to Him, the more your heart’s desires will align with His heart’s desires and with your destiny and the way He made you to be. You’ll find you operate more in a way of rest. You won’t need the absolute confirmation of everything; you will just know and be at peace and at rest. That stems from dwelling in His presence, where your spirit is continually engaged in and living from that realm, even if your soul comes in and out.
Living from that realm might feel scary and different at first, but that’s what it feels like when the old goes and the new is not fully come. It feels like a vacuum. But that vacuum will be filled with what is coming out of heaven and out of your relationship with God. You’ll begin to feel whole and one as you pursue it. When people talk to you, you’ll resonate with it or you won’t, so you won’t need direct confirmation in the way you used to. You won’t need the Father to tell you everything; you will know His heart, feel His heart, and engage His heart in a more intimate and knowing way.
As you grow into this, things will begin to open up because you’ll see more possibilities and realities. You’ll begin to choose and find more creativity released in those choices. You’ll start seeing things from the multiple perspectives of all the possibilities that exist, rather than feeling restricted to one thing God says. He is giving you a lot more opportunity to choose from a wider spectrum of choices, rather than the one path that may keep you safe but may restrict you if you only see the one thing He says rather than the multiple possibilities that do exist and that you can enter into.
Summary
God is offering you more freedom, based on your heart-to-heart intimacy with Him, rather than just one safe path. This might feel risky, but it allows you to see and choose from multiple possibilities as a son, expanding your understanding and experience of living in relationship with Him.
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Our redemptive gift is the particular way we are wired that enables us to engage effectively in restoring creation. God intends us to be involved in that restoration as sons and co-creators with Jesus.
My redemptive gift is prophet/teacher. When I look at the world, I am looking to see how things work. In every situation I want to understand how it has come about and what has occurred. What can I learn? How can I explain that? What is behind that event?
As a child, I was always inquisitive and loved taking things apart to discover how they worked. Of course, at five or six years old, I couldn’t put most of them back together again. My mum was always pulling her hair out:
“You’ve broken it.” “I wanted to see how it worked.”
“Well, now it doesn’t work at all!”
Later, when I discovered movies, I was always drawn to tales of quests and adventures of discovery, because that is how I am made.
Our redemptive gift shapes the way we see and interact with the world,
and therefore helps to determine the course of our lives. I may see things one way: someone else will experience the same situation or event and consider it through the lens of their own redemptive gift.
Jesus is the fullness of all the redemptive gifts, and we would all say we desire to become more Christ-like. In that case, we may sometimes feel limited or defined by our redemptive gift, but that is just our soul’s natural thinking.
As we become conformed to His image, we will demonstrate more of the gifts; but initially each of us has a primary and a secondary gift, shaping how we think, feel, and act by default. We did not have to learn it; it is just how we are. This gift is put into us at conception, into our soul. When Adam became a living being or a living soul, he was created with a redemptive gift.
All of us are creative in some way, whether we recognise it or not, since we are all made in God’s image. Some will express creativity in art, poetry or music, some in science, industry, commerce or other ways. That creativity within us derives from the image of God in us – but ultimately, He wants us to be doing the things that Jesus did (and greater ones).
Key takeaway
Jesus is the fullness of all the redemptive gifts; as we become increasingly conformed to His image, we will demonstrate more of the gifts.
Every one of us, whether we know it or not, has an inheritance that Jesus died to secure for us. It includes our identity, our redemptive gift and our destiny. If we choose to cooperate with what God has prepared for us, then we will find total satisfaction and fulfilment.
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book (scroll) were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
(Psa 139:16-17).
All God’s thoughts about us are good, because He is always smiling over us. Some people present Him as an angry God waiting to pounce when we get it wrong. That is not the God I know, nor is it the God revealed in the person of Jesus (who is the exact representation of God’s nature). He is always running with open arms to embrace us even when we do get it wrong, because His deepest desire is for relationship with us.
But there is a battle going on for our destiny. There may be problems to solve, messes to clean up, and raw materials to be shaped. Don’t let the obstacles, opposition or past mistakes stop you fulfilling all that God has destined for you, instead see them as stepping stones. He brings good out of every situation.
Perhaps you feel constrained, contained, limited by your life circumstances? God can explode the walls of the box your life seems to be in. Even if religious or political authority, position, power or laws are against you, God is bigger than all that. Willing hearts are all He needs to work with.
What is your destiny?
Most people never know what their destiny is. Of those who do, a small percentage know from childhood, but the majority only find out between the ages of 30-50, when perhaps they have more time to reflect or are more mature and willing to listen. But our age does not need to restrict us: Caleb was 85 years old when he took possession of his inheritance.
Here are three kinds of evidence to help us identify our destiny:
Physical evidence (what we can see or deduce by examining our lives).
Relational evidence (what God says to us).
Heavenly supernatural evidence (what is written on our scroll in heaven).
Physical
Abilities and desires
We can look for the things God has included in our design that have no cultural, generational or nurture basis, qualities unique to us. Abilities and desires which none of our family or peers share, our reactions to events and situations, the positive and negatives which stir us, these are clues we need to find. What lights us up, what do we find fulfilment in already?
But beware, brokenness can also be a strong driver. Say we lost a close relative to a particular disease, we might find purpose in running a campaign or support group for sufferers and their families, but that could be a hindrance to finding our true destiny. So let’s be sure that we are really looking at clues to God’s design, and not the results of our own brokenness.
These are like the Lego or jigsaw pieces of our destiny; we need to put them together to see the bigger picture.
For me, they include:
my inquisitive desire to understand how things work
my concern for issues such as racial inequality and injustice
a fascination both with history and the future
a liking for science fiction, the unexplained, the outside-of-the-box, broadening the perspective of the possible.
mountains always being special for me.
Later on, I was drawn to the Bible, to study it, to meditate in it, and eventually to encounter God in it, and that was something He placed in me. And I was always attracted to revivals, to moves of God’s Spirit. None of this could be explained by nurture, or by brokenness.
Challenges
We should also look at the challenges we face, at opposition seeking to hinder us.
I had a fear of public speaking. I could not even read aloud in class! Yet later on, people kept asking me to speak. Eventually I did, and now it is one of the main things God uses me in.
I had to overcome serious health issues, and pursue living in supernatural health for myself. So now I have a testimony which can help others do the same.
I had no fathering, no mentor, and thus no sense of identity; I experienced being let down and betrayed, which led to loneliness, so I struggled with community and relationship. But all of those are things God is calling me to be involved with.
Are there character issues with which God keeps having us go around the mountain, until we deal with them? Negative personality traits He is asking us to work on? Things He gives us repeated opportunities to get transformed? Those, too, are clues.
Let’s not be limited by our past, nor let cultural constraint, gender, race or social standing stop us. God really is no respecter of persons.
Let’s surround ourselves with the right connections and associations, with people who will encourage, challenge and support us. Let’s be willing to obey even if God asks us to do something unexpected or unusual. Let’s not be passive, but actively pursue our destiny.
Relational
We can develop an intimate relationship with the God who has these vast thoughts about us. If we can learn to listen to and speak with God daily, then surely this is the simplest way to get to know our destiny?
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:18-20).
God has made resurrection life available to us to enable us to fulfil what He has called us to do.
Supernatural
Deep calls
God is releasing a sound, a vibrational frequency, calling us to come into alignment with our heavenly destiny. It is coming out of the spiritual realm. People are hearing it, all over the world (and not only believers).
Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls… (Psalm 42:7).
We can engage Him in this sound in our worship. We need to tune into that sound, to engage our spirit with the creative light realm, that spiritual dimension all around us where we can access every spiritual blessing.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:3).
And raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:6).
Our destiny has been particularly fashioned for us, and involves ruling in heaven and walking it out on earth.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them (Eph 2:10).
Scroll of destiny
We saw in Psalm 139 that our destiny is recorded on a scroll. We can go into the record room of heaven and see the scroll of our destiny and the scroll of our life. When you compare the two, you can see where they line up (and where they don’t).
But I believe our destiny is also encoded in a double-helix scroll, our DNA. That is why, when we break bread, we speak words of transformational realignment over our DNA.
Search my heart
So let’s engage our destiny, fight for it, be prepared to be transformed for it. This is a good prayer to pray if you want to know your destiny:
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way
(Psalm 139:23-24).
Draw near
Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:7-8).
God has placed it in our heart, so we can engage with it (and with Him) there. We give God access into our heart and He gives us access into heaven:
Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne… After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things” (Rev 3:20-21, 4:1).
Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near… (Heb 10:19-22).
In the heavenly holy place we will find the arc of the covenant. The blood of Jesus is on the Mercy Seat, which always gives us access to come. Inside the arc are manna (representing the will of God for our lives), the tablets of stone (representing God’s law now written on our hearts) and Aaron’s rod (a symbol of authority).
Let’s go there now.
Use the player above to hear an audio version of the following activation, or use this link: https://goo.gl/8s6uLA (opens in new tab/window).
Close your natural eyes And open the eyes of your heart, your imagination. Think of a door. Picture the door in your spirit. Jesus is knocking. Open the door, let Him in.
Feel His love, acceptance and affirmation.
Hear the sound of many waters, feel the vibration of His presence. He embraces you and draws you close to His heart. He affirms your identity He affirms your calling He affirms your destiny.
Listen to His voice. Feel your heart engage. Feel the desires of your heart released.
Now think of the door standing open into heaven. Step through that door.
Jesus takes you by the hand And leads you through the veils To stand before the Arc.
His Name is manifested as you stand in His presence: יהוה (Yod Hei Vav Hei) The Lion, the Ox, the Eagle and the Man. The Presence of God manifests between the wings of the cherubim.
Open your heart to Him. Let Him unfurl your scroll. Let Him write and reveal the contents of the scroll onto your heart.
Let Him cause those longings, yearnings and desires to be released within you.
You can eat the manna, as it reveals more of God’s will for you. Feel the energy. Pick up the rod and feel the authority, the confidence and boldness to fulfil your destiny.
And now you can step back into this realm…
I would encourage you to practise this daily, to feel and engage with the presence of God in the realms of heaven. Expect your heart to be changed, expect your destiny to be revealed and the longings that God has for you to be released.
Discovering Destiny: mp3 audio teaching series by Mike Parsons.
All three ‘Destiny’ teaching series are also included in our subscription programme, Engaging God.
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No-one said it would be easy (or if they did, they lied).
God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it” (Gen 1:28).
So apparently there was something in their destiny that Adam and Eve would need to subdue. And it is always that way:
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4).
Most of us are familiar with that scripture, but how many of us really do consider it joy when we encounter difficult situations? Yet we would probably all say we want to be mature, complete and lacking in nothing. Do we see every obstacle as an obstruction and a barrier, or as an opportunity to overcome and grow in faith? That is what will make the difference in our experience.
Every battle on the pathway of our destiny is intended to create dependence on and intimacy with God. We are not supposed to overcome it alone, independent of Him, but to learn that we need Him. When we come up against something that seems impossible, if we keep looking at the obstacle it gets bigger and bigger until we end up in despair. If we look instead at God (who is God of the impossible), we get hope. Faith can arise and then nothing is impossible.
Jesus said we could speak to obstacles and tell them to move, but only if we have hope and faith in our hearts. He has been there and knows what it is like to face obstacles. If we try to avoid the battles, conflicts, trials and tribulations then we are cheating ourselves of experiential intimacy, growth and transformation. That will actually hinder our development into maturity. Sadly, the kind of gospel preaching many people have responded to has completely failed to prepare them for the battles they will face.
The first step
When God gives us a vision, usually we do not immediately get to see the whole of His purposes in it. Often, we only get the first step or two, like Abraham did: ‘Leave everything behind and I will show you where to go’. This encourages us to pursue Him for further revelation, and we then find that this only comes by first pursuing relationship with Him.
He uses that initial encounter or vision to get us started on the pathway. Sooner or later we will meet opposition which we need to press through to overcome, often from well-meaning believers, friends or family who try to put us off doing what God is asking us to do. Other people’s negative words have hindered many from fulfilling their destiny.
Fight for it
“And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel” (Gen 3:15).
Adam lost his inheritance but God’s ultimate plan did not change. He promised restoration through conflict. There is conflict, enmity, between the path of the tree of life and the path of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
We have to be willing to fight for our destiny. Jesus himself overcame the circumstances of His illegitimate birth and an early attempt on His life. Later on, He faced temptation and opposition from all kinds of people, from his own family and disciples through to the religious and political leaders. He persevered even to sweating drops of blood in Gethsemane and willingly giving up His life on the cross.
Abraham
Many other people we read about in the Bible experienced the same thing. Abraham did not just get the Promised Land handed to him. God took him (and his descendants) on a journey in which they could learn to trust Him and be obedient, with varying degrees of success. When the people of Israel came out of Egypt they crossed the wilderness to the Promised Land only to find it full of giants needing to be conquered. But God gave them divine strategy to overcome the opposition they faced.
So where are you? Are you in slavery in Egypt, wandering around in the wilderness, or are you in your own Promised Land, fighting to take possession of your inheritance?
Joseph
Joseph had wonderful visions, but his family reacted badly. He had a coat of many colours, favour, a double portion… and it seemed he had lost it all. He was betrayed by his brothers, thrown into a pit, and sold into slavery in Egypt. He suffered false accusation and imprisonment. He was forgotten and let down by other people time and again.
Most people would have given up, thinking ‘those dreams must not have been from God’. Not Joseph. He continued to believe that God’s plan was alive and well. The reality is that he started out somewhat naïve, and his destiny for ruling could never have been learned in his father’s house, so God removed him. His experience of exile and prison taught him about people: through encountering animosity and jealousy he became streetwise.
Instead of being deflected from our purpose by treating everything we face as misfortune, how about we call it ‘refining’, and allow it to transform and change us?
David
David eventually became the great king he was destined to be, but not without first facing family opposition, killing a giant, surviving the previous king’s attempts to assassinate him, living in a cave with a bunch of oddballs (which sounds a lot like ‘church’ to me) and fighting off Philistines trying to rob him of his family and possessions. Only when he had overcome all that could he fulfil the purpose of God in his generation.
Esther
Esther was seemingly on a fast track to nowhere. Orphaned, kidnapped to a harem, separated from her remaining family, not allowed to speak to anyone, she went through a whole year of purification in order to spend the rest of her life in futile servitude at the whim of the king. God had other ideas. As her uncle Mordecai asked her, ‘What if you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?’ God is saying the same thing to each of us today.
She saved a whole nation by taking her life in her hands, stepping out of cultural expectations and going to see the king uninvited. You may not know the significance of your destiny, what its consequences might be in the plans and purposes of God for yourself, your family, your nation, your world. God has a purpose for you. Be an agent for change. Be a world-changer.
Let’s be willing to be transformed, to come into maturity. Let’s embrace the fullness of who we are and fulfil every part of the destiny God has for us. We sing,
I am royalty
I have destiny I have been set free
I’m gonna shape history I’m gonna change the world (Jake Hamilton – The Anthem).
It’s great to sing that we are going to change the world – but it will only happen if we believe that, because of who we are in God, we really can.
Discovering Destiny: mp3 audio teaching series by Mike Parsons.
All three ‘Destiny’ teaching series are also included in our subscription programme, Engaging God.
Our Patreon patrons give a small amount each month and can join us for our monthly group Zooms, get exclusive or early access to Mike’s teaching and enjoy further patron-only benefits. Or you can use the blue button to contact us about making a one-time gift. Thank you! *Note Sadly, because of abuse by scammers we can no longer offer a ‘click to donate’ option. However, if you contact us, we will get back to you with a simple means of giving.
In the pursuit of our destiny we need to be careful not to covet somebody else’s calling. If we do, it is possible we will find ourselves pursuing an alien destiny. I am not talking about little green (or grey) men, I am talking about chasing something God never intended for us, but for someone else. That can lead us into frustration and confusion because something seems to be constantly obstructing our path, hindering us or tripping us up. All right, no-one said it would be easy, but this is more than just obstacles to overcome, this is a dead end.
Arthur Burk calls it an ‘alien birthright’, and likens it to an immaculately constructed train track (complete with ballast, signals and crossings) laid across the middle of a cornfield we are called to cultivate: it leads nowhere, and meanwhile it gets in the way of what we are supposed to be doing.
Lot
Lot’s destiny was not in Canaan. We know that, because God told Abram to leave his family behind.
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; (Genesis 12:1).
Lot’s destiny was in Ur or Haran or some other place. And yet in verse 4 we read that Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Lot wanted a part in Abraham’s destiny. He tagged along with him and for a few years he prospered on the back of Abram’s blessing. His herds and flocks multiplied just as Abram’s did. But eventually there was a falling out between their servants, so Abram and Lot agreed to go their separate ways:
So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me; if to the left, then I will go to the right; or if to the right, then I will go to the left.” Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the Lord.
Abram offered him the option of taking the best land, and he did! But the best land took him to Sodom. Soon after, Abram had to go and rescue him when he was taken captive by rebel kings, and still eventually he lost everything, including his wife, in the destruction of the city. The only reason he got out with his own life was that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot lived (Gen 19:29). Finally, his daughters got him drunk and had children by him, Moab and Ammon, who each became nations hostile to God’s purposes.
All because Lot coveted Abraham’s destiny.
Occult
There are plenty of other ways to pick up an alien destiny. Our past generations can have an effect on us, or there may be things we have done as individuals which have allowed it to take place. It can happen through occult involvement, or through masonic oaths and curses, and if we do not deal with it these things can project onto our future generations too.
It can happen through fortune-telling, tarot cards, astrology or reading tea leaves, anything which involves looking to a wrong source for your destiny. Cults are another way. A cult is designed to take away your individual identity and purpose, and draw you into a group identity and purpose. If you embrace that and buy into the vision of the group, you lose yourself.
If we open the door, the enemy will lay all kinds of false trails because he wants to deflect us from fulfilling the true purpose God has for our lives. Any legal right we give him, or that he can find in our generational line, he will take.
Perhaps our parents wanted a child of a different gender, or tried to fulfil their unfulfilled dreams through us. Perhaps we were coerced into conforming to the family tradition or business, maybe becoming a doctor, a lawyer, a pastor or a thief. That kind of pressure can prevent us connecting with our true calling. Or perhaps we glimpsed our own destiny and turned it down as something we could never attain (or the reverse, something we could never be content with).
How would we know?
Buried under layers superimposed on our lives, our true birthright still endeavours to make itself known. If we do not know who we are or why we are here, if we sense deep down a yearning for something completely different, if we often have daydreams, if we come to realise that we would fit in better somewhere else, if our deepest wishes and desires go constantly unfulfilled, it may be because we are pursuing an alien destiny.
If we have reached the pinnacle of achievement but still feel unfulfilled, perhaps we have attained that success in an area God never intended. It feels like a mockery. Solomon knew a little about that. He never really fulfilled all that God called him to do because he got distracted by ‘the girls, the gold and the glory’.
“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” (Ecc 1:2).
When we are following God’s ordained plan for our lives, our timeline is designed for our success (Ps 139, especially verse 16). He has positioned events, people, structures, assets and resources at certain points along our pathway in such a way as to facilitate our destiny, divinely ordered appointments to help us, to stimulate us and enable us to fulfil God’s purpose. But if we are stumbling over a length of rail track across the middle of our field, we will never encounter them.
Spiritual laziness
We are in danger if we look at someone else’s anointing, mantles, gifts or position and desire it for ourselves. Now there is a place for having heroes of the faith, people we look up to and in whose example we find encouragement and inspiration, but we cannot covet someone else’s birthright because it looks more glamorous, more high-profile, or offers more kudos. We must not despise our own calling by yearning to be someone else.
Again, if we are always looking for shortcuts to success because of spiritual laziness, if we do not want to take the time to develop character and deal with our issues, if the price for that seems too high, we will find plenty of people willing to oblige. They are those who prey on the lazy, looking to legitimise their own ministry by giving away things that do not fit our lives, offering mantles, impartation and false prophetic readings. Many have taken on things which were never designed for them because some prophet with mixed motives said “you should be doing this”. Too often, instead of being willing to pay the cost for unpacking something of true value and worth, we are seduced by the lure of the sparkly and attractive, offered on the cheap.
We live in the culture of the instant, in a society which expects immediate gratification. That is not God’s way. People with great anointing have normally paid the price for what they have, so if someone is offering it to us cut price or free of charge, then beware! If we get zapped by something which is alien to us, it can create that ‘track in a field’ which leads to nothing.
There is a legitimate laying on of hands, to impart gifts, pass on the baton, or receive mantles which release our own destiny. This is to help us be who we really are, not to tell us we are to be something or someone else. God will tell us who we are and we will find it already vibrating within our hearts. I know some people here at Freedom who have had ‘prophetic words’ spoken over them which they were wise enough to reject because they did not resonate with what was in their hearts.
What can we do about it?
If we are constantly tripping over others’ tracks, then we need to ask ourselves the question, have we pursued or lusted after someone else’s destiny? If we feel that we have, or that our generational line has, then we can repent. The true meaning of the word in scripture is nothing to do with being sorry or making amends, it means ‘change your mind’.
We need to change the way we think, turn away from it, renounce it, and get deliverance. We will have to forgive and release the people responsible, whether ourselves, our ancestors or other people who had a part in causing us to go after the alien destiny.
Have we despised and rejected the amazing destiny God actually designed for us? If we have gone chasing after something else then yes, we have! Let’s repent of that too.
All this might take a while. We are talking about transformation of a whole mindset, which rarely happens overnight: let’s give it whatever time is necessary to do it thoroughly. Even as we do we can begin to engage with Him about how to pursue what He really has for us, and get back onto the path of our true destiny.
Discovering Destiny: mp3 audio teaching series by Mike Parsons.
All three ‘Destiny’ teaching series are also included in our subscription programme, Engaging God.
Our Patreon patrons give a small amount each month and can join us for our monthly group Zooms, get exclusive or early access to Mike’s teaching and enjoy further patron-only benefits. Or you can use the blue button to contact us about making a one-time gift. Thank you! *Note Sadly, because of abuse by scammers we can no longer offer a ‘click to donate’ option. However, if you contact us, we will get back to you with a simple means of giving.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
We can only love God because He first loved us. The Father sent Jesus because He loves us. All He is looking for is for us to respond to that love and come into a relationship with Him. Then we will begin to know that we have been called according to His purpose.
Do we know what that purpose is? Are we seeking for it? Are we just aimlessly wandering around hoping it will materialise for us? Or are we self-absorbed, living only for the present, wrapped up in trivial self-gratification, in material possessions, position or power?
Perhaps it is buried deep within our hearts, beneath layers of disappointment, frustration and regret built up over the years over generations. God wants us to discover it again. He desires us to know the thoughts He has about us (Psalm 139:17 NLT) thoughts of love, acceptance, affirmation, encouragement and blessing. Accomplishing God’s purpose for us brings fulfilment; achieving any other purpose we may substitute for it brings only emptiness.
When we come into this world our spirit perceives itself disconnected from God; our spirit disconnected from our soul; our spirit disconnected from heaven. We start out as slaves to sin, feeling rejected and disconnected from the sonship God designed us to enjoy.
Legacy
Destiny should lead to legacy, something left behind to bless the next generation. Not many have a Christian heritage – if you do, it is something to cherish and be thankful for. But every person who ever lived had a destiny, a purpose for their lives which God intended them to fulfil. We may feel like we have missed out on ours but God is able to restore everything stolen from us, including not only our own destiny but also that of our generational line.
Each individual’s destiny is a vital part of the overall plan and purpose of God. His plan has not changed since He called Adam and Eve to bring heaven to earth, to manifest the rule of God in this realm and populate the earth with people who would live in relationship with Him. God’s intention has always been to bring blessing to every family that would ever live.
Despite Adam’s fall, that destiny was passed on from Adam down through the generations to Noah, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to Joseph; to Moses, Joshua, Gideon, David and Solomon; to Jesus, to the apostles, to the church (ekklesia), that is, to us. But so many have missed out along the way.
We saw last time that a whole string of Bible characters failed to enter fully into their destiny. Every instance of that is a result of some kind of sin, rebellion or iniquity, either in the individuals concerned or in their generations. Your spirit can recognise a generational root: if you feel stirred by any of the examples we look at, and you do not recognise it in your own life, ask God to reveal to you if there is anything in your generational line that is holding back your destiny from you. There is a place you can go to get destinies restored that have been lost to past generations.
Adam and Eve, Esau
Adam and Eve lost their destiny by eating from the wrong tree and hiding from God. Skipping forward several generations, Esau despised his birthright (Gen 25:27-34), despised the spiritual dimension of his life. He was a ‘macho man’, over-impressed with his own soul, power and ability. That attitude cost him.
Jacob
Scripture often speaks of ‘Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’, and Jacob is a really sad case. If you can get three generations to fulfil the purpose of God it establishes something significant, so the enemy’s attack on that third generation is all the more intense. Jacob missed out on God’s best for his life, and spoilt what God had planned for his future generations.
Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and live there…” (Gen 35:1). At Bethel, Jacob had met God in a dream and seen angels ascending and descending. He himself called it ‘the house of God, the gateway of heaven’ (Gen 28:17). Who wouldn’t want to live somewhere like that? But it was not a suitable place for Jacob’s livestock, so he moved on.
Then they journeyed from Bethel; and when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe labour… So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem)… Then Israel journeyed on…It came about while Israel was dwelling in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine, and Israel heard of it (Gen 35:16, 19, 21, 22).
Would Rachel have died at Bethel? Would Reuben have got involved with Bilhah? Reading on, Jacob suffered continual family issues he would not have faced had he stayed where God told him to. These included the rape of his daughter, Dinah, and culminated in his eventual migration to Egypt, where his family went into slavery for generations. That is not the kind of legacy you want to leave.
Jacob teaches us that our destiny can be linked to a specific location: we can lose our destiny by moving away from where God tells us to stay, or by staying somewhere (perhaps through misplaced loyalty to people, organisations or churches) when God has told us to leave. Let’s be sure we are where God wants us to be. He told Abraham to go, and told Jacob to stay.
Moses
Moses’ destiny was to free Israel from Egypt, but he tried to do it his own way. He killed an Egyptian and hid in the desert for forty years. God called him back to his destiny, but he still failed to complete it. Moses was angry at the persistent devaluing of his office and authority by a people with a spirit and mentality of slavery. Although he had the blessing and favour of God, and moved in God’s power and authority, he still wanted the favour of the people. So he struck the rock, disobeyed God, and forfeited his right to enter the Promised Land.
This is a dangerous temptation: to use the anointing to do the work of the kingdom, but to do so in order to legitimise ourselves or our ministry, to seek the favour of men. Moses lost his destiny because of his insecurity: Jesus faced the same temptation but refused to use God’s power to legitimise himself in the eyes of men.
Judah
The nation of Judah lost the Promised Land by abusing it, by not giving it its sabbath rest every seven years. They failed to trust in God’s provision, and went into exile in Babylon as a result. If we do not take proper care of our destiny, we can lose it. The condition of our spirit, soul and body is important: sleeping, eating, resting; getting the times and seasons in sync. If we don’t care for ourselves, it is a form of abuse and can cost us our destiny.
Jewish nation
The religious leaders of Jesus’ time rejected their king and forfeited their destiny. They generated enormous income through corruption, and saw that His talk of a house of prayer for the nations and the coming of the kingdom was a threat to both their religious money-making scams and their position of authority with the people. If we make decisions based on financial security or protecting our position rather than on faith in God, we risk being drawn away from our destiny.
Joshua
Don’t trade your destiny away. If we don’t fulfil our destiny, God can pass it on to someone else. Where Moses stepped down, Joshua stepped up. God is raising up a Joshua generation so He can release lost destinies, mantles and legacies upon them.
Restoring lost destiny
What happens to lost destinies?
One Sunday morning, during the worship, I had a vision in heaven. I was engulfed in flames for about twenty minutes. In that place I was given a large staff with a golden headpiece. Now, if I don’t know what something is for, I know where to go:
Does not wisdom call…?
On top of the heights beside the way,
Where the paths meet, she takes her stand;
Beside the gates, at the opening to the city,
At the entrance of the doors, she cries out (Prov 8:1-3).
This is a real place in the heavenly realms we can all go to engage with Wisdom. That is where I went that Sunday. I was taken to a room with four doors: the second one opened and I walked into a place of flames, just as I had experienced earlier. I saw a huge door guarded by a balrog-like creature, and I just knew what the staff I had been given was for: I slammed it into the ground, the door opened and I went into Satan’s trophy room.
This is such a sad place! Lost destinies, anointings and mantles are displayed as trophies there, like a hunter might display on his wall the heads of animals he has killed. Family inheritances, the legacies that belong to you, they are trophies there. I began to get really indignant, and something in my spirit started to stir me to say ‘I want these back!’
And I knew this was why God had given me that staff. He had given me a mandate to recover and restore those family destinies and legacies. You see, my father passed nothing spiritual onto me, and yet his great-grandfather was a great man of God. That is the enemy’s desire, to rob us of what we should have had.
How we can get back things that were lost generations ago? They are stored up there, and God wants to release them and restore them to us. The very memory of our family inheritance may have been lost or stolen but it is still stored and recorded. The iniquity of the fathers may be visited on the children to the third and fourth generation, but we can remove all the enemy’s legal rights and recover our family’s destinies and legacies. We can stop the cycle of robbery, and get back what has been taken from us, so that we can pass on a legacy to the next generation.
Are we willing to do what it takes for that to happen? Let’s make a start today.
Removing Satan’s legal rights
By faith, we are going to step into the Court of Accusation in heaven, and if God shows you something while we do this, then you can deal with it in your own spirit.
Father I thank you that you love me
And that your kingdom is based on righteousness and justice.
By faith I step into the heavenly court of accusation.
I stand on my own behalf and on behalf of my generational line.
I face my accusers and I accept and agree that I and my ancestors
Have wrongly traded away my destiny Inheritance.
I accept that I and they
Have followed the pathway of the knowledge of good and evil.
I accept that I and they
Have been influenced and motivated
By earthly, natural and demonic wisdom.
I stand here representing myself and my forefathers, identifying with them. I repent of and renounce all false trading for myself and my forefathers I receive the judgment of God and His declaration That I am justified and made righteous through my advocate, Jesus.
I release the judgment of God against my adversaries and accusers. I receive a mandate to have my destiny and legacy restored. I receive the authority to access Satan’s trophy room And take back what has been robbed from me.
I step back into this realm with the authority to fulfil my destiny. I choose to be identified as your son with the capacity for the fullness of my legacy to be restored to me.
Mike revisits the place of fire in this this Supernatural Mentoring video, and takes back something of even more value than lost destinies…
(The relevant portion begins at around 23 minutes 45 seconds – click the ‘play’ button on the video window below and it should start in the right place):
Discovering Destiny: mp3 audio teaching series by Mike Parsons.
All three ‘Destiny’ teaching series are also included in our subscription programme, Engaging God.
Our Patreon patrons give a small amount each month and can join us for our monthly group Zooms, get exclusive or early access to Mike’s teaching and enjoy further patron-only benefits. Or you can use the blue button to contact us about making a one-time gift. Thank you! *Note Sadly, because of abuse by scammers we can no longer offer a ‘click to donate’ option. However, if you contact us, we will get back to you with a simple means of giving.
Unconditional Love – new book out now
via YouTube
Sons of Issachar 