Your Future and Your Destiny

The way you discover your destiny is by locating the one who knows where it is. Dr. Tony Evans says the key isn't chasing a plan. but finding the one who wrote it.

So don't go destiny hunting. Don't go plan hunting. Go planner hunting. Because he knows where he wants you to wind up. This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr.

Tony Evans. Many people think the biggest thing standing in the way of their future is their past. But today, Dr. Evans explains that if you're passionately pursuing God, your history doesn't affect your destiny. Let's join him as he unpacks that truth.

We've been going through a series called Destiny. The place where God wants to take your life.

So that your life is not lived wasted. But many of us find ourselves in a not too well lit location. Where we are right now is Not a pleasant place to be. You know, when you're in a hopeless situation, when your twin forgets your birthday. Yes, things are.

Feeling right. You know, it's not a good day when you hear birds singing outside your window only to discover when you look out they're buzzards. Not the kind of bird you want to hear from. on a cloudy day. A feeling, a sense of hopelessness like the The man who went to the doctor.

And the doctor said, I've got your test back, and I've got some bad news, and I've got some really bad news. He said, What's the bad news? The bad news is that you only have 24 hours to live. Said, that's the bad news. What's the really bad news?

Doctor said, the really bad news is I should have called you yesterday. Yeah. Things are just not. Working out. Many people are sensing this hopelessness, feeling graffiti written over their souls.

Finding themselves living under overcast skies. Living in a sea of hopelessness surrounded by a land called emptiness. A sense that Life's not working out. Having a feeling that It's not worth it. Regrets.

Circumstances not in your favor. And you don't feel like there's a destiny for you. That's why I love Jeremiah 29, 11. I have a plan for you, saith the Lord, a plan for your well-being and not your calamity, to give you a future and to give you a hope. Isn't that a great verse?

I have a plan for you, saith the Lord, a plan for your well-being and not for your calamity. to give you a future and to give you a hope. I have a plan for your life. We call that a destiny. I have a place, I'm taking you.

I have a plan for you, saith the Lord. A plan for your well-being and not your calamity to give you a future and to give you a hope. That is a well-lit verse in a very dark chapter. You see, Jeremiah 29 is a dark chapter. Verse 4 says that the people were in exile.

God had exiled them to this foreign pagan land called Babylon because of their sin. Because of their idolatry, because they weren't serious about him, they were suffering the consequences of their decision. They were incarcerated in a foreign land, they were in a place they didn't want to be. They were not in a happy situation. They were in a bad chapter in their lives.

And many of you have entered this series, and right now you're in a bad chapter. This chapter of your life is not well read. Perhaps it's your fault. You made some decisions and you're paying the consequences. Perhaps it's somebody else's fault.

They made decisions, but you are bearing the burden of their decision. And this particular chapter, of your life right now. is dark. But in a dark chapter, I still have a well-lit verse. I have a plan for you, saith the Lord, a plan for your well-being and not for your calamity, to give you a future and to give you a hope.

The families had to be brought back together because they were broken up. The economy was in trouble. He tells them they're going to have to start a new economic engine. Things were chaotic, but in a dark place, God says, I've got a good plan. It's not only a great verse in a dark chapter, it's a great verse in a dark chapter located in a dark book.

See, if you're depressed, don't read Jeremiah for devotions. That's not the book you want to read if you're depressed. Because it's a depressing book. It will depress you more because every chapter is God expressing his anger over the people's rebellion and them forsaking him. And so it's a dark chapter located in a dark book.

Some of you have ended this series in a dark chapter, but others of you have ended this series in a dark chapter located in a dark book. As far back as you can look, there's chapter after chapter of mistakes and failures and discouragement and depression and rejection. It's just one bad chapter after another bad chapter in your life. But in a dark chapter, located in a dark book, I still got a well-lit verse. I have a plan for you, saith the Lord, a plan for your well-being.

and not your calamity. to give you a future and a hope.

So the question is, what is hope? What in the world is hope? I know some people think Hope is wishing for something you know you're never going to get. But the biblical definition of hope. is joyful expectation about the future.

Hope is always future-oriented. Hope is always about where you're going, not where you are or where you come from. Hope means my tomorrow is going to be better than my yesterday. Where I'm going is better than where I am and where I'm coming from. My tomorrow is going to be better than my yesterday.

You know, you can go a long way with hope. If you can look out and see the possibility of a better day. You can keep going. But hopelessness means When I look out, it's as dark as what I see right now. Hopelessness means I don't see a better day.

Hopelessness says there is no light at the end of the tunnel, and if I do see a light, it's the light of an oncoming train. But hope. That sense that where I'm going. My tomorrow. Will be better than my today and grander than my yesterday because God is taking me to my destination.

He's taking me to what we've called our destiny. The divinely prescribed place he wants us to go.

Now, there are certain things he wants from all of us. He wants all of us to accept Christ. He wants all of us to become like Christ. But then there are specific things that are related to you that relate to your name. the specific purpose or calling upon your life.

And that's what we're focusing on, your personal destiny. God says, I have a plan for you. And it involves Not your calamity, not the bad things that you have been through or going through, but it involves well-being, he says. It involves something that's going to move you forward for good. And I have a plan.

And if For you. When many of you leave church, you're going to have to back out of your parking space. That means you're going to have to look in your rear view mirror to see what's behind you. You're going to look at this piece of glass and it will tell you what's in back of you. But on your way home, do me a favor, don't spend an inordinate amount of time.

Focus single. on the rearview mirror because you're going to hurt somebody. You see, there's a much bigger piece of glass in front of you called the windshield because where you're going is a lot bigger than where you came from. I have a plan for you, saith the Lord, a plan for your well-being and not your calamity. to give you a future.

And to give you a hope. And he says that to people who in a bad chapter in a bad book with a well-lit verse.

So no matter what your situation is right now. No matter the fact that That you like the person Who was rushing to catch the plane, but it took off before they arrived. Rushing to catch the train, but they missed it by minutes, and now they're stuck. Not being able to travel to their destination, not being able to fly to their destiny. That may be where you are.

In fact, you may be at the airport or the train station and not know which one to take. Because you don't know where you're going. God says, I have a plan for you, saith the Lord. A plan for your well-being and not your calamity. To give you A greater tomorrow.

Then you're present today. or you messed up yesterday. That's hope. And that's What God offers a good verse. in a bad chapter located in a difficult book.

When Dr. Evans returns in a moment, he'll show how God's promise of hope connects to the challenges we face today. But first, I'd like to let you know that today is your last chance to take advantage of our current special offer. It begins with Tony's newest book, Fighting the Good Fight Devotional for Men. Each day's reading is packed with biblical truth and practical wisdom to help you live with integrity as you pursue God's purpose for your life.

It's a powerful tool for men of all ages. and a meaningful gift for a father, son, or friend. If you contact us before the day's out, we'll send you a copy as our way of saying thanks when you make a contribution to help us keep Tony's teaching on this station. and along with the Fighting the Good Fight Devotional for Men, we'll also send you all six full-length messages in the audio series Tony's wrapping up today, entitled DESTINY, LED Use You Like He Made You. If you haven't taken advantage of this offer yet, today's the day.

Just visit Tony Evans.org or call us at 1-800-800-322, where someone on our resource team is happy to help. Again, that's tonyevans.org. or call 1-800-800-3222.

Well right now, let's get back to Dr. Evans in Jeremiah chapter 29.

So the Jews who he is writing to are struggling. They're struggling because They're in this location that they don't want to be and they don't know when they're going to get out. They don't know how long they're going to be stuck in this situation. And I know some of us are in situations, how much longer? Like Habakkuk, how long, oh Lord, how long?

How long will I have to endure this job? How long will I have to endure this singlehood? How long will I have to endure this financial strain? They were incarcerated in a. in a bad location.

So let me correct something as we move forward here. Many of you have gotten excited about the concept of destiny. There's a sense of bubbling up inside your soul that God really has something with my name written on it. Where he wants to take my life. He's got a future plan with me and mine.

Now you may be asking, But how do I really know God has a future? Because you're still here. But here's the mistake we do not want you to make. The mistake is to look for the plan and miss the planner. to look for the destiny and skip the designer.

Notice he says, I have a plan for you. I have the plan. I know what the plan is. I know where the plant is located. And you're saying, but I want my destiny.

How can I find the plan?

Well, look at verses. 12 and 13, then you will call upon me. And you will come and pray to me. And I will listen to you. You will seek me.

And find me. What you search for me. With all of your heart.

So here it is. The way you discover your destiny. is by locating the one who knows where it is.

So don't go destiny hunting. Don't go plan, honey. Go planner hunting. Go design nerve hunting. Because He knows where he wants you to wind up.

He knows where he's taking you. Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. I loved all the Indiana Jones movies. He's looking for the Holy Grail. His father Dr.

Jones has a map. where the holy grail is the problem is there's some evil people looking for the holy grail too And the evil people want the map. That will show where the Holy Grail is that Mr. Jones has. Indiana Jones' father.

So the evil people steal the map. From Dr. Jones. in order to be the first one to get to the Holy Grail. When they steal the map, Indiana Jones is discouraged and depressed.

He said, Dad, Dad, they've taken the map. They're going to get to the Holy Grail before we're able to get there. Dad, they stole the plan. Dr. Jones, Indiana Jones' father said.

Don't worry, Junior. Me don't worry, they've stolen the plan. He says, yes, I know they've stolen the plan, but I wrote the plan. Because I wrote the plan, I know what the plan is, I know where to go.

So even though you don't have the specific plan, follow me because I'm the planner. He says, Call upon me, seek me. And search for me. In order to find your destiny. God must be in the center spot of your life.

He must be The focus, because he has the plan. You don't! When you go to a meal. The first thing they give you is a menu. The menu Is the outline, the written word of what the restaurant has to offer.

You can salivate sometime just by reading the menu. Cause some menus look so good. Boy, you know, boy, that looks good. That looks good, that looks good. Boy, I'm not sure what I want because it all looks and sounds so good.

Not only do they give you a menu, They give you a preacher called a waiter or waitress. And what they do is they come and explain the menu. They tell you what this means, what that means, what this is, what they like on the menu. They come and do an exposition of the menu. In fact, they have a Q ⁇ A session.

Do you have any questions? And they will answer any questions you have about any of the meals on the menu because they've studied the menu, they've tasted the menu, so they can talk about the menu intelligently to you as you read over the written word. But after you read the word on the menu. And have the word explained to you by the waiter or waitress. You do not then pick up your coat.

and go home. Because you didn't come just to read about it. You didn't come for somebody else to explain it. You came to taste it. for yourself.

This is the thick menu. My job when you come to church is to tell you what the menu means. But if you, when we come to the benediction. Only have read the menu, had the menu explained to you, but have not tasted to see that the Lord is good. Your taste buds have not been infected and affected by his reality, then you're going to still leave hungry.

Because reading about it and having it explained isn't equal to tasting it for yourself. He says, Call upon me, seek me, and search for me, and you will find me when you look for me. With all of your heart.

Because I have a plan for you, saith the Lord. A plan for your well-being and not your calamity to give you a future. It may give you a hoax. And then it comes to verse 14. He says I will be found by you, declares the Lord.

And I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back. to the place from where I sent you in exile. I will be found by you. I remember when the kids were small, and we would play hide and go seek. I go hide behind something.

And they'd be counting one, two, three, four, thousand, one, thousand, two to the number, and then they would come looking for their father. And I had gone and hidden behind something. It would always be interesting when they got frustrated because they could not find me. They were looking for me, but they could not find me. And I could hear the frustration in their voice.

I would adjust my location and make myself findable. I would make it so they would hear a little something or see a little something, so I could be located. I made myself. Findable. He says, I will be found by you, verse 14.

If you're seriously looking for me, you say, Well, why does he hide? He wants to know if you're a serious looker. He wants to know, are you really after him? Are you serious about this? If so, he will make himself Findable.

You will be found by me. And how will you know when you found him? He says, and I will restore your fortunes. Oh, what a word. What a word is restoration.

Restoration. is when you get back what was ripped off from you.

Some of us have had our dignity ripped off from us, and we want it back.

Some of us have had our peace ripped off from us, and we want it back.

Some of us have had our Well, being ripped off from me and I want it back.

Some of us have had our hope stolen from me, and I want my hope back.

Some of us have had our peace taken from us, and I want my peace back. My joy has been stolen, and I wanted. Back! But I don't know where to find it. But God says, I have a plan.

I got a map. And I will be five. You find me. I will restore. I like that.

I will give you back what the enemy snatched from you. Let me tell you one of the main things the enemy has taken. Yeah. He's taking time. Because if we could have gone back and done it over again.

We wouldn't have wasted this much time. We wouldn't have made those decisions. We wouldn't have hung out with those people. We wouldn't have been in those places. And the enemy has taken years of our lives.

All of us knows that many a team has looked good in the first half. Many a team has looked like it was going to be a blowout. in the first half. But we've been watching football long enough to know. That you can look good in the first half and wind up being a loser in the game.

Conversely, You can look bad in the first half. and wind up being a winner in the game, because it ain't over till it's over. As long as the clock tick tock, tick tock, tick tock. As long as the clock is still ticking, that means you're still in the game. But many a game have been won.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. With seconds on the clock. You say, but can God give time back?

Well, according to Joel 2, he can give you back the years the locusts have taken away. He can even give you time. By causing you to make up for lost time if you locate him. Because he knows where your destiny is. is located.

You've heard me say that the When the kids were growing up. Sunday meals. I'd want to hurry up and finish preaching and get home to eat Sunday meals. Sister Evans, she was killing it in the kitchen. It'd be a roast potatoes, green beans, and...

And, you know, cornbread or rolls and 7-up cake and. I mean, you know, she she has yeah, fried chicken. But she was also the Tupperware queen. 'Cause she wasn't gonna do this again on Monday. Yeah, this So all the leftovers went into Tupperware.

Then she would bring them out on Monday and reconfigure them. One day I saw her take a casserole dish, take the leftovers from Sunday, chop it. Dice it, sprinkle the leftovers in the casserole dish. Then she went over and got some grated cheese, sprinkled the grated cheese over the leftovers from Sunday. Then she got some cream of mushroom, poured the cream of mushroom over the grated cheese that was over the leftovers in the casserole dish.

She put it in the oven, brought it out, gave it some French sound and name. That was the best stuff I ever had in my life. Let me tell you what it was. It was leftovers in the hands of a master. See, if you give God what you have left.

He knows how to dice it. Shop it. pour a little cream of holy ghost over it and still serve you up a life and a destiny. worth living because i have a plan for you saith the lord If you will give God whatever mess you've got right now and you will seriously run after Him, He can turn your mess. In two.

Your miracle. Dr. Tony Evans. with some encouragement on your future and your destiny. the final installment in his six lesson series called DESTINY, LEGOD Use You Like He Made You.

This series includes a lot of material we didn't have time to share on the broadcast. and you can get the full-length version of each message on digital download as well as on either C D or USB flash drive. Just make a contribution to support Tony's ministry here on The Alternative, and along with the Destiny series, we'll also send you, with our thanks, Dr. Evans' brand new Fighting the Good Fight devotional for men. But this is the last day we'll be presenting this unique double offer.

So visit tonyevans.org right away. or reach out to our resource center at 1-800-800-3222, where team members are on hand to help with your request. Again, that's online at tonyevans.org. or by phone at 1-800-800-3222. It may seem logical that the more you focus on a problem, the closer you'll get to a solution.

But tomorrow, Dr. Evans will explain that sometimes your focus is the problem. Be sure to join us as we learn how possessing the right perspective can empower us to rise above life's challenges.