Private Disciplines for Our Sense of Personal Mission

The private disciplines that will strengthen our sense of personal mission can be separated into three different categories: reflection, questioning, and feedback. With all three of these areas we need to seek God"s revelation and understanding, listening to the inner voice of the Holy Spirit. As we prayerfully and consistently invest in these private disciplines, our lives will gain a stronger sense of vision, direction, and purpose.

Reflection

"Effective leaders gain a growing awareness of their sense of destiny and make decisions and actions that will move them towards seeing some or all of it fulfilled." (Dr. J. Robert Clinton)

God is sovereignly working in our lives, guiding us, shaping and forming our character and ministry through the circumstances and experiences we face. One of the major ways of gaining insight into the processes and direction in which God is leading us, is that of reflecting on the past. After significant experiences with God, Abraham built altars to God that renewed his commitment and also served as a reminder of the lessons of the past. We can gain fresh insight and a deeper sense of personal mission by reflection, and by recording the encounters and revelations in a "Destiny Journal". By understanding the past we will gain a clearer vision and direction for the future. 

A "Destiny Journal" is just a notebook in which we record the experiences and revelations that have strengthened our sense of destiny. For each entry we should record the date of the event, a descriptive title, describe the experience, and interpret its relevance toward our understanding of our life purpose. An example of an entry in the journal is:

  Centurion in the Lord"s Army

Prophecy from Thomas Johnson that he saw me as a centurion in the army of the Lord.

A centurion was in charge of around 100 people.

Major role: I would be involved in leadership with influence over others.

Dr. J. Robert Clinton highlights four different types of destiny experiences that we can record in our journal: Awe Inspiring Experiences, Indirect Destiny Experiences, Providential Circumstances, and The Blessing of God. 

Awe inspiring experiences are when God reveals himself to us in a clear and unmistakable way, and we become aware that God has a special purpose for our life. Biblical examples of such experiences include Joshua and the Captain of the Lord"s army, Jacob wrestling with God, Mary with the angel Gabriel, and Ananias" revelation about Paul. Other examples can be when we gain direct insight from God through prayer, or when reading the Word of God.

Indirect destiny experiences are those that occur as a result of someone else"s actions on our behalf. Sometimes we do not even have a choice in these events. Examples of this are Moses" life being saved by his parents placing him in the basket, the persecution of the believers in Jerusalem that led to them moving to Judea and Samaria (Acts 8). Other examples of indirect destiny experiences are prophetic words that we receive that confirm our decision making, and receiving affirmation of our gifts and calling from other people.

Providential circumstances are those that confirm the purposes that God has for us. Through reflecting on the circumstances and contexts (such as birth circumstances, location of birth) we can see them all lining up towards God"s purposes. An accumulation of these, when viewed at a later point, will give confirmation that we are in the centre of God"s purposes for us. Biblical examples of these are many circumstances in Joseph"s life (Genesis 50:20) like meeting a palace official in prison, also Paul being raised in the multicultural city of Tarsus so that he was exposed to both Greek and Hebrew thought.

The Blessing of God is when we repeatedly experience the powerful presence of God in our lives and ministry. This accumulated evidence sustains a strong sense of destiny. For example, Joseph saw repeated blessing on his administrative skills (Genesis 39:2-5). Often these experiences will occur when we have been involved in something that we really enjoy and feel that we have contributed to something of value. For example, some people may experience this whilst mentoring a group of people, others may experience it when they are witnessing to gangs of young people, for others it may be when comforting someone who has just been bereaved.

As we reflect on these destiny experiences and record them in our "Destiny Journal" we will be able to see patterns and repeated themes. Over time we will be able to identify some of the unique methodologies that could be the means to leaving the legacy that we deeply desire. This can lead to greater insight into the major role towards which God is moving us that will enable us to use our unique methodologies in order to make our ultimate contribution.

Questioning

"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4)

The second category of disciplines that will strengthen our sense of destiny is that of asking ourselves questions. By prayerfully using our imagination and creativity we can gain fresh insight into the purposes that God has for us. Exercises such as the "What Matter"s Most?" exercise that you did in study 1.3 can help us to discover the purposes and plans that God has for us. The important point to note here is that we discover the purposes, we do not invent them. God has already determined the purposes for our lives; our goal should be to discover those purposes and to make them our personal mission.

There are many questionnaires available that will help us to uncover our gifts, calling, and destiny. Some may give us insight into the kind of person we should become, others may give us insight into the gifts and methodologies we should use, and others may give us insight into the kind of role we should fulfil. The insights that we gain from such exercises can be written in our "Destiny Journal" so that we have a permanent record of these thoughts. When considered alongside the other destiny experiences, we may gain a clearer understanding of God"s purpose for our lives.

We can also develop our own questions that will help to uncover our personal mission. For example, we can consider such questions as: "If you had no constraints, what would you do?" "What do you enjoy doing most?" "What fires your imagination?" "Name three people that have been a positive model for your life. What characteristics from their lives and ministries would you like to see in your own life?" "Write down some areas that you like to read and hear about." Again, we can record the insights that we gain from these questions in our "Destiny Journal".

Feedback

We receive feedback when we ask others about the character and contribution of our lives. For example, I may feel that I am a great preacher. I may imagine myself preaching to thousands of people; each of them gripped by the power, authority, and insight in my words. The way to discover whether my preaching is as good as I think it is, is by asking some of the people who have to listen to me. When we ask for feedback, we need to be willing to listen to them. In asking my listeners I may discover that they are actually totally bored when I speak! Their feedback may be an indication that preaching is not a part of my personal mission, or at least not a major part.

The comments that we receive from other people can give us greater insight into the gifts and calling that God has for us. Repeatedly receiving similar comments from different people can help us to identify some of our strengths and weaknesses. By asking for feedback from specific groups of people, we can gain a clearer picture of our life purpose. For example, asking those in leadership over us will give us different insight from asking those we work with or asking those that we lead. Feedback from all three groups of people will be valuable in gaining fresh insight and confirmation of our gifts and calling.

As we share and ask for feedback from others, we need to carefully consider everything that is said. We must prayerfully consider their comments and respond to the areas that we feel are right and be ready to put aside those comments that we feel are incorrect. The insights that we gain can be written in our "Destiny Journal", so that we can gain a clearer picture of God"s overall leading in our lives.