Fulfill Your Destiny — Aneel Aranha 

Hello and welcome to The Hope Podcast. I’m Aneel Aranha. Today we are going to talk about how God is using our challenges to move us into our destiny. 

Have you heard the term “couch potato”? It is used to define a person who sits around watching television all day long, getting little or no exercise. So what’s the image that comes to mind when you think of such a person? An obese slob sitting in his underwear guzzling beer, right? Now, why would anybody want to be that? Well, it’s very comfortable! Haha.

But, seriously, we are all in danger of becoming couch potatoes spiritually. When everything is going well in our lives—when relationships are good, business is booming, prosperity is on the rise, and prospects are favorable—it is easy to become complacent and take it easy. However, we cannot grow unless we are stretched, so now and then, God takes us out of our comfort zones—our couches—and puts us into unfamiliar and uncertain territory. 

We all experienced this when the Coronavirus hit us. Everything we had become accustomed to and taken for granted suddenly was in flux. Not only were our means of livelihood threatened, but our very lives were also at risk. We couldn’t even worship God in the comfort of our churches anymore. It brought many of us to our knees, praying to God as we had never prayed before. It also made us face up to the challenges. It made us stronger, braver, more courageous, more confident.

Some of us lost our faith when our prayers were not answered, not understanding what God was doing. He definitely didn’t cause the virus, but he was using these challenges to move us into our destiny. God has great plans for us, bigger than we can imagine, but we stop them from happening when we allow fear or doubt to overwhelm us in the face of obstacles and opposition. 

We have started settling into our couches yet again. But God can still shake us if he feels we are becoming too comfortable. We can lose friends we depend upon. We can face a tough predicament at work. We can suddenly find ourselves in the wilderness. We tend to blame the devil for these things but consider that it could be God instead. Remember that it was the Holy Spirit who led Jesus into the desert! (see Matthew 4:1‑11).

When this happens to you, dear friend, do not lose faith. Remember that if God has brought you to it, he will take you through it. Yes, I know that sounds very clichéd, but it’s true. And he will use these challenges to move you into your destiny.

It will be fantastic! 

God bless you.