Discovering Destiny (Part 7) – The Right Plan, The Wrong Clock

https://youtu.be/zfGbN6w6VHQ?si=TfPMK57Ye-P60JBp

Today, we continue our focus on THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, as we learn to maintain our posture of faith after God has revealed His plans for our future.

Yesterday in our “Discovering Destiny” series, we watched God protect baby Moses, turn the river meant to kill him into the road that carried him to the palace, and make the enemy finance his education. Today, we slow down and discover why God went to such lengths to educate him, and we discover two things that will keep you in step with God: you cannot get ahead of Him, and you cannot do His work your way.

Key scriptures for this year:

2 Peter 3:18 GNT“But continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now and forever.”

Luke 10:20 Mirror“It’s time for you to rediscover who you are from Heaven’s perspective.”

1 John 3:10 Mirror“There is a very visible and vast difference between living one’s life from your God identity or from a fallen man’s mindset.”

Proverbs 25:2 NKJV“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”

Jeremiah 29:13 NIV“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Scripture we will study today:

Acts 7:22 ERV“The Egyptians taught Moses everything they knew. He was a powerful man in all he said and did.”

Acts 7:23-25 ERV“When Moses was about 40 years old, he decided to visit his brothers, the people of Israel. He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so Moses defended him. He hit the Egyptian to pay him back for hurting the man. Moses thought that his own people would understand that God was using him to save them. But they did not understand.”

Supporting scriptures:

Exodus 2:11-12 ERV“Moses grew and became a man… One day he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew man, one of Moses’ own people. Moses looked around and saw that no one was watching, so he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.”

Ephesians 2:10 TPT“We have become his poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny he has given each of us… Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it!”

Habakkuk 2:3 AMPC“For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end [fulfillment]; it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait [earnestly] for it, because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day.”

Setting the Stage:

We tend to read past one line in the story. Acts 7 says the Egyptians taught Moses everything they knew. That is easy to skip. But I will attempt to put this in context. In the ancient world, almost no one could read or write. Historians estimate that only about one in a hundred people (1%) in ancient Egypt ever learned the skill. Reading and writing were rare, guarded, elite tools, and Moses landed in the one house on earth where he would master them.

That was not a coincidence. That was a preparation. God was equipping a man for an assignment Moses could not yet see. And here is where it gets personal, because the rest of the story shows us that even a prepared man can move at the wrong time and in the wrong way. So today, we discover three things: God prepares you on purpose, you cannot get ahead of Him, and you cannot do His work your own way.

So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.

1. Almost No One Could Read, But God Made Sure Moses Could.

Reading and writing were not common in Moses’ day. They were the privilege of a tiny few; about 1% of the population. And of all the Hebrew boys born under Pharaoh’s death decree, the one God planned to use ended up in the only classroom in the nation that could give him the skill. When you discover your destiny, you start to discover why God allowed your training.

How this applies to you:

— The same enemy who tried to kill Moses wound up paying to educate him in the rarest skills of his day. This is just yet another reminder that God is orchestrating things for his purpose in your life. 

— God does not position you by accident. He positions you by assignment.

— Acts 7:22 ERV says, “The Egyptians taught Moses everything they knew.” The deliverer was being trained in the house of the oppressor, and the oppressor had no idea that they were preparing the man who would ultimately lead to their demise. 

— What looked like a privileged childhood was actually a divine preparation.

— The rooms you sat in, the streets you walked on, the things you learned, the skills you picked up that seemed ordinary, were heaven loading your toolbox before you knew the job.

— Part of discovering your destiny is discovering that your training was never random. 

— As I close out this point, I also need to bring up the fact that your training does not have to be pleasant for it to be purposeful. For Moses, his purpose led him into a lavish lifestyle where everything was provided for him, and he got the best of the best. In my case, my purpose led me to one of the worst neighborhoods in our nation in the late 70s and early 80s. But whether it was pleasant or problem-filled, I said earlier, “When you discover your destiny, you start to discover why God allowed your training.” For me, that training involved navigating a violent and drug-infested neighborhood where tensions were high between racial and ethnic groups. For Moses, that training involved crawling up a palace and being trained by the Egyptians, but once again, your training does not have to be pleasant for it to be purposeful. There is a purpose in what God allowed you to go through. 

2. God Gave Him The Education The Assignment Required.

Moses was not only called to lead a nation out of Egypt. He was called to write the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. That assignment demanded a literate, disciplined, trained mind. God made sure the man who would write Scripture could actually write.

How this applies to you:

— The man who would pen the opening books of God’s Word needed the finest education on earth, and God arranged it before Moses knew the assignment existed.

— God does not call the equipped. He equips the called.

— God always supplies the equipment and preparation the assignment requires.

— A skill you developed along the way that seems ordinary may be the exact tool your destiny depends on.

— Nothing in your preparation is wasted, because God prepares the worker before He releases the work.

— Ephesians 2:10 TPT says God “planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it.” The works were planned, so the preparation was planned too.

— I have told you many times that you must be processed to be able to carry the weight of the anointing associated with the assignment. 

— You are not behind. You are being equipped, and the discovery of your assignment will explain the years of your preparation.

3. The Right Thing At The Wrong Time Becomes The Wrong Thing.

Here is where a prepared man got it wrong. Moses knew he was the deliverer. He felt the assignment burning in him. But at 40 years old, he moved on his own clock, decades before God’s appointed time, and it ended in a dead body and a desert. The assignment was real. The timing was not.

How this applies to you:

— Acts 7:23-25 ERV shows Moses acting at 40, certain his people would see that God was using him. He had the right assignment and the wrong timing.

— You can be completely right about your calling and completely wrong about the clock.

— The flesh is always in a hurry. The Spirit always moves on schedule.

— Getting ahead of God creates a mess. In this case, it cost Moses the next 40 years. 

— Being called does not mean you don’t make mistakes, and it doesn’t mean you don’t cause unnecessary delays. One decision made in a moment of emotion caused Moses to spend 40 years in the desert. Think about this the next time you’re allowing your emotions to get the best of you. 

— Habakkuk 2:3 AMPC says the vision is “for an appointed time… Though it tarry, wait [earnestly] for it.” Discovering your destiny includes discovering God’s timing, not just God’s plan.

— The right thing at the wrong time becomes the wrong thing. An assignment forced before its hour will fail, even when the assignment is from God.

— Do not let the size of the call push you ahead of the timing of the Caller.

4. The Right Thing Done The Wrong Way Becomes The Wrong Thing.

Look closer at how Moses moved, because timing was not his only error. His heart was right. He wanted to defend his people. But he did a God-sized work with human hands, in secret, by violence. Exodus says he looked around, made sure no one was watching, killed the man, and buried him in the sand. Right thing, wrong way.

How this applies to you:

— Exodus 2:12 ERV says, “Moses looked around and saw that no one was watching.” Anything you have to look around before you do is the flesh, not the Spirit.

— The right thing done the wrong way becomes the wrong thing. A right desire carried out in the flesh is still the wrong move.

— God cares about how you do it, not just what you do.

— Moses killed one Egyptian and thought he had started a deliverance. One body in the sand freed no one.

— The same nation God would later free through Moses by grace could never be freed by Moses through force.

— What God plans to do by His Spirit can never be accomplished by your flesh.

— When you discover your destiny, you also discover this: it is not just what you do, but how and when you do it that proves you are following God.

That’s enough for today. Tomorrow, we will meet Moses at the burning bush.

Declaration of Faith:

Father, I thank You that You prepared me before You assigned me!

Nothing I have ever learned has been wasted in Your hands!

You do not call the equipped; You equip the called!

The skills in my hand are tools for the destiny in my future!

I will not run ahead of You, because Your timing is perfect!

I refuse to force in the flesh what You will finish by Your Spirit!

A right thing done the wrong way is still the wrong way!

I am not behind; I am being prepared for what You planned!

I am discovering Your plan, Your timing, and Your way!

This is THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!

I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!