Destined for Greatness

“Whatever the odds, never let the odds determine your destiny. God has destined you for greatness.” –Tony Evans (Kingdom Man)

Whether we feel comfortable enough to admit it in spiritual circles, men want to be great. I’ll admit it; I don’t mind...I want to be great. If you were brutally honest, I would bet that you also want to be great. But what may surprise you, and what I would like to suggest, is that far from what we often here in the biblical teaching on servant hood and humility is that God wants you to be great as well. Greatness is maximizing your potential for the glory of God and the good of others. Not only does God want you to be great in His Kingdom, He has destined you for it.

Men, God is not opposed to greatness. God is opposed to pride. Big difference, and unfortunately it is a difference not understood or embraced. Earlier in Genesis 12:2, God said directly to Abraham, “I will bless you and make your name great.” In 2 Samuel 7:9, God echoes these thoughts to David when He says, “I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a great name, like the names of the great men who are on the earth.” Keep in mind that was God talking. He was going to see to it that their names be etched in stone. God would make sure these men would not have just come here, been here, and left here. God would make sure these men would forever be known as great. Anytime God makes a name great that means He is recognizing greatness.

Jesus said in John 14:12, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these will he do.” That is not a verse preached on frequently. I’m not sure why, it’s a pretty straightforward truth. Jesus never traveled more than a few hundred miles from the place of His birth during His ministry. Yet the gospel has been spread around the world by men who have gone on to do the greater works. (Works, meaning being used by God) If in trying to be spiritual, you have shrunk away from your innate desire for significance, I want you to know, in doing so you have walked right into the enemy’s trap. The enemy doesn’t want you to realize that true greatness involves analyzing your gifts, talents, and skills in relation to God’s name and glory, and then maximizing them in an effort to expand your impact on others. God’s agenda is to advance His kingdom down the field of life, and to do so, He is looking for men who will rise to the occasion in their bid for greatness. You were made for greatness. It is okay to want it.

Meekness is not walking around with a sunken chest, head down, and doing everything you’re asked to do by those in your sphere. That’s not meekness, rather, it’s the world’s attempt to cage and emasculate a male. It is the enemy’s strategy to castrate men’s drive and sideline the starters on God’s Kingdom team. By painting complacency as a virtue and mediocrity as a goal, Satan has lulled the hearts of men asleep. Meekness is not weakness, it simply means submitting your power to a higher control, and it means submitting yourself to God’s kingdom rule.

Finally, known or unknown, you need to be great. Greatness for a kingdom man begins by aligning yourself with God’s kingdom agenda for the benefit of others. Whatever the odds, never let the odds determine your destiny. God has destined you for greatness.

Thanks for checking in again this week men. I’ve continued the Kingdom Man by Tony Evans. I’m only taking snippets because I encourage you to buy the book. I don’t take credit for any of it; I’m hoping it stirs up something in all who read it as it has me. I know He’s trying to get my attention. I don’t want to let Him down, not in this hour or any hour for that matter. Can you imagine what the body of Christ and our families would be like if all the men stood up, submitted to God, and directed their energy and attention to serving and fulfilling His Kingdom agenda? Let’s do it! It’s not about being cool or what others think. It’s not about words, but power! We can serve the living God with boldness, joy, and reward! Nothing is more honorable than being under His Lordship, and reigning and ruling your domain under His power and authority. He’s the reason for our boldness! 

We are destined for greatness. Most of us may not feel that way. We want to be great now, yet we seem so far from it by the world’s standards. I’m starting to believe the truth that I’m being prepared. People can mention that to us, but it’s hard to accept. The more I read of the great men of God, who were not so great at one time, I get encouraged. Perry Stone says, He wrote an article for years that he didn’t think anyone read, and just wanted to quit. All that research and time and effort prepared him for his destiny. He also said he used to preach to a pile of rocks and some trees for years. It takes hard work to be great! Day in and day out, everyday. Pilot Sully, remember him? The captain who landed the plane in the Hudson? From what I’ve read, what he did was a miracle. The exact speed, the placement of the wings, and the plunge had to be perfect, or else the plane would have shattered. This man had been an Air Force pilot, an accident investigator, and airline safety consultant, and had 19,000 hours logged of uneventful flight time. This prepared him with the necessary skills and mind-set to rule the realm of his plane well, rather than his plane ruling him. It was the years of hard work, day in, day out, and the striving for greatness in all he did, that finally made him great in the moment he needed to be.