Article by Heidi Piersall
Discovering our destiny can seem like a daunting pursuit, one that only a few people actually get to fulfill. The truth is that God’s heart is for all of us to know our calling, and He’s embedded it into the fabric of our church health and community. There are many factors that contribute to discovering one’s destiny, but a major component is the people you surround yourself with in church small groups. Kris Vallotton articulated this point when he said, “You won’t find your destiny until you find your people.” Our destiny doesn’t just lie within ourselves, but is actually connected to the people around us. The importance of every member of the Body being connected is woven throughout the Bible, and is particularly emphasized in the book of Ephesians.
Ephesians is loaded with revelation about the importance and fruit of being connected to one another. Paul one of the first church leaders and fathers starts off his letter with a prayer for the Ephesians. He prays that the “eyes of their heart may be enlightened”, that they would know three things: the hope of their calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His “incomparably great power” for those who believe. God has a calling for each one of us and created us with His purposes embedded within our hearts and very beings. The Holy Spirit was the down payment we received for our inheritance, but He actually placed a remaining portion of our inheritance in the people around us. For me to fully step in to my destiny, I need to pull out the grace, giftings, power and presence that He has placed in the saints around me. His intention was never for us to be out on our own, unconnected from the rest of the Body, and in His brilliant design He actually placed things that I need in the people around me. We need christian leadership and ministry coaching. While I can walk to some extent unconnected if I chose to, I will never attain the full measure that He has for my life without being connected to others. He has given everything to His Body, the Church, which is the fullness of all.
God’s original design was for us to be connected to one another, and in that connection we actually discover the fullness of who we are created to be. When I married my husband 15 years ago, the Lord spoke Ephesians 2:22 over our marriage. It states, “And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.” He told me that He was building a structure with my husband and myself, a structure where He would take up habitation. His very Presence would not only live in each on of us individually, but also within our marriage and family. I believe He wants to do the same with His Church, the members of the Body. His heart gets passed on through church small groups with is the body of Christ. As we allow Him to build our lives together, He actually builds a structure through our relationships with one another. Every time we choose honor He adds a 2X4, strengthening the structure, allowing for more weight, more of Him, to be carried. When we champion one another, He adds another 2X4. When we choose to extend mercy instead of judgment, He adds another 2X4 and so on.
As we align with His original intent and design, we actually are able to hold more of His Presence and glory. Intimacy, honor and connection are the vital components that we contribute in the process of being built together. Our part is to stay in connection with the other members of the Body. Hebrews 3 tells us that God is the builder of everything. If we will remain in community and connection, He will do His part to build something beautiful out of our lives. The only way for you and me to come in to the fullness and greatness of who we were created to be, is to be in relationship with one another and pull out the inheritance that He has placed within each member of the saints.
