STEP INTO YOUR
DESTINY! Don’t know
how, you say? We make things too
complicated sometimes – and that causes us to miss out. Simply put, as children of God, I believe
that stepping into our destiny looks like – us just following God. Pure and simple. One day at a time. Faithfully and obediently. Just listening for His voice, and then simply
doing what He is telling us. Not trying
to figure it out, or to make sense of it.
Isn’t that what childlike faith is?
Just doing it because you trust the one who is asking you to do it!
Something pretty incredible occurred in these past few
weeks. Please allow me to reminisce and
share my true story about two people who stepped into their destiny nearly
seventy years ago on the plains of western North Dakota as a young couple called
by God to ministry. I have only had two
pastors in my lifetime, and of course, my husband-pastor has been my second
pastor, for almost forty-six years now.
The first pastor was my childhood pastor for all of my growing up years,
and on my wedding day he performed the marriage ceremony for my husband and me,
praying God’s blessing upon our new life together and the ministry we knew God
had called us to!
I just learned this week of my pastor’s and his wife’s
Home-going, and my heart leaped with joy for them when I heard the news. Pastor Marcus Bakke and his wife, Elva Mae,
went to be with Jesus just two days apart.
He was 89 years old, and she was almost 88. He left this life on February 15th
and she could not bear to not be with him … so God gave her the desire
of her heart and sent His angels for her just two days later, on the 17th. The momentary sadness of realizing that two
of the heroes in my life who were so instrumental in shaping my faith, my walk
with God, and my passion for God’s call on my life as a little girl, were now
gone from this earth – was just that.
Momentary. Then, like I said, my
heart leaped at the beauty of their connected Home-going and their present indescribable
joy at now sharing Heaven forever together … after having shared so much of
their lives together on earth. And
mostly, they had shared Jesus together.
And then shared Him with all the people God brought into their lives for
nearly sixty years of active ministry.
And just how did they do that?
Well, just one day at a time. One
person at a time. One congregation at a
time. They put their roots down when
they landed where God wanted to plant them for a good, long time. When life got hard and ministry got difficult,
they didn’t run. Or quit. They continued to pursue the God-given
destiny they had stepped into. That’s
how you know when it is God that has called you to something – or if it was
just one of your whims or wishes. You
stay with it, in spite of whatever comes.
You don’t turn your back and you don’t walk away. You dig deeper into the One who called
you. You immerse yourself deeper into
His presence. You seek and pursue HIS
ways and HIS will … not yours. You never
feel as if you gave up anything – but that you gained everything. You become a first-hand witness to God’s
miraculous, divine, supernatural work.
Best of all, you realize that He is letting you be a part of that;
engaged in all of that with Him, and because of Him! It is a privilege like none other!
Growing up, we all called them “Brother and Sister Bakke” ~ and
that’s truly who they were! They were my
spiritual mentors, but also my brother and sister in Christ. I will never forget their love and kindness
and belief in a little farm girl who grew up without earthly riches and fancy
things. They saw through and realized
that I was happy and content in the things that really matter in life. They sowed into my life their belief in me
and they lived out the love of Jesus as they reached out to me. They invited me, a young girl without any
musical training, to take my place on the piano bench at church and play worship
songs for the Sunday morning services when they could have passed right over
me. They had a heart for God and for
people, including this once-upon-a-time little girl. I will always be grateful! Thank you, Brother and Sister Bakke, for the
legacy you left this little farm girl-turned Pastor’s wife. Heaven is richer because you both are now
there, and I anticipate with joy the day that I will see you again!!
My encouragement to each of you reading this is . . . you, too,
can step into your destiny! You don’t have to tackle the “sixty years”
all at once, becoming so overwhelmed at what is before you, that you stop
before you start! Ask God to order your
steps, one at a time, and then just enjoy the journey as you listen, follow,
and fulfill your unique calling! Remember
that you are creating a lasting legacy, as well. What will yours be?
REMEMBER . . .
“Commit your
works to the Lord and your plans will be established.”
~ Proverbs
16:3
Joyfully Serving Christ . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
