God has a spiritual destiny for every believer and every body of believers. Each of us has a specific calling and purpose which is unlike anyone else. God treasures those things He has created for us and stores them up for us, waiting for us to fulfill them.

There is no one else exactly like you, and that is the way God designed it. Never apologize for who you are. God doesn’t want you to be anyone else but the man or woman of God He created you to be. However, He does want you to come into the fullness of all that He has for you. God has plans for you … YOU! He has a future, a destiny for you to walk in!

You are not an unfinished novel. Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus is both “… the Author and Finisher of our faith.” The Author, who began a good work in you, knows exactly how the book will end, and He will be faithful to complete it. The very One who created you already knows how the story will turn out, for He knows the end from the beginning. God knows both what you are to become, and those things He created for you to do. And the great news is that as you become what God has created you to be, you will accomplish all the things He has prepared for you to do!

Jesus Christ Is Our Goal
One critical aspect of our spiritual destiny is that we are to grow in the very nature of Christ. We are told in the Scriptures to: “do as Jesus did … be imitators of Christ … follow the example of Christ … have the same attitude as Christ … have the same mind as Christ … walk as Jesus.” There is a definite pattern here — the pattern of Christ. God's desire from the beginning was that man would be made in His image. “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness’” (Genesis 1:26). At salvation, your spirit was made anew, and the seed of God, that was within man originally, was planted afresh in your heart!

So, if we need to develop and mature, what is the goal, the measure of maturity? Ephesians 4:11-13 tells us, “It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” The goal we are to grow up into is the whole measure of Jesus Christ; the very fullness of Christ.

Father God desires us to become just like Jesus His son. First John 4:17 tells us, “As He is, so are we in this world.” That is an awesome verse. It doesn’t say that we are to somewhat reflect Jesus, but that we are to be just as He is! That is our destiny as believers — to come into the fullness of Jesus Christ.

Parents often look at their children and say, “Wow, look how much they look like me! Oh, look, they’re doing the same thing I do.” Unlike other parents, God isn’t afraid of us acting just like Him. In fact, that is part of His plan. A very significant part of our destiny as believers is to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ. “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Our destiny is to be transformed into the very image of Christ. Each of us will display a different aspect of Jesus’ nature. As the Church comes to maturity and comes together in unity, the fullness of Christ will be displayed to this lost and dying world.

The last thing Satan wants is an army of saints all maturing to reveal to this world the full measure of Jesus. His counterattacks are designed to keep believers from their spiritual destiny by stopping the nature of Christ from developing in our lives; to stop the seed of God from growing within us.

A Seed Must Be Planted
How do you stop a seed from growing? First, keep the seed from being planted. No matter how beautiful the picture on a seed package might be, unless the package is torn open and the seed planted in the ground nothing will grow. The Lord said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it …” (John 12:24-25).

To come into our destiny of Christ-likeness, we must first of all be born-again. Through repentance and faith we lay hold of the gift of grace which offers us new life. But it is an offer of new life , not an improved old life. Our old life must be given up (or as they used to say, “reckoned as dead”). This is why believers can say “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Only if we have truly surrendered our lives can we accept God’s new life and have the seed of God replanted in our lives.

A Seed Needs Nutrients
Once a seed has been planted, it requires certain nutrients in order for the life that is contained within it to sprout and grow. There must be water, soil, certain chemical nutrients, etc. It is the same for the believer. In order to come into the life of Christ that is our God-given destiny, we need to be reading the Bible, spending time in prayer and worship, and gathering together with other believers. Without these basic building blocks the seed of God, planted within us, will not develop fully or mature. Satan wants every believer to neglect the basics of the faith so the nature of Christ within them will fail to grow or will be stunted. Whether it is through busyness, independentness, or anything else, Satan’s plan is to keep the seed of God within you starved for the proper nutrition necessary to allow it to mature in your life.

If you are currently failing to read the Bible, spend time alone with the Lord in prayer and worship, or have neglected being planted in a church and being part of their corporate church gatherings; you are failing to supply the nutrients the seed of God in your life requires. If this is your case, repent and ask the Lord to forgive you. Remember, repentance means not only “to turn from sin,” but “to turn to God,” and so you need to choose to re-engage in whatever life-releasing activity has been missing.

Dwarfed By Darkness
Another way to dwarf the growth of a seed is to block out the sun. Without sunshine a plant will eventually stop growing and die. This is exactly what the enemy wants to do. Satan wants to block out the light of God’s presence through the darkness of unforgiveness.

Unforgiveness blocks the light of God's presence in our lives because it is un-Christlike. Jesus, on the cross, clearly showed us that His nature is to forgive. “Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do’” (Luke 23:34). But unforgiveness is not only unlike Jesus Christ, it is against His ways. It is anti-Christ. Unforgiveness is blatant disobedience, for it is the exact opposite of Jesus' teaching.

Look at the importance Jesus gave to forgiveness:

Matthew 6:14-15 — “If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.”

Mark 11:25-26 — “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

Jesus taught clearly the importance of forgiveness. Of course, it is one thing to teach about forgiveness and quite another thing to practice it. Jesus was the most perfect model of one who both taught and practiced forgiveness. In anyway we hold unforgiveness in our hearts, we are holding the spirit of the anti-Christ in our lives! Obviously, this hinders the nature of God maturing in our lives.

Unforgiveness Leaves Us Vulnerable
Not only does unforgiveness stop God’s character from growing in our lives, but the darkness which it creates leaves us vulnerable to spiritual attack!

The Lord gave me an interesting vision about this. In this vision I saw the attack of the enemy symbolized by a flock of large, black birds (they were the size of a large eagle, but they were dark and sinister). They were swooping down and attacking believers, attempting to grab them and carry them away. The believers fled to a giant cross and began to grab hold of it. Even after the believers held onto the cross, these black birds continued to try to grab them, but they couldn’t keep hold of them, their claws kept losing their grip and slipping off. Just as I began to wonder why the enemy persisted in his attack, I noticed some of the birds had gotten hold of some believers and were carrying them away from the cross. These big, wicked birds carried the people for a while and then dropped them upon the rocks below where they were injured. I began to question why the enemy was able to lay hold of some of the believers and pull them away from the cross, but not others. Suddenly I noticed that those who were being pulled away had something clinched in their hands. Whatever it was, it wasn’t allowing them to fully lay hold of the cross. When the next person was dropped upon the rocks below, I noticed a little metal slug (like a worthless coin) fall out of their hands, and written on it was the word “Unforgiveness.” The believers the enemy was able to get in his grasp and injure were those holding unforgiveness in their hands. Because they were holding onto unforgiveness, they could not fully cling to the cross, and were not as protected as they could have been.

Unforgiveness doesn’t allow us to embrace the cross of Christ and come to the place of immunity Jesus has for us. As believers, we have no right to unforgiveness. Jesus made this clear in the story of the unforgiving servant (found in Matthew 18:21-35).

Known unforgiveness will actually set God against you. He will resist you until unforgiveness is removed from your heart. It is great to know Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” But if God is resisting us, who can be for us?!

The Bible tells us that “… to whom much is given, from him much will be required” (Luke 12:48). How much forgiveness have you been given? We have all been forgiven much! To whom much forgiveness has been given, much forgiveness will be required! It is time to follow the example of Jesus Christ and forgive all who have wounded or offended you. We do not forgive them because they deserve it. After all, how many of us deserved the forgiveness Jesus so richly poured upon us? None of us! We do not forgive them because they deserve forgiving, but because the Lord has called us, commanded us, and given us the example of forgiveness, and we are called to be like Him.

Now is the time to lay down any and all unforgiveness. Break down every bastion of unforgiveness that remains in your heart, so you may be able to fully lay hold of the cross of Christ. Only those who walk in the way of unforgiveness will be able to have the seed of God growing in the gardens of their hearts. Forgiveness can release the seed of God within you to blossom and be fruitful, until you come into the full measure of the stature of Jesus Christ. Your destiny awaits you!