Identity and Destiny

"Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground."
-1 Samuel 17:49
     At Grace Retreat this year, one of the speakers, Lana, talked about the topic identity and destiny. Lana is part Mexican and part White, meaning she has dark skin. She shared that when she was young, she attended a school in a White neighborhood. She would be made fun of because of her dark skin, as most of the other students were White. Lana would complain to God that she was part Mexican, because it caused her misery in her life. She wished that she could be like the people at her school, who had white skin, blond hair, and blue eyes.
     Many years later, Lana went abroad on a missions trip to share the gospel (I'm a bit fuzzy on the exact details of this story). I forget the exact location, but it was on the eastern part of the world. She preached to some people in a town, and then left to a house in a nearby town to rest. As she was in the nearby town, the place where she had just preached was attacked. People were being hurt and killed, especially those who were Americans. Despite these attacks, Lana wanted to get some souvenirs for her family. According to Lana, it's not acceptable to go somewhere and not bring souvenirs back to her family. The people staying with her argued with her, but eventually agreed to go back to get souvenirs with her. The only condition was that she had to dress herself as the native people in the area, and to remain silent to prevent people from realizing she was American.
     As they drove into the town, Lana witnessed Americans being attacked. The White people in the area were especially singled out by the attackers. As she witnessed these things, she heard God saying: "do you wish you were like your classmates now?" Lana then told us that what we may think is a deficiency in our identity can actually be used as an advantage for our destiny. God has given each of us a unique identity that is perfectly suited for our destiny.
     The story of David and Goliath is very famous, so I won't go into the details of the story. If you want all the details, I suggest reading 1 Samuel 17. A boy named David is the youngest of his brothers, and is a shepherd for his father's flocks. Three of his brothers are fighting in a war against the Philistines. His father sends him into the battlefield camp to give some refreshments to his brothers. David notices that a Philistine named Goliath is taunting the Israel army, daring someone to come and fight him. David volunteers to fight Goliath, and wins the fight using a sling and a stone.
     What you may have never thought about in this story is that David is already anointed to be King. Yet even though he is anointed by Samuel, he remains a shepherd. David could have thought that since he was destined to become king, he should no longer keep his identity as a shepherd. He could have denounced his identity as a shepherd for his father's flocks. However, what David could have seen as a deficiency was actually exactly what he needed to defeat Goliath. If you read 1 Samuel 17:49 (listed above), you'll notice that David uses a slingshot to defeat Goliath. He used what he had learned as a shepherd to defeat Goliath.
     In both Lana and David's stories, their identity is what propelled them into their destiny. Lana is now the head of Life Impact International, a foundation that helps children in Thailand. David became the king of Israel. They could have given up their destiny if they denied their identity. However, the very things that they might have seen as a disadvantage is what God used for His purposes.
     I can't really explain why this idea of identity and destiny playing hand in hand spoke to me at the Grace Retreat. I wouldn't say identity is something I really struggle with. Something in Lana's message spoke to my heart though. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what God is teaching me about identity and destiny. I don't want to let my identity be something that I use as an excuse to escape my destiny. Maybe something that I am denying in my identity is something that God wants to use for my destiny.
-Smart