“When David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep.” (Acts 13:36 NIV)
As I re-read that verse in the opening pages of Mark Batterson’s new book, Soulprint: Discovering Your Divine Destiny, I was reminded why that verse, in recent days, has become my mantra – my personal prayer & motivation as I seek to become the man God has designed me to be. Mark writes, “You possess a uniqueness that is soul deep. I call it your soulprint. It’s not just who you are, present tense. It’s who you are destined to become, future tense. It’s not just who others see when they look at you from the outside in. It’s who God has destined you to become from the inside out.” And in the life of King David, despite his weaknesses and mistakes, he was able to embrace God’s unique destiny for his life, and he died having fulfilled that purpose. That is the prayer I have for my own life, that I, too, will fulfill God’s purposes for me in my own generation. Not my own purposes, but HIS purposes.
Soulprint is a great book, and if you are serious about becoming the man or woman God has uniquely designed you to be, then this book is a must-read. In Batterson’s usual, easy-to-read and comprehend style, he walks the reader through each step of this exciting journey of discovery, utilizing King David’s life as the backdrop. We learn the importance of walking in holy confidence of God’s ability to move mightily through us, and the importance of remembering the life symbols that mark each turn in the journey. (For David, one of those “symbols” was the fact that he took Goliath’s armor and kept it in his tent. I hadn’t realized that before. Can you imagine what he thought about every time he looked at that armor?)
Batterson also reminds us that David’s experiences and memories weren’t all that carried him through to fulfill his purpose – his character played an important role as well. Mark writes that “the goal is not accomplishing the dream God has given to you. The dream is secondary. The primary issue is who you become in the process.” David’s humility and his uninhibited love for God, formed a character in him that each of us should long to emulate. Even as Saul pursued him vigorously, David recognized that compromising his integrity was not an option – even if he was “justified” in the eyes of his men. And when God finally elevated David to his position as King, David was not afraid to worship him without abandon, even if it meant looking like of fool in the eyes of family and friends.
Part of what holds us back from discovering and embracing God’s destiny for our lives is NOT that we have forgotten how God has moved in our lives, but that we have allowed ourselves to cut corners in our character development, or we’ve allowed our fear of “what people will think” to impact our public (and even our private) worship of the God who is guiding and directing our every step. Are we satisfied living a mediocre life that is headed toward a mediocre finish, or is it time to finally, once-and-for-all, discover and embrace our God-ordained destiny. I choose the latter.
If you’d like to read the first chapter of this book or purchase a copy of Soulprint for yourself, you can find it at Amazon.com, Christianbook.com, or any Christian Bookstore. You won’t be disappointed. (FTC disclaimer – “I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review”)
