True Destiny: Trusting God With Everything

Summary

Podcast Summary: "True Destiny: Trusting God With Everything"

Living Influence with Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd
Release Date: August 7, 2025

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Introduction

In the episode titled "True Destiny: Trusting God With Everything," co-hosts Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd delve deep into the concept of destiny from a Christian perspective. They explore how embracing God's grace and understanding one’s identity in Him can profoundly influence personal destiny and, consequently, the world around us.

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The Essence of Destiny and Influence

Scott Boyd opens the conversation by posing a fundamental question: "Can I do things for God or does He do things for me?" [00:03]. This sets the stage for a rich discussion on the interplay between human effort and divine grace in shaping one's destiny.

Bill Thrall emphasizes that destiny is realized through trusting God's purposes. He states, "Our destiny is ultimately experienced when we trust God's purposes for us." [01:18]. The hosts agree to frame destiny as "influence," underscoring the impact one's perception of self has on their ability to influence others.

Key Quote:

Scott Boyd [00:03]: "Destiny. Can I do things for God or does he do things for me?"

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Embracing God's Grace Over Rule-Keeping

The discussion shifts to the biblical foundation of their topic. Scott references Galatians 3:11, highlighting the futility of attempting to sustain a relationship with God through moral codes alone. He articulates that "doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you." [00:39].

Bill reinforces this by contrasting self-effort with divine influence:

"What if I see me as God sees me? That'll have a profound effect on you." [02:15]

They explore the biblical concept of humility, referencing 1 Peter 5:5, which promises that "God gives grace to the humble" and "exalts the humble." [02:48]. Bill clarifies that true humility isn't about minimizing oneself but trusting "what God is doing in me" rather than self-effort [03:25].

Key Quote:

Bill Thrall [03:26]: "Humility is trusting what God is doing in me, not what I'm doing for God."

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Transformation Through Identity in Christ

Scott shares a personal anecdote about his journey in business, revealing how shifting his self-view from a sinner to one harboring Christ within changed his approach and effectiveness:

"What if I believed that Christ is really in me? Let me trust who God says I am, that I'm a saint." [06:31]

Bill concurs, illustrating that embracing one's identity in Christ expands one's influence:

"God graced you with his view of you, and it profoundly has affected your influence." [07:41]

They discuss how early Christians focused on their identity in Christ rather than strategic plans, which allowed them to effect monumental change. Bill observes that modern Christians have become overly strategic, often neglecting the transformative power of living out God's view of them.

Key Quote:

Scott Boyd [05:40]: "Wait a second, what if Christ is really in me. Let me trust who God says I am, that I'm a saint."

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Practical Implications of Living in Grace

The hosts transition to practical applications of their theological insights. Scott references an executive reinvention program that emphasizes declarations of truth over incremental improvement plans. He parallels this with God's declaration of believers as saints:

"He declares us to be a saint. And that's a difference." [13:00]

Bill challenges listeners to consider:

"What if God's saying to us, your destiny is dependent on my influence, and that influence in you is the influence that'll change the world?" [11:26]

They advocate for actively seeking the needs of others to demonstrate Christ-like love, rather than attempting to fix or improve others.

Key Quote:

Bill Thrall [16:24]: "What if my destiny was really about my influence? And what if my influence was really the product of the miracle of God's grace in me?"

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The Call to Reflect Christ's Image

A pivotal part of the discussion centers on Christians being "recreated in the image of Christ." [15:50]. Bill emphasizes that this transformation should lead believers to love others as Christ loved them, thereby earning trust and demonstrating God's love to the world.

Scott concurs, highlighting that the apostles' strategy was rooted in mutual love:

"That's the strategy of the apostles to love one another." [18:25]

Bill concludes that embracing this identity allows Christians to be an integral part of God's plan, influencing the world positively through grace-driven actions:

"We literally are God's plan for the world. If we could just learn to live into our destiny, it would change the world." [19:00]

Key Quote:

Bill Thrall [18:25]: "He'd say, Bill and Scott, let me tell you something. I would like you to love just like I've loved you."

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Conclusion and Call to Action

As the episode wraps up, Bill and Scott reflect on their ongoing journey of understanding and living out grace. They encourage listeners to trust God with their destinies and to allow His grace to shape their influence.

Bill urges:

"God, teach me to trust you with me. God, teach me to trust my future with you." [19:54]

Scott adds:

"We hope that you have seen the breadth, the width of grace. It's more than just for our salvation. It's for our lives." [19:59]

The hosts invite listeners to subscribe, like, and share the podcast, fostering a community dedicated to living out their true destinies through God's grace.

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Final Thoughts

"True Destiny: Trusting God With Everything" is a profound exploration of how embracing one’s identity in Christ and relying on divine grace can transform personal influence and impact the broader world. Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd effectively intertwine biblical insights with personal experiences, offering listeners both theological depth and practical applications to live into their God-ordained destinies.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Scott Boyd [00:03]: "Destiny. Can I do things for God or does he do things for me?"
• Bill Thrall [02:15]: "What if I see me as God sees me? That'll have a profound effect on you."
• Scott Boyd [06:31]: "What if I believed that Christ is really in me. Let me trust who God says I am, that I'm a saint."
• Bill Thrall [07:41]: "God graced you with his view of you, and it profoundly has affected your influence."
• Scott Boyd [13:00]: "He declares us to be a saint. And that's a difference."
• Bill Thrall [16:24]: "What if my destiny was really about my influence? And what if my influence was really the product of the miracle of God's grace in me?"
• Bill Thrall [18:25]: "He'd say, Bill and Scott, let me tell you something. I would like you to love just like I've loved you."

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This episode serves as an inspiring guide for believers seeking to understand and live out their true destinies by trusting wholly in God’s transformative grace.

Transcript

[Scott]

Destiny. Can I do things for God or does he do things for me? Welcome to Living Influence. So, Bill, we're talking about how grace affects our destiny.

[Bill]

Yes. Wow.

[Scott]

And I want to start with a scripture. So it's Galatians 3, 11. I'm just going to read it to start us off, please. The obvious impossibility of carrying out such a moral program should make it plain that no one can sustain a relationship with God that way. The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him.

[Destiny]

Wow.

[Scott]

Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you. Habakkuk had it right. The person who believes God is set right by God. And that's the real life. Rule keeping does not naturally evolve into living by faith, but only perpetuates itself in more and more rule keeping, a fact observed in scripture. The one who does these things, rule keeping, continues to live by them. Wow. I mean that, that statement that he makes, doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you.

[Destiny]

Wow.

[Bill]

Great, great reading. Thank you. Thank you again.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

We're using the word destiny, right? Our destiny is ultimately experienced when we trust God's purposes for us. Yeah, let's, for our conversation, let's call that destiny our influence. Yeah, let's talk about our influence. And we're actually called living influence, which means, Scott, we've been thinking a lot about this word, thought a lot about this principle, and now we're going to put it quickly into this context of graces where it belongs. But, but influence. Yeah, just measuring the effect that I have on you. Influence.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

You know, the way I see me has a profound emphases on my effect on you.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

What if I see me as we've already shared many times in this condition of shame? It'll have a profound effect on you. What if I see me as God sees me? That'll have a profound effect on you. And Peter, in chapter five, starting at verse five, he does an amazing thing. He says in there a promise that God gives grace to the humble. First Peter 5, 5.

[Peter]

Right.

[Bill]

God gives grace to the humble. And for years and years we've been discovering who the humble are. Yeah, but he says also in there that God exalts the humble.

[Peter]

Right?

[Bill]

What? What you mean God? God does something to. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. You're screwing with me here because I'm just a sinner. I'm just a sinner and Jesus is my Savior and I don't know anything about all this.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Scott]

We do the humble performance.

[Bill]

Exactly. We do the minimizing.

[Destiny]

Yeah, yeah.

[Bill]

We think humility is minimizing.

[Peter]

Right.

[Bill]

It's not minimizing.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

Humility is trusting what God is doing in me, not what I'm doing for God. What God is doing in me. Let's just review that real quick. What's God doing in me? He's transforming me into a saint.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

He's exalting me. That word scares a lot of Christians. Oh, no, no. I'm. I'm. Oh, God, you. I don't deserve to be exalted. That's because you don't understand God.

[Scott]

I have a saying about being humble is you can't be humble until you've been humiliated. That's when you can be humble. Recognizing my need for a savior.

[Destiny]

Amen.

[Scott]

Recognizing I don't have what it takes.

[Bill]

Amen.

[Scott]

And that I need. I needed Jesus. I needed his cross.

[Bill]

Amen.

[Scott]

I needed what he did. That's.

[Bill]

Praise God.

[Scott]

That's humbling.

[Bill]

That's right.

[Scott]

And that causes me, that belief, to.

[Bill]

Be humble right now. That humility will always cause you to trust. You will discover that you are not enough. And when you discover that you are not enough, you're gonna have to trust somebody. Be great. If his name was God, it'd be great if there were other Christians. But this God, who has touched you when you needed him most and redeemed you. He has a plan for you and me. That's the part we so often miss.

[Scott]

And he wants to exalt you.

[Bill]

He does want to exalt us in his plan.

[Scott]

That's crazy.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

Imagine it's like he has a plan for me. What would his plan be? His plan would be for me to live as the saint he has made me. Just think of what I just said. For me to live as the saint he has made me. For me.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

To understand that I have become with Jesus Christ a joint heir.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

In the eternal purposes of God. Now God's blowing my mind. I can't. Wait, wait, wait. I got the sinner part. I'm really confused about the saint part. And now you're talking about the exalted part that I share as a co heir with Jesus. In the purposes of. That's the key word. We'll get back to destiny. Into the very purposes of God.

[Scott]

It was the journey I was. We were talking about this morning. I started this business and 1996. I don't know. It took me four, four or five years to figure out. Oh, my gosh I am the limiting factor in this whole story and the limiting factor in this whole affair. If I don't figure out how to grow, we're really in trouble. And the crazy thing is that came from me believing I'm just a sinner. I go on this journey and begin to discover grace and begin to discover. Wait a second. Galatians says that Christ is in me. It's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. What if I believed that?

[Bill]

Absolutely. And.

[Scott]

And now that simple change in belief changed how I affected my company. And I went from being the funnel and the problem to all of a sudden. And I think what it did. We talked about this was when you. When you leave that mode of seeing yourself as a sinner that you've got to fix, and you begin to trust that. Wait a second. What if Christ is really in me? Let me trust who God says I am, that I'm a saint. What happens is your eyes can stop looking at yourself.

[Bill]

Absolutely.

[Scott]

And you can actually see stuff that you would never have seen before.

[Bill]

Absolutely.

[Scott]

Just. And in a practical, easy way, I just notice. Notice your gifting. Notice this other person.

[Bill]

Wow.

[Scott]

They would really do well if I put them in that seat. Practically. But also, it's spiritual as well.

[Bill]

Amen. As you're describing that, what you're describing for us is influence.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

You once had an influence that was limited by your view of you.

[Peter]

Right.

[Bill]

And then God graced you with his view of you, and it profoundly has affected your influence. Not just then, but today, Scott.

[Peter]

Right.

[Bill]

But today your influence is expanding.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

And that's what destiny is about.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

For many, many years, I would sit with Christian organizations and they'd have all these strategic plans of what they're going to do. Text and figuring out what they're going to do for God. I mean, it would just take hours and hours and hours and hours. Well, the early church didn't know that. Here's what the early church knew. They were convinced of a couple things. Three things. They were convinced to who Jesus was.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

They were convinced of his work, and they were convinced of the change he made in them.

[Destiny]

Yes.

[Bill]

And that reality of God in them caused them to change the world.

[Destiny]

Right.

[Bill]

Now, I may sound like a heretic right here. I don't want to, but I think we've missed it.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

I think we have become so strategic in what we can do for God.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

That we've not humbly let our God in to do in us. Sometimes years ago, when I'd go to a Pastor's conference. I'd say to pastors, how many of you. But don't raise your hands. I don't want to embarrass you, but how many of you have excellence as one of the key principles of your ministry or church? They kind of stretch their hands out.

[Scott]

Even though they weren't supposed to.

[Bill]

And then I would say to them, okay, I have another question. How many of you have humility as a key principle of your church? You can raise your hand now. No, nobody wants to raise your hand. And I just would. I would do that with this recapping statement for all of us to think about. What if God does not want my excellence? What if God wants my humility so he can give me his excellence? What if that were my reality?

[Scott]

And the humility comes from trusting him?

[Bill]

Exactly.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

What if that were my reality? What if I could move into the space of all these weeks we've been talking about grace? What if I could move into the reality of experiencing grace and receive my Father's love and quite frankly, learn to receive your love, Scott.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

And learn to love you? Well, what if I could do that?

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

There's this truism in scripture. God, obviously, knowing that his authority would trigger the rebellion in the heart of a sinner. He knew that.

[Peter]

Right.

[Bill]

He knew that humanity in rebellion of God's authority never, ever learn God's person. Ever. But then God does something miraculously. He becomes a man. And Philippians tells us that this man, Jesus, who is God, laid aside his authority for a very important purpose so that we would know his person.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

Jesus, in humility, came to reveal to us the person of God.

[Peter]

Right.

[Bill]

So that we would not rebel against this person, but be able to receive the love of his person. Because receiving from God because of his grace is the only thing that can change us. We can work all day long, whoever we are, we can work all day long at doing something less than we used to, or we could work all day long and doing something more than we ever could.

[Scott]

Yeah.

[Bill]

And good luck. That's what you just read. You just read in Galatians, right? Good luck.

[Destiny]

Yeah, but.

[Bill]

But what if. What if God's saying to us, your destiny is dependent on my influence, and that influence in you is the influence that'll change the world. What if that's what God's saying?

[Peter]

Right.

[Scott]

He could call me a heretic, too, but I had this. This thing that I would do. I would read secular business books. I mean, I was kind of a voracious. I'm, you Know I'm a bookaholic.

[Bill]

Yeah.

[Scott]

Always wanting to learn something. Lately, it's been my golf game. Who won yesterday?

[Bill]

Don't. Every time we have one of these, you bringing up the fact you're winning. Stop it.

[Scott]

Well, you beat me.

[Bill]

It's temporary. You're winning now.

[Scott]

You beat me in gin rummy, though.

[Bill]

I do.

[Scott]

Yesterday.

[Bill]

Well. But I'm so far behind. I don't want to talk about it. But keep going.

[Scott]

I came across this executive reinvention program, and they talked about. Just like you talked about strategic plans, and they talked about, you know, continuous improvement plans.

[Bill]

Yeah.

[Scott]

And they contrasted that to declarations to declare something's true. And they were talking about the executive, like, instead of doing this incremental improvement plan, declare something true. And so there's been companies that have done that. Nature Suite is a tomato company, and they declared that their farmers could make enough money to own their land and send their kids to college.

[Destiny]

Wow.

[Scott]

And they could be profitable still. And they pulled it off.

[Bill]

Good for them.

[Scott]

But this declaration is what God does for us.

[Bill]

Amen.

[Scott]

He declares us to be a saint.

[Bill]

Thank you.

[Scott]

And that's a difference. Then here's 17 ways to stop these little sins that you're doing.

[Bill]

It's huge, Scott. Not just a little deal. What you just said is huge. It's like going back to those verses you started with.

[Peter]

Right.

[Bill]

Doing things for God is the opposite.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

Of what God wants to do in us. So I'm asking myself this question. Just how do I live into my destiny? I have to trust the person of Jesus.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

I have to do that. I can't live into my destiny. How do I function in my destiny? I have to trust the purposes of God for me. If I ask Christians, do you believe you're chosen of God? I don't know. Anyone who wouldn't raise their hand. They know that. But what they don't know is my next statement. Do you understand that every choice of God comes with purpose?

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Scott]

That's a good statement.

[Bill]

Every choice of God comes with purpose. Could I get on my knees and have the courage to ask my God, God, what is your purpose for me? What is your purpose for me? God, what is your purpose for us? Watch this. What is your purpose for us? For them. What is your purpose for me? For us, for them. That takes trust with God. That takes trust here and then this next statement. And it takes our willingness to earn their trust. You and I have observed that the world is really tired of Christians telling the world how morally screwed up they Are. You know, they're really tired of that.

[Destiny]

Yeah, they did.

[Bill]

They just are. I don't blame them. I don't know anybody who likes somebody to accuse them. They need to be fixed. But what if the world needs what Jesus said they need? They need to be loved. Now, in order. This is a truism. In order for the world to receive my love, I have to earn their trust. You know what God did? He became a man so he could earn my trust, so I could experience his love. You talk about all these miracles of grace. Listen to this one. Do you know that in the purpose of God, I was recreated in the image of Christ? The guy you're talking to.

[Peter]

Right.

[Bill]

You were created in the image of Christ.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

Could we just for a minute pause and say, is our destiny about our living in our reality of who God says we are so like our God, we would dare to walk among humanity to earn their trust so we could love them? Yeah, that's our destiny.

[Scott]

So how do I know if that's happening for me?

[Bill]

Ah, that's a good question. For any of us.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

Part of it is this. We go back to the very thing we talked about last time when we talked about meeting deeds. What if by God's grace tomorrow, I began to learn how to intentionally seek the needs of my neighbors so I could love them? What if I intentionally sought to seek in the lives of people that I'm with, ways to meet their needs so I could love them? That's what Jesus did. He walked among us.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

Fully aware of our needs so he could love us. He went to Calvary fully aware of my need so he could love me.

[Scott]

So that's really.

[Bill]

That love.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Scott]

That's really different than looking to our neighbor, to our spouse, to our child for how to fix them or make them better.

[Bill]

Oh, it's all the difference in the world.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

It's all the difference of the world. What if my destiny. We'll come back to that. What if my destiny was really about my influence? And what if my influence was really the product of the miracle of God's grace in me? What if being a saint is not some Bible word? What if being a saint was my reality? What if God, you and I are really recreating the image of Christ and that his ability, these are his words, as if he were sitting here right now talking to us. He's what he'd say to us. He'd say, bill and Scott, let me tell you something. I would like you to love just like I've loved You. That's what he would say to us. I'd like you to love just like I've loved you.

[Peter]

Right.

[Bill]

And. And by the way, if you would do that, it would demonstrate to the world that you are mine.

[Peter]

Right.

[Bill]

That love, because it is the fruit of grace, would be the evidence of our relationship with him.

[Scott]

And that's the strategy of the apostles to love one another.

[Bill]

It was. Yeah, it was the strategy of the early church. Yeah, the church, unfortunately, in my opinion, and so many, many Christians have learned to become separate from the world because they're so afraid of the influence of the world because they've lost this miracle of hope. Do you know the influence of grace is always greater than the influence of evil? And we carry the message of grace.

[Destiny]

We do.

[Bill]

Rather than being separate from the world, we literally are God's plan for the world. If we could just learn to live in to our destiny, it would change the world. It did then and it will now.

[Destiny]

Yeah, yeah.

[Scott]

Because the world needs Jesus.

[Bill]

Absolutely.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Scott]

Well, this has been like a great series.

[Bill]

Oh, I've loved it.

[Scott]

I think we've done eight podcasts. All that came from a question from one of our viewers of like, would you explain grace?

[Bill]

Exactly.

[Scott]

So we've been talking about it for several hours now.

[Bill]

Yeah. And I hopefully as we're doing this, that we, as we're learning this, will actually live into what we just said.

[Destiny]

Amen.

[Bill]

Just live into it.

[Scott]

Because we are. I am still learning, absolutely gone and excited about it.

[Bill]

God, teach me to trust you with me.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Bill]

God, teach me to trust my future with you.

[Destiny]

Yeah.

[Scott]

We hope that you have seen the breadth, the width of grace. It's more than just for our salvation. It's for our lives.

[Bill]

Absolutely.

[Scott]

We want to thank you for listening. We want to ask you to hit the subscribe button or the like button, whatever vehicle you're listening or watching on. And we appreciate you joining us on Living Influence. Thanks.

[Bill]

Thank you.

[Scott]

Thank you for listening to the podcast. We're really glad that you're here. We'd love to know that you're here. And so if you could leave a comment, we would appreciate that. But more importantly, if you know someone that should listen to this or hear it, we would love for you to share it with them.

[Bill]

Thanks again, Sam.