Summary: It is sad that many godly men and women in the bible failed to fulfil their destiny: they lost it to the master dodger; the devil.

It is tragic to be a victim of robbery. I was once been a victim of this crime myself. The thief or thieves had me under surveillance for sometime; and they could not have chosen a better time to strike than when I just bought a number of goods and expensive tools and kept them in my garage. The garage had been empty until then. At night, the enemy struck and took everything that was valuable. I was completely wiped out. This was a calamity! The Bible says, “if the thieves come at night and rob you, what a disaster awaits you. How art thou cut off?” The scriptures below show how dangerous the enemy can be. The enemy wants it all!

“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

John 10:10

“If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?”

Obadiah 1:5

The agenda of the destiny pickpocket is simple; it is to steal the one thing that is most valuable; one’s own destiny. This is the divine or predestination of what has been ordained to take place in one’s life. It is an appointed or ordained future. Destiny is what God has predetermined you to be and to become, in His divine will. In other words, it is God’s providential power to guide our path to walk in the ways He has instructed before we were even born. However, we have the free will of either surrendering all to God for His guidance, or we go about life on our own, thereby making ourselves susceptible to the destiny pickpockets that surround our divine destiny.

In my primary school days one of our literature books contained a story that I still vividly remember. It was about traders in a particular village that had a challenging time dealing with robbers that were constantly ambushing them on their way home at the end of the market days.

The gang of thieves would suddenly spring out from the thick forest by the sides of the only route back to the village from the market, which was a narrow footpath. Brandishing different weapons like clubs and machetes, these bandits were formidable. They had caused so much fear in the hearts of the merchants that nobody dared to oppose these plunderers. Any trader that happened to be unfortunate to be a victim of these rouges always lost the whole day’s sale.

One particular day, a man was returning home from the market with his wife; having had a particularly good day at the market. With a lot of money concealed in a cloth pouch inside the man’s clothes the last thing they needed was a surprise attack by armed robbers.

Unfortunately, they could see a bunch of men dashing out of the forest and blocking the only footpath. These thieves had in their hands different kinds of weapons and were waving them menacingly with all aggression as they waited for this trader and his wife.

The merchant was gripped with a fear of these men and he began to shake aggressively. He was sweating as he trembled. His feet became jelly and began to give way underneath him. He held onto his wife as if expecting help from her.

The woman surprisingly responded in a thunderous voice that even the robbers who were waiting afar could hear distinctly.

With absolute boldness and wisdom she cried, “My husband, continue to shake. My husband, continue to tremble. When you shake you kill a thousand and when you tremble you kill ten thousands. My husband, continue to shake and continue to tremble.”

The husband indeed was stricken with fear and could not stop trembling as the wife practically dragged him along. She kept on repeating her words loud and clear.

“My husband, continue to shake. My husband, continue to tremble. When you shake you kill a thousand and when you tremble you kill ten thousands. My husband, continue to shake and continue to tremble.”

This was a very strange battle cry! The bandits were puzzled by the weird combat shivering stance of the man as well as the woman’s odd warfare utterances. They were quick to conclude that it was a mystic opposition, as they thought he only possible explanation to this daring challenge must be that of supernatural powers. How can a man be trembling and yet be killing thousands?

The only option available to this gang of robbers was to flee. They were not prepared to die. They had until then, been having their way without opposition. More peculiar was that, it was not a challenge from able body men, but from a seeming weakling of a man and yet a destroyer warlock.

The woman’s wisdom and boldness saved her husband and herself that fateful day. The enemy does not know you, it is what you reveal to him that he will use against you.

Unfortunately, unlike armed robbers, destiny pickpockets pose a different kind of opposition. One requires spiritual discernment and the leading of God to be able to defeat them. They are not as audacious and confrontational; in fact they are subtly and appear harmless. They come as trustworthy as a friend, family, colleague and neighbour; however they aim to rob you completely.

To be pickpocketed is a very personal crime. It is awful losing to a trickster. Your destiny is peculiar and personal! A destiny pickpocket targets your person to violate you. If the wicked had confronted you with a witchcraft horn, you will run for your dear life but if he comes as a friend, mentor or pastor you will embrace him.

It is sad that many godly men and women in the bible failed to fulfil their destiny. They lost it to the master dodger; the devil.

A person can be assigned for greatness by divine purpose, walking in God’s blessing and anointing and yet suddenly depart from the course of his destiny, serving himself or succumbing to the will of the enemy and ending up abandoned by God.

It is a tragedy that King Saul, that had this wonderful accolade: Appointed by God, filled by the Holy Spirit, gifted with a spirit of prophecy, destined by God to lead Israel, God was with him; but ended up as a failure. He lived his destiny for a while and ended up fulfilling the satanic desire - prostrating himself before a witch and died in shame.

These words might conveniently have been written on the gravestone of Saul, first king of Israel: "The man whose destiny was pickpocketed by the witch of Endor." The sad story of Saul in the bible can be found in the book of 1 Samuel.

Another tragic picture of a man who missed his destiny was Samson. He was a special leader for Israel, whose birth was announced by an angel; filled with the Holy Spirit and prepared to help his people Israel to become a free country. He was born for a purpose, which was to deliver his people Israel from bondage of the Philistines. However, after twenty years of walking in God’s calling and having succeeded in exhausting the Philistines and bringing a glimmer of anticipation to his country, Samson began to decline.

He became a carnal man and he lost the respect of his folks. However, these words might also conveniently have been written on his gravestone: "The man whose destiny was pickpocketed by harlots." The tragic story of Samson in the bible can be found in the book of Judges.

King Solomon was the wisest, wealthiest and most respected man of his time. His destiny was to rid Israel of idolatry! He started well, walked in his destiny, but he too later missed it! He started walking contrary to his destiny: he became an idolater. He accompanied his many wives to their temples, bowing before heathen idols. Again, these words might also conveniently have been written on his gravestone: “The man whose destiny was pickpocketed by his many wives and idolatory.” The lamentable story of Solomon in the bible can be found in the book of 1 Kings Chapters 1-11.

Many Christians are ignorant of the gravity of destiny pickpockets! They let down their guards and dine with the enemies. Sadly, as with physical pickpocketing, which is one of the oldest and most widespread crimes in the world, so it is spiritually. It is a fact that a skilled pickpocket can make off with just as much money as an armed robber, without much danger of confrontation or risk of being identified in a line-up.

Destiny pickpockets are subtle and come in disguise and hence many lives have been destroyed by their secret activities. By the time the victim realizes what has happened, the pickpocket is long gone. When you realise that the enemy of your destiny is a close associate, what do you do?

Also, the destiny’s Pickpockets can destroy people’s lives even at infancy; you will have to pray for the foundational holes in your destiny to be filled up by the fire of the Holy Ghost in the name of Jesus.

Without mincing words, if you are still living below your divine destiny, unfortunately, the truth is, you have been cut off by satanic pickpockets. How art thou cut off?

I counsel you to pray these prayer effectively:

1. As the Lord God of Israel lives and before whom I stand right now, let the agenda of destiny pickpockets for my destiny scatter in the name of Jesus.

2. Every agenda of the enemy to steal, kill and destroy my destiny be wasted in the name of Jesus.

3. In the name of Jesus, let every good thing stolen from by life by satanic night robbers be returned to me by fire.

Culled for my book "Defeating Destiny Pickpockets."