I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your descendants;
Destiny Decisions – Pastor David Smith on Living Your Purpose
About this episode
Bishop David Smith, pastor of Oak Park Church in Mobile, Alabama, joins Daily Faith to unpack the life-changing message behind his new book, Destiny Decisions — and why a single choice, made in obedience to God, can redirect the entire course of a life. Drawing on Deuteronomy 30:19 — "the Lord has laid before us life and death; choose life" — David shows how ordinary, often obscure biblical figures made decisions that echoed through history. From Shamgar, who stood alone in his field with an ox goad and slew 600 Philistines, to Elisha burning his plows and slaughtering his oxen to go all in with Elijah, to David quietly tending sheep after his anointing — each story illustrates that "one choice can change everything." David also reflects on the Apostle Paul's Damascus Road encounter and Moses' burning-bush moment, weaving in raw personal stories, including visiting his own brother behind bars and telling him, "The only difference between you and I is Jesus." Destiny Decisions releases September 7th. Order now at destinydecisions.info or find resources at pastordavidsmith.tv. Oak Park Church is at opcmobile.org. This episode is essential listening for anyone standing at a crossroads.
Part of our Faith collection of conversations.
Quotes worth sharing
“He was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen — at least 24 oxen. That speaks to me. It was a lucrative position. It was a big harvest, a big field. But he burned the plows and then he slaughtered the oxen. He destroyed plan B. He went all in. He made a decision that he was going all in. And when he did, the Bible records that Elisha has more recorded miracles in the scripture than anyone else other than Jesus himself.”
“I remember looking through that thick glass at my brother and saying to him, we have the same mom, the same dad. Our DNA is very similar. We have the same upbringing. The only difference between you and I is Jesus. I made a decision that changed my destiny. If I hadn't, I would be on the other side and you would be on this side.”
“Have you ever heard the voice of God? And I'll often say that God spoke to me. And they said, did he speak audibly? And I always say, no, it was louder than that. Because when we allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us, the volume of the Holy Spirit in our spirit — you'll know it. You'll know when it's the Lord giving you peace.”
What's Discussed
Bishop David Smith, senior pastor of Oak Park Church in Mobile, Alabama, discusses his book Destiny Decisions, anchored in Deuteronomy 30:19. He examines how obscure biblical figures — Shamgar (who saved Israel with an ox goad), Elisha (who burned his plows to pursue Elijah and later recorded more miracles than any figure except Jesus), David (faithful in the field after his anointing), and Paul (transformed on the Damascus Road) — each made a single pivotal choice that altered history. Smith argues that the Holy Spirit's guidance is recognizable through peace, citing Colossians 3 — letting peace 'rule like an umpire.' He also shares a personal story of visiting his incarcerated brother, crediting one decision for the difference in their lives. Destiny Decisions releases September 7th at destinydecisions.info.
- Deuteronomy 30:19 — The Core Decision Verse
- Shamgar's Ox Goad and Saving a Nation
- Elisha Burns the Plows — Going All In
- David Anointed Yet Faithful in the Field
- Paul's Damascus Road — One Choice Redeems a Life
- Hearing God's Voice Louder Than Audible
- Personal Story — Brother Behind Bars
- How to Get Destiny Decisions
Scripture in this episode
Episode Transcript
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Intro
Philip:Welcome to Daily Faith. My name is Philip Cameron. And I am delighted to have you with us today. We have got a great program. I believe that God is in this thing. God is gonna speak to your heart today. Nothing more important than the whisper of heaven in your heart. I've gone through tremendous battles in my life, and at the darkest time, when you think everything's just all gone, His voice speaks. Remember when the wee boy Samuel was in the temple, and the lamp was going out, everything was falling apart. The preacher was backslid and his boys were doing vile things in the temple.
Philip:Everything looked wrong until the voice of God spoke Samuel. And that wee boy listened to the voice of God. And in your dark moments and in your days of stress, and when things aren't the way they should be, God's looking to speak to you and whisper rhema into your spirit. And when he does that, you are invincible because God is on your side. And if God be for you, who can be against you?
Philip:35 years ago, my father called me from Scotland. I'm Scottish, I'm even wearing tartan today. And he called me and he says, there are babies dying. And I says, what on earth are you talking about? And he was talking about Romania. I had no interest in it. I mean, we were building a Bible school in Scotland, but I had no interest in going into mission. That wasn't my thing. I was on TV. I'd written a book on household salvation that had sold 300,000 copies. And that was the last thing on my mind. But it was the first thing on my dad's mind.
Philip:Once he saw the BBC news reports, he drove me crazy. And he himself was recovering from cancer surgery. His back was burst. They cut a big melanoma, the thing had burst open and everything. He twisted the back, it tore more. It was terrible. And I said, Dad, you are sick. I'm busy. Leave this thing alone. He didn't. And one day he called me up after about a week and he said, well, if you won't go, I'll go by myself. And if I die, it's your fault. And that's how I got there.
Philip:When I walked into this room, a destiny decision, we were down in the downstairs of this orphanage and it was horrendous. God, it was terrible. And I says, let's go, let's leave. Come on, we've seen enough. I don't wanna be here anymore. And he says, let's go upstairs. I says, no, no, no, no, no, no. He says, no, it's the same up. And he ignored me and moved up the stairs. And I didn't know it, but in the room that he took me into, there was a wee orphan boy standing there in his own waste. And his name was Andrew.
Philip:And the Lord spoke to me. He says, that's your son, clear as I'm talking to you. The destiny decisions. And I picked him up and I says, I don't know who you are or where you came from, but I'm not gonna quit until I get you. It took me a year to get him, and he's now part of the ministry. He's just had a gorgeous, beautiful grandbaby that I just love with all my heart. And God started from one decision.
Philip:All the ministry work that we have, we got places in Moldova, a village called Vara Village, a fabulous place. It was built originally for rich people. It was never finished because they poisoned that lake with chlorine to kill algae. And that village, right there a hundred or so yards from the lake, was never finished. And we bought it. And in that place today there are young girls, just like you're watching just now. Every one of those girls to a trafficker is worth $300,000 a year. That's how much a girl can make a trafficker.
Philip:And they come to us, we share the gospel with them, we put them back in school, and those crazy kids have become missionaries, and they preach the gospel. When Ukraine fell, they were at the border for weeks on end sharing the gospel. All through the summertime they go to youth camps and preach. All through the wintertime they bring wood and food to widows and broken families. It's amazing. And we put together a short video to let you see with your eyes what God is doing through our work in Moldova. Watch this.
What if your story began not with love, but with fear? What if you were born only to be forgotten? This is the story of thousands of children across Moldova and Ukraine, abandoned by those meant to protect them, targeted by traffickers, trapped in a cycle of poverty and abuse. But through the Orphan's Hands, their story doesn't end in tragedy. It begins again in hope. At Vara Village, we take once abandoned children and raise them not just to survive, but to thrive, to become sons and daughters, and eventually missionaries of hope. We've watched the broken become whole. We've seen the forgotten become leaders, and we've witnessed God write miracles in the ashes of their pain.
One little girl was left behind in a state-run orphanage. She barely spoke. She never smiled. But because someone like you gave, she came to Vara Village. Today she's studying, leading worship, and sharing Jesus with children in her own village. A life defined by institutions. Ten years in a tuberculosis hospital and six more in an orphanage. A forgotten name, no place to call home, no family, no love, nothing but loneliness and pain. A life defined by God. My pain turned into purpose.
A purpose that takes me back to the lifeless building where a decade of my life was spent in hopelessness. Today the same hallways I once walked are still walked by broken souls. What I once thought was a mess, today is a message, a message of redemption, hope, and ultimate forgiveness shared with those that today are what I once was. That's what you can do right now.
We stand at the doorway of a new chapter, a new place of rescue, a new promise. We call it Promise House, two homes and a barn on a peaceful farm where children ages five to 16 will be rescued from the darkest, most dangerous situations imaginable. A soft place to land, a safe place to begin again before they take the next step to Vara Village. But we need your help to finish this miracle. We are believing God for friends who will give larger gifts to help us finish purchasing and furnishing Promise House, and 300 monthly sponsors who will say, I will give monthly to rescue, raise, and release a child in Jesus' name.
You may never step foot on that farm, but your giving can place a child there. You may never see their face, but your faith can rewrite their future. Will you help us finish Promise House? Will you help us rescue them before the trafficker finds them? This is your moment to be the miracle. Give generously, give monthly, give so they can live.
Philip:That is amazing. The young man you saw on the video with the beard and the two young girls, the young man is my adopted son, Andrew. He was the young boy I found in the orphanage. And those two young girls were my granddaughters who spent the summer in Moldova, living with the girls at Vara Village and being part of our mission outreach. Nothing satisfies me and thrills me more as a dad and a granddad to see my family following behind me, preaching the gospel and sharing the gospel.
Philip:These two houses, new ones, were birthed out of tremendous sorrow. A young girl came to us. She was underage for us to take in. They've gotta be over 16, and she was 14. She came from a horrendous family and we were made to put her back. And when she went back to the village she came from, she was gang raped and literally lost her mind. Her name is Maria. And we began to look and we found these two houses that we house 50 kids in. One is almost finished, one needs work.
Philip:And if we could ask for you to pray about helping us, it takes 300 people supporting a house, giving a dollar a day. And if you'd like to help us and be part of this miracle to build and finish and support these homes for young kids that have no hope, they'll live in a vacuum of hell. And we take them into our homes and share the gospel. And with these kids between the age of four and 16, before Vara Village, we are able to help their whole life be saved from unspeakable pain.
Philip:You can help us today. It's really simple. Whatever God speaks to your heart, if you give a dollar a day, that would allow us to sponsor this house. If you'd like to help us by giving a one-time gift to help us finish the place, it'll be a great blessing. It's so simple. Just write Daily Faith or Orphan's Hands, P.O. Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee 37716. You can also go to dailyfaith.tv. There's a giving page there and you can contact us from there. Or there's an 800 number. A real life person is waiting to talk to you right now. 833-Daily Faith, just dial 833 and then Daily Faith. And someone will pick up the phone and take your gift and your prayer request if you have one as well.
Philip:We need your help, because many lives depend on what we do, especially right on the border of Moldova and Romania. Let us see this miracle come to pass by your obedience. God bless you for that.
Philip:We have got a great friend, a great man of God, Bishop David Smith, pastors Oak Park Church in Mobile, Alabama, one of the fastest growing churches in America today. And he has a dynamic word for you today. He's written a book called Destiny Decisions. And Pastor David, I'm delighted to have you with us on Daily Faith. God bless you.
Pastor David Smith:Bless you, Brother Philip. It's such an honor to be with you today and to share. And we are big fans of the ministry and what you're doing there in Moldova, it's just amazing. And to see Andrew, what an amazing story. You are so generous. You guys gave such a generous offering to help us get there as well. So we wanna thank you for that.
Philip:It's just incredible to watch. And Andrew is such a powerful, anointed young man that God has his hand on. So every time I hear you share that story, it just rips my heart up with joy to just know the potential. What an incredible decision you made that literally was the catalyst to what you're seeing happen now. It's just amazing. And the favor. And the thing is, you never know what these destiny decisions are.
Pastor David Smith:You've written a book called Destiny Decisions. And this is so fresh in my spirit. You never know when these decision moments come. There's no neon lights flashing, there's no music playing. You're doing it basically by yourself thinking, is this the right choice to make?
Deuteronomy 30:19 — The Core Decision Verse
Philip:And speak to us, because we're living in momentous days today with all this stuff going on in the world, these mass murders and just so much stuff. One person's decision still matters, doesn't it?
Pastor David Smith:Absolutely. You know, Deuteronomy 30 verse 19 has become the core verse of this book that I wrote. And it simply says that the Lord has laid before us life and death. Choose life. We have a decision to make every day, all day. We're having to make decisions. And you're right, we are living in a world that is so filled with chaos, and it demands the people of God to rise up and make the right choices.
Pastor David Smith:When I wrote this book, I wanted to think of what could I use as a subtitle. And after the book was written, I just found myself kept saying, one choice can change everything. One choice can change everything for you. That trip where you saw Andrew, it changed everything. It changed the direction of your ministry, it changed Andrew's life, and now subsequently it's changed the lives of hundreds or thousands of people.
Philip:This book, and I'm so glad you're writing it, it bears witness that this is what God is speaking in this season, especially to those who are people of God who are faced with critical decisions.
Shamgar's Ox Goad and Saving a Nation
Pastor David Smith:What I know is this, the Bible says, Proverbs says that a man prepares his ways, but the Lord directs his steps. We have to be sensitive every moment of our life to those things that seem so insignificant, but can be major destiny decisions. We spoke a little bit before the program started about the character that really began this journey with me to write this book. I'd gone on a sabbatical a couple of years ago, about a year and a half ago. And my plan was to finish a book that I had been writing for goodness, for 10 years. And I thought, I need to get that book finished.
Pastor David Smith:And I just had writer's block, I could not finish that.
Philip:I've got one of those as well. Oh my goodness.
Pastor David Smith:But it was the Holy Spirit. He directed me to the scripture and I was just reading one day and I read a story I had read and heard about all of my life. It was about a man named Shamgar. Some of you may have never even considered that story. It's so obscure. It's really one verse. This man is only mentioned one time in the Bible. And it's really, most of the story is in one verse. It seems pretty insignificant that you would only be mentioned one time in one verse. But what caught my attention was the last part of that verse. It said, he saved his nation. And I thought, wow. One verse of an obscure character.
Pastor David Smith:It was Shamgar. Some of you may be familiar with the story. He took an ox goad, which was simply a cattle prod, and he protected his field and he slew 600 Philistines, and the Bible says he saved his nation. Now, he could have fled, he could have escaped and protected himself. But that field, it may have seemed insignificant to others, but to him it was his field. It was his harvest. It was his seed that he had sown, and he made a decision to stand.
Pastor David Smith:And when he did, he not only saved his field, he saved his nation. He defeated the Philistines single-handedly with an ox goad. When we do what we can, God does what we can't. And too often we're so intimidated by the things that are ahead of us, by the size of the battle. David facing Goliath, I write about that in the book. There's another story of a guy named Shammah who stood in a field of lentils, a field of peas, and he refused to give up his field.
Elisha Burns the Plows — Going All In
Pastor David Smith:There's another story in the book I write about a man that's very familiar, but everybody may not know the story of Elisha. He was standing in a field and one day Elijah came and laid his mantle on him. Elisha made a decision. He was plowing. And you know, there's so much in that chapter. Even since I've written the book, I've kind of read that story a little more. He was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen, at least 24 oxen that he was plowing with. That speaks to me. It was a lucrative position to have that many oxen. It was a big harvest, a big field.
Pastor David Smith:But he burned the plows and then he slaughtered the oxen. I have a message I preached called Burned the Plows and Killed the Cows. And he burned all that and he pursued Elijah. And he received a double portion. The message is he destroyed plan B. He went all in. He made a decision that he was going all in. And when he did, the Bible records that Elisha has more recorded miracles in the scripture than anyone else other than Jesus himself. Amazing. But he had to make a decision to forsake everything that was comfortable, to forsake everything that was his provision, to just become a servant.
Pastor David Smith:Really, at that moment he didn't leave just to become the Elisha that we know. The Bible says he was a servant. He never saw the miracles. All he was doing was killing his oxen and burning up his father's future, basically, by burning the plow. He was giving up his future. And it changed everything. One choice, but God honored that.
Pastor David Smith:So we talk about that. I talk about David and Goliath, how David stood. God had gotten David ready for what he had ready for him. Everything David went through, it's really an amazing story. There's so much that could be written and has been written about David. The thing that intrigues me about David is when he was anointed king, he went right back to what he was doing, being faithful in the field. And God prepared him. When he killed the lion, he killed the bear. God was building his faith, building his confidence to be able to make a choice that changed everything, when he took care of Goliath.
David Anointed Yet Faithful in the Field
Pastor David Smith:The Apostle Paul, I talk about Paul on the Damascus Road. One decision changed everything. And so in this book that I'm just so excited to get into the hands of people, I serve on the board of a recovery center, a drug and alcohol recovery center in Pennsylvania. And I was there last week for their graduation. And I'm willing to put this book in the hands of the people that are in those facilities. And I'm excited about that because I had a brother who was bound by addiction, even served time in prison.
Paul's Damascus Road — One Choice Redeems a Life
Pastor David Smith:We both grew up in a pastor's home. And I remember when he was arrested 30 years ago. He's doing well now, and God has redeemed his life, he has a wonderful testimony. But I remember when he was first arrested, I was pastoring my first church, and my brother was behind bars. And I'd gone to visit him. And I remember looking through that thick glass at my brother and saying to him, you know, we have the same mom, the same dad. Our DNA is very similar. We have the same upbringing. The only difference between you and I is Jesus. I made a decision that changed my destiny. If I hadn't, I would be on the other side and you would be on this side.
Pastor David Smith:And when I think of the Apostle Paul, who as Saul was a persecutor of Christians, such an evil wicked man, he called himself the chief of sinners. And yet that one choice in his life changed everything. Moses is another one. He was throwing a pity party on the backside of a desert. It looked like his life was over, suffering PTSD. And yet one choice, one decision to follow God, changed everything. Not just for him, but for Israel, for the Hebrews, the Jews, the nation. The world would be changed. Just amazing. One choice.
Hearing God's Voice Louder Than Audible
Pastor David Smith:And so I would just encourage those that are watching to understand that every decision you make has consequence. Every decision. And if we will follow the voice of the Lord, it's really that simple. He says, my sheep know my voice and none other will they follow. And oftentimes I have people say, well, have you ever heard the voice of God? And I'll often say that God spoke to me. And they said, did he speak audibly? And I always say, no, it was louder than that. Because when we allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us, the volume of the Holy Spirit in our spirit, you'll know it. You'll know when it's the Lord giving you peace.
Pastor David Smith:And the Bible says, let the peace of God rule in your life. I love that, because that word rule is what we would interpret as an umpire. Let the peace of God call the balls and the strikes. And when those things come before you, you've gotta make a decision. Let the peace of God rule in your life. He will give you peace.
Pastor David Smith:It may seem, I'm sure, Philip, just talking with you and hearing your testimony over the last several months in particular, I could only imagine the stories that you could tell of the times where you made decisions that did not seem logical. They did not seem rational.
Philip:The day we bought Vara Village was in January, the coldest, meanest day. It was a mean day. And I was standing in that little circle of grass in the middle. And we were going through some tremendous battles. And I'm standing with Andrew, and it was impossible. It was a million dollars. And I'm thinking, how on earth can we ever do this? I'm standing there with nothing, no indication of any hope. I mean, it was blood and guts time.
Philip:And I looked at Andrew and I says, we have no choice. We've got to do this. And I was telling you before the program, Marcus Lamb, a dear friend of both of us, texted me from the White House with Donald Trump. And he says, he sent me a picture, look where I am. And I sent him right back. I said, well, that ain't nothing. I've just bought a village. And he contacted me right back and he says, tell me about this. And I told him. He says, how are you paying for it? I says, I'm just gonna believe God.
Philip:Because sometimes, if you're watching us today, you're thinking, you know, it's easy for you guys. No, it's no more easy for us than it is for you. And I says, I'm believing God. And he texted me back and he says, Daystar will pay for the first house. And within three, four days, several other big organizations had contacted me and said, we are in, we want to make Vara Village.
Philip:So if you are watching us today, and I really feel this in my spirit, someone's watching and you are in the valley of decision. And the devil's telling you, take the easier route, take the compromise route. Don't make any more ripples. You're in big enough trouble. Stay low. It's time to rise up and say, I am able to go up and take. There's a decision. We are well able to go up and take the country. Amen.
Personal Story — Brother Behind Bars
Pastor David Smith:And the negative decision cost them 40 years in the wilderness.
Philip:This book, how can we get a hold of this book? Because it's really important for a lot of folk today, I believe.
Pastor David Smith:The website is on the screen. It releases September 7th, which is just a week from Sunday. But you can go now to destinydecisions.info and we'll get that into the mail to you today if you order it. Or you can go to all the other places where you buy books and it'll be available on September the seventh. It's available on Kindle as well. So would love for you to get a copy of it. I hope that it'll speak into your life. I know it's a piece of my life. Through every chapter I talk about these characters, but then I also in each chapter share a personal story. Radical, crazy, personal stories of things that have happened in our life that connect with that particular Bible story or Bible character. And I hope it gives information, but also inspiration that if God can do it through me, he can do it through you. He can do it through everyone who's watching today.
How to Get Destiny Decisions
Philip:I love that. He loves you and he has a great plan for your life. If you visit, it's really simple, pastordavidsmith.tv, pastor David Smith tv, there's a whole bunch of resources right there that you can plug into. If you are a pastor, listen to me. If you have a pastor you love, get him hooked up to this man, because it is a stream, it is a flowing stream of inspiration. And we just are so glad. Let me say again, Oak Park Church, Mobile, Alabama, and the website there is opcmobile.org.
Philip:Pastor David, thank you for being with me on Daily Faith today.
Pastor David Smith:Oh, thank you. We've gotta do this again. I believe this book is gonna be a ray of hope to someone watching us today. I'm praying it touches people's lives. That's my heart, to share this wonderful message that God's done in my life, to let you know it can happen to you. Thank you so much.
Philip:Listen, get that book, get in contact with our dear friend Pastor David, and we love you. Thank you for being part of Daily Faith. Help us with those new houses in Romania. We'll see you again. Bye-bye.
For over 25 years, the Cameron family has been changing the lives of orphans in Romania and Moldova, from providing running water, flushing toilets, and clean wells to coal for heat, new windows, as well as food and clothing. They champion the physical needs of the orphans in these broken and desolate countries. Many of Moldova's orphans are saved from the horrors of trafficking through homes founded by the Camerons. And in the process, orphans become daughters and sons. They come to know their heavenly Father and are forever changed by the love of Jesus.
God help the Camerons lift these amazing young men and women out of darkness. Now no longer orphans, they wanna return and invade that very same darkness with the light of Jesus Christ. The Orphan's Hands equips these daughters and sons to become missionaries. Your monthly gift of $31 will allow us to rescue and take in more girls and boys, saving them from the hell of human trafficking. Your monthly partnership will allow us to care for those in the Orphan's Hands homes in Moldova and Ukraine. If you want to join Philip and Chrissy in taking care of these precious young people, please contact us today by calling 833-Daily Faith. You can also give by going online to www.dailyfaith.tv or by writing to Post Office Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee 37716. So many lives depend on what we do. Thank you for loving the lost.
Common questions
What is Pastor David Smith's book Destiny Decisions actually about?
The book is built around the idea that 'one choice can change everything.' Pastor David uses obscure and well-known Bible characters — like Shamgar, Elisha, David, and the Apostle Paul — to show how a single decision, even one that seems small or illogical at the time, can redirect an entire life or even a nation. Each chapter pairs a Bible story with a personal story from his own life.
Who is Shamgar and why does Pastor David make such a big deal about him?
Shamgar is one of the most obscure figures in the Bible — he's mentioned only once, in a single verse. But that verse says he took an ox goad (basically a cattle prod), slew 600 Philistines, and saved his nation. Pastor David says Shamgar's story is what sparked the whole book: the idea that an ordinary person defending what's in front of them — their own field — can end up changing everything far beyond themselves.
What does Pastor David say Elisha's decision to burn his plows actually means?
Pastor David sees Elisha burning his plows and slaughtering his oxen as deliberately destroying Plan B — going completely all in with no safety net. He points out that Elisha was already in a lucrative position (plowing with 24 oxen), so it was a real sacrifice. The payoff, he says, is that Elisha went on to have more recorded miracles in Scripture than anyone except Jesus himself.
How does Pastor David say you can tell when God is speaking to you about a big decision?
He says God's voice through the Holy Spirit is actually 'louder than audible' — it's an inner knowing. His practical test is the peace of God: he references the biblical word for 'rule' as meaning an umpire, so he tells people to let God's peace call the balls and strikes. When that peace is present, you'll know the decision is right.
What personal story does Pastor David share that connects to the book's message about choices?
He shares that his brother — who also grew up in a pastor's home — ended up addicted and in prison. When David visited him through the glass, he told his brother: 'The only difference between you and me is Jesus. I made a decision that changed my destiny.' That moment, he says, is deeply personal proof that the same upbringing and DNA can lead to completely different outcomes based on one choice.
Topics
david smithdestiny decisionsbiblical decision makingoak park church mobile alabamashamgarelisha double portionpurpose and calling