Without A Vision, We Are Like A Ship Without A Sail
Are you a visionary? Merriam-webster states that a visionary is someone with a strong vision of the future. How does one obtain a strong vision for the future? While some are prophetic, I believe that anyone who professes Jesus as Lord has the ability to procure a vision for their lives.
For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you, says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
jeremiah 29:11 AMP
The Lord speaking to His people has given us a clear directive: That He has a plan for our future. He also has the power to bring it to pass. This is great news if you are one who seems that you are going in circles. God’s Word is a sure foundation that gives us direction when we seek Him for it.
Merriam-Webster also states that the idea of a visionary is characterized by having an idealism that is not rooted in reality. You know, that’s the thing about being a visionary. It may seem as if the things that you believe and see are located in la-la land, and no one really believe that these things can come to pass except you. But that’s okay, because you are in good company.
Let’s take a look at Abraham. God told him to:
Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
genesis 12:1-3
This, He said to a man who did not even have a child. But the next verse says that “Abram departed.” Abraham uprooted his family and followed the voice of God because he possessed three things that all visionaries need to succeed.
Three things you need to execute the vision:
FAITH – Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
BELIEF – We must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
PERSEVERANCE – Press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
When we started our missionary journey in the early 2000’s, we were equipped for the journey because the Lord had prepared us for it. Now during that preparation period, we were not aware of what He was up to. All we knew was that we were going through Hell. This is key because going through the wilderness with its fiery serpents and scorpions, is a part of what it means to possess your God given inheritance. The vision is inherent in the inheritance of the Lord. But it was our faith, our belief and determining to persevere in our mission that allowed us to continue the journey with nothing more than our faith in God’s Word.
Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
proverbs 29:18
I am convinced that it was the vision that us going. God’s vision that He had given my husband and revealed to me. Actually, I located us in the scriptures. One way to receive God’s plan for your life, is to locate yourself in His Word. And yet another way may be to find the “secret place,” and still yourself and ask Him what is His will for your life (Habakkuk 2:1-3). God may reveal His will in a dream, through a person, or a set of circumstances. It is not a secret. He wants you to know what it is, but it is up to you to want know what it is and be willing to carry it out (Isaiah 1:10).
You see, it was the Israelites unwillingness to have faith and believe in God’s promise to bring them into a place of purpose. He had given them a mission. It was to pass through their wilderness season and come out on the other side and into their land of promise to fulfill the vision that He had given to Moses.
But instead, they continued to go around the same mountain for forty years! Until they eventually died in the wilderness. Do you ever feel like you’ve been in this place before? Does it feel like you’re going in circles? Do you want to exit your wilderness experience?
A purpose-driven life is a life of surrender. Whatever God says about a thing, that is what we should be basing our lives upon. In our flesh, we don’t know what is right. We can not go about establishing our own righteousness, and expect to walk with God:
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.
romans 1:22
The Bible admonishes us not to be wise in our own eyes, but to be sober, vigilant knowing what the will of the Lord is. Amen? Knowing what the will of the Lord is, is your mission, your vision, your purpose. How does one know what the Lord’s will is? God’s Word is His Will.
How to stop going in cycles? Make a daily plan to spend time with God through prayer. Endeavor to listen for His voice as you awake and talk to Him. Try reading the Bible on your knees; praise and worship, prayer affirmations (using the Word of God as a prayer/confession i.e. by the stripes of Jesus I am healed!), prayer walks, fasting, audio bible, listening to anointed sermons, listening to music and the like. These spiritual activities help to bring us into His presence and receive His wisdom, thus His will.
Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
ephesians 5:17
Let’s Pray: Father in the name of Jesus, I come to you O God asking You to create in me a clean heart and to renew a right Spirit within me. Cleanse me from all unrighteousness and help me to live by faith and not by sight. Help me not to despise small beginnings, but to know what Your will is concerning me so that I may live a life that is pleasing, rooted and grounded, and fruitful unto You. I love You Lord. Thank You for loving me first. Amen.
There is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain.
Grace and peace to you.
Scripture Reference: Matthew 6:31-33
