“Write the vision and make it plain.” Habakkuk 2:2 NKJV
“When you see what God has in mind for you, you will want it and you will work to have it.”
My thoughts today are about “a desired future.”
If you don’t have some idea of where you want to go, then any place will do and any road can take you there. If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there? Too many people live lives that are pretty much aimless – no goals or unclear ones, little ambition therefore little effort, not much attempted and nothing achieved. When you look into your tomorrows, what does that look like? Could you recognize it, if and when it happens?
There is a natural dimension to vision, but there is also a spiritual element to vision. It is not wrong for you to dream and imagine what your future could be like, and to work to make that an increasing reality. In fact, I believe that you should dream and dream big, as long as you wake up and work toward that. Along with any vision of the future for which you hope, you need to seek God’s vision for your future. It’s all good! This is not a future that will be, regardless of what you do or do not do. I am describing a future that can be, if you and God partner together.
God has a vision for your life. “God, you saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumerable!” Psalm 139:16-17 NLT. Your life is not a collection of random occurrences, unless you allow it to become that.
(1)Vision provides direction. Solomon wrote, “Where there is no vision, the people perish (cast off restraint/run wild/without order).” Proverbs 29:18 KJV. The clearer the vision you hold of your future, the more certain you are of the course your life is to take, and the cost that will require.
(2)Vision imparts inspiration. Paul’s testimony was this, “I was not disobedient to the vision from Heaven.” Acts 26:19 NIV. Paul’s life was entirely turned around by the vision of Jesus he saw on the Damascus road (Read Acts 9:3-22 NIV), and the rest of his life was shaped by what God showed him about his future. There is a supernatural aspect to vision that fuels your soul: to go where you would not otherwise go, to give what you would otherwise keep, and to sacrifice what would otherwise be too much to ask.
(3)Vision clarifies action. “A vision appeared to Paul . . now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us.” Acts 16:9-10 NKJV. When you see a possible future, you are moved in its direction. What you would like to see in your future is one thing; what God plants in your heart is quite another. That kind of vision I have read described as “a picture of a desired future.” Do you have a vision of a desired future?
If you have seen what God has in mind for you, you will want it and you will work to have it. “’For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good . . to give you a future and a hope.’” Jeremiah 29:11 NLT. Hope without a future in which to realize your dream would be pointless; a future without hope to inspire your best effort and diligence would become meaningless. God gives you both a future and a hope. Read Ephesians 3:20 NLT. Step into your future, beginning now!
My prayer for you today is: believe in a great future, and walk confidently toward it.