Vision- Not So Raven

Vision. No I’m not talking about “That’s So Raven” and I’m not talking about looking to see what the future looks like. I am talking about having a VISION; a strategic goal, an outlook on your life and where you think God is taking you. You might have had a vision of what your life would look like in the future: who you would marry, how many kids you would have, what job you have. We all have thought about these things from a young age, and maybe even think them now. As a kid you have always been told by your parents God’s got a plan for you and you have often probably even been quoted or quoted yourself Jeremiah 29:11 but how do you know what’s God’s plan for your life? Does he have a vision for you? How are you supposed to know or even understand that vision? Well don’t be alarmed or worried because we have all been there and we are all living out the vision and plan he has for us. If I had a dime for every vision, dream, or thought of what my life would look like I would be a rich man as I’m currently trying to understand what that vision for my life is that God has for me.

 “A man without a vision is a man without a future. A man without a future will always return to his past.” (P.K. Bernard)

Vision is what we see, but it is also the way in which we see. Take binoculars for example; look through it and what do you see? You see something close up that is far away. God intends for us to be able to know he has a bigger vision for us even though it is hard to grasp because it’s so far away. Looking at it this way helps us to be able to interpret the events in our life, the way we view people and our concept of God. If you wear glasses and you get a scratch, it may seem like everybody and everything around has scratches too, but the problem actually lies with our impaired vision. It is blotted out so we can not see Jesus clearly. Jesus said that our eyes are the windows of our heart. Paul prayed that the eyes of our heart would be opened and enlightened. You and I perceive with our eyes but we see with our hearts. 

Our mind transforms and correlates pictures from our eyes but our heart tends to and should interpret the images it should make it clearer and it should have more insight. If we have a heart that becomes bitter, jealous, hurt or in someway infected, the lens of our heart is distorted; its scratched and not clear. What we perceive is happening and what is really going on could be two completely different things. Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32). The word truth used here is not referring to the Bible itself, (although all truth is rooted in the Bible) but here the word truth means reality. Jesus is saying, you will understand what is real and that will free you. Helen Keller says it best “The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight, but has no vision. ~ “

So many of us live in a virtual reality. The way we view our life and others can look and feel so real; it can make things relevant and even make perfect sense but it still can’t be real at all. Have you ever watched a movie that had a fairytale ending? You probably even got into the plot and the live happily ever after. There’s a reason they call this a fairy tale – because it’s all make believe it doesn’t happen in real life even though we want it to. You and I have both experienced all the emotions of this fairytale life; only to find out it’s make believe and will never be real. This is why we need to rely on GOD for our vision; this is why we need to focus on him and his plan for our lives as we search to find out what it is and the destiny that he has called us to. Our vision will change, as he prepares us for our next steps in life. We must be adaptable to his changes as they occur in our life. Remember that he works everything for our good and that his plan will be fruitful and bring us much joy and him much satisfaction and glory if we allow it too.   

FORESIGHT, INSIGHT & OVERSIGHT

True Godly vision consists of foresight, insight and oversight that come from His sight. Foresight is like looking at life through a camera lense. This outlook allows us to know what is ahead as it connects us to our future. Foresight is the element of vision that helps life make sense and gives us the motivation that we described earlier.

Insight is like viewing life through a microscope. This perception gives us an understanding of why things happen in life. It also helps determine the underlying motivations of the heart. 

Oversight puts life into context. It is like flying over our house in a helicopter. There is a perspective that we can only receive from this vista that helps us understand where we are with respect to where everything else is. The sons of Issachar are great examples of this kind of vision. The book of I Chronicles says that these men understood the times and had knowledge of what Israel should do (12:32). People that are blessed with this type of vision often have great wisdom concerning the seasons of life. 

His sight assures us that the vision we have is from God. A vision from the Lord creates a mission from heaven. This is illustrated in the life of Moses when he went up on the mountain, received a vision of the tabernacle, and was told to construct it according to the pattern that he had received (Exodus 24:16-28:43). Visions like this are just “pipe dreams” without some sort of administrative plan to complete them. A lot of people have lofty ideas about things they would like to accomplish for God but they seem to have no sense of how to see the dream fulfilled.

So we must continue to look forward to what GOD has in store for us; we must continue to be motivated to seek his vision for our lives. As a Millennial it is in our best interest to search for this vision to further the kingdom of God and to grow our congregation and our body of believers because we all need to have that same vision of reaching others for Christ, wanting them to experience what we have and what we know and what we have seen for a mighty GOD who can do all things and is above all things. Having that vision will allow us to unify the body of believers. As we begin to have that vision that God has given us it makes us unique, he makes us creative, and allows us to use that creativity that he has give to advance the Gospel, the mission, the church, and show others the almighty magnificent of GOD that we give him the glory for what he has done in our lives and continues to do.

SO GO AND BE AN INFLUENCE IN THIS WORLD! CATCH THE VISION THAT GOD IS GIVING YOU. USE IT TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITIES AND SHARE THE LOVE OF GOD, BECAUSE HE HAS SHOWN IT TO YOU.