Vision is painting a portrait of what does not yet exist, so you can make things happen to give existence to the vision.
Vision, to me, is an unknown piece of myself, not yet discovered. As I am continuously refined by the Lord from who I was to who He has called me to be, vision causes my perspectives of myself to change. The combined experiential elements of God who created me, people in my past, present, and future, and finally, the physical world around me affect the vision for where I am going. I can either choose to seek my self-vision of who and where I think I should be in my life right now, or I can choose to seek my God for His vision for me.
The Bible lays it out pretty clearly in James 3:14-16 HCSB,
“But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t brag and deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where envy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every kind of evil.”
Reject Self-Visions
I can simply take a look at my own heart to see that this scripture is true. At times I unintentionally delayed the plans God had for me, giving excuses for not speaking truth, or serving. I hindered those opportunities, which would have produced spiritual fruit in my life.
In growing with the Lord sometimes I have reflected self-glory, made God unnoticed in my circumstances. It allowed unrecognizable negative influences to detour me in where I invested my time, what I put my energy into, and my preparation. These subtle influences redirected me more and more towards my own selfish vision.
Receive God’s Vision
However, when I put God first (not a To-do checklist with Him on top , but a burning desire to seek Him before anything or anyone else), then He determines the overall direction to where I am heading.
When I’m following God’s vision my energy is appropriately measured for the people and the environments He wants me to engage with. He will cause everything else to fall away to my left and to my right, whether only for a time or for good. This is where God’s vision takes shape upon my life.
My Vision Word
So, for 2019, I have decided to establish a new vision goal for my life. I analyzed and identified what that would look like. I decided to pray about what vision word God wanted me to focus on this year, and He gave me the word “Re-fire.”
2019 #Re-fire: To re-fire is to reignite a fire within you, to fan the flame back to life!
I love the Lord’s mighty declaration in Jeremiah 23:29–30 HCSB,
“Is not My Word like fire, and like a hammer that pulverizes rock?
My plan this year is to refire my heart for living and speaking God’s truth. During the year, I plan to reach out to other women around the world, empowering them for Living Significantly. Living Significantly means you know who you are in God, you speak boldly and we begin unite as one in sharing God’s story through our own personal testimony. WE are not in it for ourselves, but see how every single women beside us plays a vital role in the Heavenly Realm.
In my blog, I have created categories for women who have gifts in various forms; photography, poetry, leadership, teaching, travel and so much more. I would like to invite you to join me in Living Significantly in your God giving gifts, so other women can have Hope restored in their lives and our next generations knows to turn to God.
Receive God’s Vision for Your 2019:
We all prepare in different ways. Identify what works best for you to create a plan and who you can trust for accountability to stick with it. The aspect of Christ that you want to reflect to must be a visual of where you are going in your environment, actions and words.
Make note of where you are at in your heart with God, seek Him on it openly, and ask, “What “Vision Word” does God have for my 2019?”. Remember:
- Tie your vision to your Faith and Holy Spirit
- Vision comes to the spiritually alert
- Pay attention to specific words or themes that keep repeating from different areas
- Stronger and clearer vision requires two-way communication with God
- You will need patience and flexibility to realize your vision
- A new aspect of your identity in Christ is birthed from pursuing His vision for you
- Write the vision down!
Benefits of Pursuing God’s Vision
List
- You will have a future commitment to obeying God’s call.
- Vision gives purpose to your actions.
- You will sacrifice to make it happen, which sharpens you spiritually.
- You get energized from knowing God’s dreams for you.
- Moving towards a dream goal gives you happiness.
References:The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Je 23:29–30), (Ja 3:14-16). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
