Enlarging Your Vision: Picturing the Possibilities for Your Life (Part 2 of 2)

Sunday, June 27, 2010

“We are limited, not by our abilities, but by our vision.” -Anonymous

There are two realms in which people live in today–neither of which exists. These two realms are the past and the future. Why is this? Primarily because they don’t grasp the need for a strategy for the present leaving the past behind and confidently stepping into the future. What they lack is vision. People of vision understand that the past is a teacher, the present is an opportunity, and the future is not something to be feared. Vision is simply the ability to see God’s presence in your life, perceive that God is in control, and focus on God’s plan despite the many obstacles and hurdles in your way. Vision ignites our desires, gives us purpose in life, and motivates us to achieve an accomplishment. Helen Keller, born blind, was once asked what’s worse than being blind. She responded by stating, “Having sight without vision.” The value of vision is vitally important to live the life you were meant to live and God’s vision is one that guarantees a journey of fulfillment and joy.

Vision is a bridge to the future; it is the force that invents the future. It is the ability to see your dreams and desires before they manifest in your life. It’s taking the invisible and making it visible. In order to have vision you first must learn the art of focusing. If you can’t see something clearly, you live in a fantasy world. Your vision will remain a dream. Every great journey begins with only potential and possibilities. For some of us, the problem isn’t that we don’t have any dreams; it’s that we have way too many dreams. We live in our dreams rather than actually living them out.

There’s so much we want to do, so many possibilities, so many things that burn within us that we run the risk of choosing a lesser life than God wants from us. Instead of harnessing the energy you have, you instead conserve it. Erwin McManus says this about focus: “Focus allows you to live a life of full intensity with all your passion fueling your momentum in a singular direction. Focus isn’t about less but about more. It is the difference between a diffused light and a laser.” Focus is countercultural to the world around us. We live in a world that tells us we should know something about everything. We’re raised to be a jack-of-all-trades. Our educational system trains us in all fields–math, science, history, English, geography, psychology, foreign languages–you name it. If you’re going to create the life of your dreams you have to learn to say no to all the other options. The choices are necessarily between good and evil–but between the equally good options out there that are not the right paths for you.

The real enemy of our lives is called “average” a life entrapped in a mediocre, lukewarm status quo mode. As King Solomon, a man of great wisdom said, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 39:18, KJV) When people have no vision they walk in circles, just like the Israelites did in the desert for fourty years. Vision is like a map and a compass giving us the tools needed in times of decision steering you in the right direction and keeping your eyes on your destination. When we can see tomorrow clearly we can anticipate and avoid the many problems and pitfalls that come our way.

Another key thing to keep in mind with vision is trusting in God’s plan for your life. God has a plan for you to prosper as He states in scripture: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) We must believe He has a plan for us and in the process trusting that He’ll use us to accomplish His purpose for our life. How do we do this? First, delight yourself in the Lord: “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4) Read and meditating on His Word, depositing His desires into your heart. Also remember to imagine the impossible; don’t be afraid to try something that seems unattainable or improbable–if God wants for it to happen, it’ll happen in His time. Finally, come with an attitude of expectancy. Expect for God to come through and fulfill His promises. This is the very definition of faith stated in Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Your words and thoughts have an important role on your vision. A good indication of how strong your vision can be done by listening to the words you say to yourself and others around you. Are the words you speak encouraging and uplifting? Or are they constantly negative, pessimistic, and bitter? It’s all up to out to produce good fruit in your life and it starts with your words. Jesus said this on producing good fruit in your life: “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” (Matthew 12:35) If your heart is full of worries, fears, and doubts you need to change the conversation in your heart to words that produce life. Feed on faith, hope, and truth from God’s Word. Put deposits of good treasure in your heart and it’ll shape a future worth living.

Your vision shapes and motivates everything you do in your life. Ask yourself, what gets me out out of bed in the morning? Some get up because that’s the time they’re supposed to get up. Others get up to write a book, train for a marathon, encourage others, teach others a valuable lesson, paint a masterpiece, or build something that will revolutionize their culture. When we let our circumstances and situations drive our lives, “maintenance” becomes our glass ceiling. You do what you think you should do instead of what you are created to do. Doing what you were created to do is exciting and motivating; to do what we think we ought to do is a life of drifting, defeat, and depression.

Now the question is: What kind of vision should I have? There are two kinds of vision: Vision from the world, which is self-oriented and focuses on “what I can get”, or vision from God, which is people-oriented and focuses on “what I can give.” How do we examine our vision? If your vision is from the world is usually involves fame, fortune, position, or material possessions. If your vision is from God it speaks of love, joy, peace, and a desire to help others.  When we have a vision from God we come to realize God’s purpose, plans, dreams, and desires for our lives.

How do you activate the power of vision in your life? Here are some key steps to follow in order for vision to become part of your everyday life. First, invest time in prayer. Establish a time each day to pray and seek His wisdom and revelation in your life. Then stop and listen to His answers. The time length isn’t what matters concerning pryaer, it’s the quality of your conversation. Also keep in mind that interruptions do happen. Don’t let condemnation tear you down; stick to your daily time with God no matter where you are or what time of the day it is. Along with prayer, meditate on God’s Word every day. The more your meditate the clearer God’s will in your life will become. Here is what Scripture tells us concerning this: “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” (Joshua 1:8)

Share your vision with other believers. Stay close to people who encourage and uplift you.  Avoid people who are negative, inflating your energy and drive in life. Seek godly counsel and wisdom. Also make sure to keep your heart open to correction and direction. Sometimes we need the advice of someone else to point out the danger or pitfalls we can’t see. As it says in God’s Word: “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” (Proverbs 11:14)

A vital step in making your vision a reality is to put it in writing. In other words, break it down in small attainable goals. As the well known axiom goes: “If you fail to plan, plan to fail.” Make sure to establish checkpoints along the way to measure your progress. Make your goals concise and clear–not vague and too general in nature. There are many goal-setting guides out there that can help you if you’re not someone who’s well-versed in setting goals. Goal-setting is a topic that I simply don’t have the space to write about, but if you do some research you’ll see there’s a ton of good, solid information on this skill. If you haven’t made goal setting a priority in your life, consider doing so. Becoming a successful goal setter will change your life in ways you can’t imagine!

Remember that you vision is unique to you. Don’t try to copy someone else’s vision. Take ownership of your vision. You are the only one you can carry out the vision God has given you. If you don’t take ownership of your vision, no one else will want to embrace it either. Finally, endure and press on towards your vision until it comes to pass. Trust in God’s timing even when it seems like His promises aren’t getting any closer. God tells us in His Word: “But these things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!” (Habakkuk 2:3, TLB). Our expectations of time never seem to match up with God’s. Keep pushing forward knowing that God will come through with His promises. The wait will be well worth it!

Everything God created has potential–including you. What you see today is not all there is. Your potential is waiting to be tapped into. God has given you vision to see beyond your present by giving you a mind’s eye of the way things will be in the future yet to come. You were created to live above and beyond the ordinary. Reach out and capture the vision God has in store for you. Dare to live the extraordinary life and shape your future for God’s glory!

**Next week I will be taking a week off to celebrate the 4th of July Holiday weekend. The following week, July 11th we’ll start a brief two part series on our Past:  Examining Our Past to Exceed. A New Profile has been posted on Albert Pujols in the Profiles section. Happy 4th of July everyone and God Bless. **

Sources:

Art Sepulveda, How to Live Life on Purpose. Zondervan Publishers: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2004.

Erwin Raphael McManus, Wide Awake. Thomas Nelson: Nashville, Tennessee, 2008.