Tags
chazon, clarity, complete, Future, God, God's perfect will, information, listen, Lord, plan, rest, revelation, sync, vision, Whole
Vision. Corporations, schools, individuals, churches and other non-profit organizations all imagine a preferred future. They want to have a goal. Are they making progress? And perhaps, most importantly, is their vision what God intends for them? Are they even asking him?
Recently, a string of revelation flooded my heart and mind as I intently listened to my pastor speak about where our church was headed. My eyes were repetitively drawn to the light-blue block letters that spelled out vision on our beautifully decorated altar. Then I heard a gentle voice whisper “take the ‘I’ out of vision”.
The word “son” popped into the forefront as the remaining letters faded into the background. But God was not done speaking. He wanted me to divide the word and look at the remaining letters. The Roman numeral seven now preceded the word “son”. In the Bible, the number seven speaks of God’s perfect will: completion and rest. On the seventh day, God completed creation and rested (Gen 2:1-3).
God’s preferred future for us is that we are made complete in Christ Jesus (Col 2:10 NASB). When we learn to rest in him, he makes us whole.
How often do we put the ‘I’ back into vision? Instead of seeking God’s heart and mind about our future, we adopt our own ideas or those of well-meaning people around us. After all, everybody has a great plan. But is it God’s plan for you?
Proverbs 29:18 says “Without vision the people perish… (KJV).” The word vision here comes from the Hebrew word chazon. It means prophetic vision or revelation and denotes God’s will. You see, clarity of vision comes from seeking God’s heart and mind through prayer. Simply put, it comes from hearing his voice. Learn to be a listener.
One way to think about gaining clarity of vision can be illustrated in our modern world of technology. We tend to heavily rely on our portable devices for information. We feel lost without them. If we don’t sync them regularly with our home computer that acts as a central hub, we risk the chance of losing important information. All it takes is one malfunction.
God is our hub, and we can be seen as his portable devices. If we do not regularly take time to sync with him, we risk losing important information he has to show or tell us regarding his preferred future for us.
This is what the Lord says in Jeremiah 33:3 (GW): “Call to me, and I will answer you. I will tell you great and mysterious things that you do not know.”
If our vision isn’t in sync with God’s vision, is it really worth pursuing?