And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
What is a vision?
- Mental Image, view of the future.
- The ability to imagine how a country, society, industry, etc. could develop in the future and to plan for this:
- An experience in which you see things that do not exist physically, when your mind is affected powerfully by something such as deep religious thought or drugs or mental illness:
How can you get a vision for your year/life?
Genesis 13:14-17 NLT
After Lot had gone, the LORD said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east and west. I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession. And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted! Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you.”
1 Corinthians 2:12
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
1 Corinthians 2:9-10
Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
God is still in the business of giving us a vision for our lives and for seasons. He can communicate these visions to us in several ways:
- Prayer – we can receive vision and directions for our lives in the place of prayer
- Desires of your heart – Sometimes God stirs us in line with His vision for our lives through our desires. Remember our study of S.H.A.P.E by pastor Rick warren, we are designed differently and God uses our design to stir up specific desires in our hearts towards His vision for our live
- Exposure: Travel, books, etc. We cannot go farther than what we see. God can inspire a vision through exposure. He asked Abraham to look up at the stars so He could give him a vision of what his descendants would be like.
- Prophecy
- Dreams
The importance of having a Vision
- You can only go as far as your eyes can see.
Genesis 13:15 for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it and to thy seed forever. You only get what you see! How far you go in life is not dependent on God but on your vision.
- You cannot contend effectively for what you cannot see.
Joshua 2:1, Numbers 13:1-2, God asked Moses to send spies into the land. He wanted them to have a vision of what He had given to them.
- It’s difficult to endure and preserver without vision
Hebrews 12:2 – Even Jesus had to see something in order to endure the cross
- Vision gives you focus and helps you live disciplined. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
- Vision helps fight against jealousy, envy, confusion and anxiety. Ecclesiastes 3:1
Jealousy, envy: when you know where you’re headed, you’re not intimidated by others who have arrived at their destinations. You can genuinely celebrate others because you know where you’re headed too.
Confusion and anxiety: Vision helps deal with confusion and anxiety. A clear vision helps you understand the season you’re in so you don’t go about worrying and wondering what’s wrong with your life. It helps fuel patience as you walk with God to birth the vision. It fights anxiety because it keeps the image of the desired end in focus and feeds peace into your heart.
- Vision propels growth
- A vision is a channel through which God births His purposes on the earth.
