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“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” – Luke 4:18-19.
Each of us is faced daily with the potential to “plateau” in our lives…to stop progressing, maturing, and growing. The same is true for churches, businesses, and organizations.
In the first part of Proverbs 29:18, we find a familiar portion of Scripture. Most Christians are familiar with the quote from the KJV: “Where there is no vision, the people perish…” The translation in the NLT gives us insight as to why people with no vision perish: “When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild…” In other words, where there is no vision, no direction from God, people will “do their own thing” and “go their own way,” which in many cases ends up badly.
Vision requires some introspection, it requires asking some tough questions: Do we as Christians have a sense of vision? Do we have a God-given dream? De we believe God is directing us? Leading us? We need the answers to those questions because God is in the people business. And the more we are in lockstep with God’s direction for our lives the more we will have a direct impact on people’s lives.
The idea of having a plan for the future makes perfect sense. But developing that plan sounds like the province of a corporate think tank. But is it really that complicated? We can simplify it by looking at our lives and asking what changes do we need to make going forward to live “on mission” for Jesus Christ.
Think about it this way: what would your life be like if you were not afraid to believe God and your faith reflected that? What if you believed God’s promises? How different would you view your vision of the future? Would you dare to dream bigger dreams? Dreaming big, casting a large vision, does not cost anything. The Bible says, “God . . . is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of — infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes” (Ephesians 3:20 TLB). So no matter how big we think in our life, in our ministry, in our church, God can do it and so much more. It starts with a vision.
Ask God, “What do you want me to do? How do you want me to do it? And when do you want me to do it?” Pray and ask God to use you in His movements in our area.
Discussion Questions:
- How long has it been, if ever, since you asked God, “How am I doing?” What might be some of the ways God would use in your life to answer that question?