Pastoral Articles

Living by God's Vision for you Part 2

Continuation . . . by Askofu Mulani

"Then the Lord replied: 'write down the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry" (Habbakkuk 2:1-3).

Last week we saw how God has a vision for each one and how important it is to capture and live by it. God's vision becomes clear in prayer. As a matter of fact, prayer is the mother of vision or to put it differently vision is born in prayer (Hab. 2:1).

Today, however, I would like to add on a few other aspects of God's vision for us for the above text.

1. God's vision needs to be clear and legible (v.2)

Some translations say "write the vision in block letters so that those who pass by may read as they run." If our vision is not clear to us it's not going to be clear to others. First of all, writing is very important, not just for future reference but also for ourselves. The process of writing out something helps us clarify it. How many times you thought you knew something but when you strted writing it out you realized you had to really think through what you were writing.

If our vision for life is not clear as to write it down we need to go back to prayer until it is completely clear. In addition to ourselves, it helps "those who run," meaning those who support our vision to be able to run with it. Those who pray for us or want to help us out are able to know how to help.

2. Expect God's vision to be tested (v.3)

Sometimes the testing will be so intense and severe it will look like it's over. You might even begin doubting whether it was really from God. The testing is not meant to crush us but to preapare us to handle the vision from God. That's what happenned to Joseph when his brothers betrayed him and the family of Portiphar consipred against him and threw him in prison. In each case it looked like his vision was over but that was God's way of bringing to pass his God-given dreams.

Now let me kindly correct a teaching that I have heard from many children of God. I have heard people saying that we should be careful in sharing our dreams because there are many dream killers around us and can kill our vision. This is derived from the way Joseph shared his dreams with hs brothers and they ended up planning to sabotage his dreams. They say that Joseph was wrong to have shared his dreams with his brothers.

Now thinking is wrong for two reasons. First, if we are to write out our dreams or visions in block letters such that even when someone running can read it then there is no way to hide it from people. Secondly, no one can kill a dream from God. If anything, if anyone tries to do it, they will find that they are being used by God to bring the dream to come to pass.

That's exactly what happened to Joseph's brothers, the dream killers of Joseph. They intended it for evil but God ended up using them for the good of Joseph and ultimately them also. Their plottings out of envy ended up fulfilling the purposes of God.

Just pause here and think about it a second: What were the chances of Joseph, a small Jewish boy in palestine ever becoming a prime minister in Egypt, the superpower then? If the brothers didn't do what they did and if Portiphar's wife didn't come up with her conspiracy it's hard to see how that would have happened. But you see God is the script writer of our visions and will use anything, even our enemies to birng it to pass.

As I conclude  let me make a few observations:

One, becareful not to be bitter with your enemies, they are instrumental to your destiny. You see, it's your enemies who stir you to prayer and in the process end up in your destiny. If Penninah had not tortured Hannah she would not have fasted and prayed like she did and in the process ended up getting a breakthrough from of of a son who was not only the leader in Israel but the most annointed prophet in the Bible.

Joseph refused to be bitter with his brothers because he knew they were sovereignly serving the purposes of God. Instead of allowing your enemies making you bitter, purpose that they'll make you better by loving them especially now that you see they are not the ones who control your destiny.

Two, People who are envious of other don't have their own vision. Someone said that envy is the art of counting the other fellow's blessing instead of your own. To be consistent in the flow of reasoning here, let me say that God has a vision for them (the peeple who are nevious of others' visions) it's just that they have not captured it. People who have captured their vision in life are busy working on it, and have no time in destroying others.

I like the way Nehemiah responded to the vision distractors, Sanballat and Geshem in Nehemiah 6:2-4, ". . . that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me saying, 'Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono (No wonder it sounds  like "Oh, No!"). But they thought to do me harm. So I send messengers to them, saying, "I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you? But they send me this message four times and I answered them in the same manner."

There are many vision distractors today. This spirits of Sanballat and Geshem have not gone anywhere. They are still at work, so child of God, be careful. There vision is to distract you to "come down" from your vision. They are also very persistent, "four times" they send messages to Nehemiah. We need to be more persistent than our distractors in pursuing our vision. "And I answered them in the same manner," Nehemiah said.

Three, People who have a vision support other people's visions. Because Laban had a vision, he faithfully worked for his uncle for a double seven years. Because David had his vision clearly spelled out, he faithully worked and supported Saul throughout Saul's life. The list is endless because we could mention Esther, Moses, Nehemiah, etc.

You see, visionaries realize that any true vision comes from the same Father and we complement one another not contradict or compete with one another. Each person's vision is part of an overall vision of God and as each person fulfills theirs we all benefit and glorify God. Notice Joseph's brother though they opposed his dreams yet they ended up benefitting from his destiny. My destiny is not just for me only but for you as well so opposing my God-given dream is actually opposing God's plans for you and as such self-defeating.

Please rise and capture your own vision and live by it.

Living by God's Vision for You

(Genesis 13:14-15)

By Bishop Paul Mulani

"And the LORD said to Abraham, after Lot had separated from him: "Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are - northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants." (Genesis 13:14-15)

Did you know that God has a vision or call it a plan if you like, for each of His children? You are either walking in God's plan for your life or in your own vision. Lot chose to walk by sight. He walked in his own vision. A few verses before this text of consideration the Bible says that "Then Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well-watered everywhere, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar . . . then Lot chose for himself all the plain  of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other" (Genesis 13:10-11).

You see, Lot lifted his eyes and chose while Abraham waited until the LORD told him to lift his eyes and showed him what to possess. Lot went by sight and the Bible says somewhere else that "there is a way that seems right unto man but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Proverbs 16:25). That's exactly what happened to Lot and that's what will happen to any decision that is not of faith.

There are three things that we need to bear in mind if we are going to walk in God's vision for our lives.

1. Wait on the LORD as you seek Him for His vision for you (V. 14)

Waiting on God might seem like wasting time. You might feel like others are prospering and leaving you behind. Your agemates, schoolmates, churchmates, etc, might seem to be moving ahead of you and you might be tempted to do it your own way. But let me remind you that you can never lose or be late by waiting on God. There is a Swahili proverbs that says "kutangulia sio kufika." What it means is basically that to proceed first doesn't mean being first to arrive. Lot selfishly rushed ahead but eventually lost everything while Abraham gained everything, including what Lot had grabbed.

It's important to know that unless God gives it to you it's not yours for a man can receive nothing unless it's given him from above (John 3:27). Seek and wait to hear from God and He will clearly show you His vision for your life.

That's what happened to Daniel. As he fasted and prayed, God send an angel to bring him understanding of his (God's) plan not only for him personally but also for God's people, the children of Israel who were at that time in bondage in Babylon. It says in Daniel 10:14, "Now, I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come." As we wait on God and seek Him in prayer, He will make our vision clear.

God's plan for you is to increase and expand you (Psalms 71:21). Right now you might not feel like so or circumstances might not be saying "amen" to the word of God but it will be so as you agree with God. It's important to understand God's grammer in carrying out His plans for us. When things look like they have come to an end or standstill in our lives we need to know that's just God's period. God's period could mean that He's about to begin a new chapter in our lives or He's starting to write book and even if the book is over He could be starting a new volume. God is still at work even in the "standstills of our lives".

When there is a pause, that's just like God's comma but He means to continue working so don't be afraid or discouraged when things are slow in your life. Sometimes you'll encounter things in life that you don't and can't understand. These are God's question marks and it might not be helpful worrying about them. These are points that should cause us to worship and even trust Him all the more because they show us that His mind is infinitely greater than ours and even if we don't understand what He's doing, we can trust that He knows better than we do and has our best interest in heart.

2. Work on Your Vision (17)

God told Abraham to "arise and walk in the land through it's length and its width." This must have been an act of faith especially since we are told that  the land still had its occupants at that time. The Bible says that the "Cananites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land" (Gen. 13:7b).

Waiting on God is not a passive lying-down-doing-nothing-until-God -comes kind of a thing. Waiting on God is active not passive. It is exercising our faith in walking on water as long as He has said "Come." It is being active in things of God while believing that He will perfect what concerns us. (Psalms 138:8).

We need to work on our vision by positive confession, by giving thanks to God even though we might not have seen the physical manifestation yet. We do so because we know that His Word will never fail and as we do so, God will bring it to pass.

3.  Establish a continual communion with Lord (18)

It says in verse 18 that "Abraham moved his tent and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the LORD." Everywhere Abraham went he would build an altar to the LORD. We don't read anywhere Lot ever doing such a thing because people who walk by the flesh don't build altars. Why should they when they don't depend on God but on their understanding?

It's important to establish a prayerlife full of worship and communion with God. Abraham didn't think that since God had promised to bless him  things must happen just as He had said. God is not like a soda machine that will dispense things to us as we order Him. God is a person who is seeking communion and intimacy with us and His blessings are released to us in a personal way.

May God help us to seek Him more and more this year so that it will please Him to bless us more and more for His glory. Amen!

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