‘‘Where there is no vision the people perish.’’ One of the things that this verse makes very clear is that a vision is vital to carrying out God’s will and Purpose for our lives.
Vision in Proverbs 29:18 is the knowledge and understanding of God, His will, and purposes for their life revealed in the scriptures. Without this vision, we can be sure we will perish—suffer, be defeated, struggle, and be baffled by the issues of life. When people have no divine guidance, they rebel against the will of God and commit themselves to the awful and evil things of life.
A “vision” is a clear mental image of a preferable future, imparted by God to His chosen servants, and is based upon an accurate understanding of God, self, and circumstance.
Based on this definition, there are three aspects of vision: (1) GOD – Your vision comes from God, it is not something you thought overnight; (2) SELF – Your priorities and spiritual gifts will help you focus on your vision; (3) CIRCUMSTANCES – your vision begins where you are now; so you must face and solve your problems, and then overcome all barriers to fulfill your dream.
Vision is all about the future, not the past and present! Vision applies to all individuals, organizations, communities, and governments. A visionary leader is one who sees first and sees most. He sees farthest into the future! He gets things started and done. Your vision must be tied up and consistent with the word of God (Prov. 29:18b). It is your key to happiness and blessedness!
According to the Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Visions often occur in the Bible as instruments of supernatural revelation. They are typically a communication between a heavenly being (God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, and angels) and an earthly recipient. In both the Old and New Testaments, vision is the act of seeing, observing, or perceiving.
The English word "visions" and its singular form occur 86 times in the Old Testament of the King James translation and 17 times in the New Testament. In comparison, the words 'dreams' or 'dream' occurs 87 times in the Old Testament and 8 times in the New. The book with the most occurrences of the word (or its singular) is the book of Daniel (32 times) followed by Ezekiel (18).
The question is, Am I living out the vision God has for my life?” What is God’s vision for my life, marriage, kids, education, career, finances, relationships, and faith?
Throughout the Bible, God lays out his plans for his people. He wants us to acknowledge him in everything we do, have faith in Him, love Him, and love others. The following scriptures on purpose and vision go into a bit more detail on those principles:
Proverbs 3:6--- “In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 16:3- “Commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be established.”
Micah 6:8 -Micah summarizes God’s will for His people this way: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Acts 18:9-10- We can rely on God’s presence as we share and strive toward His vision. The Lord told Paul, “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you ….”
Ephesians 3:20 -God’s power is at work in us, and He wants to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.”
Jeremiah 29:11 God says, “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 hope and a future.”
The words of Jeremiah 29:11 bring a confident peace in knowing our good Father has a good plan for our lives. He promises us that we have hope and a future. Knowing this gives us a great understanding of what our future with Christ holds, and it is always good. This verse is a wonderful way to keep God’s vision for us at the forefront of our minds, especially when circumstances are leading us to believe otherwise. It is important that we hold fast to the vision of God’s plans to guide and protect us as we serve God and follow Him. The beautiful thing about serving a mighty God like ours is that He is all-seeing and all-knowing. There are no limits to the wisdom and vision that He gives as He shows us things to come through His Word and His Holy Spirit. The Bible is full of God’s dreams for us so let us explore a little of this idea of VISION.
Charles Swindoll said, “Vision is essential for survival ...It is greater than sight, deeper than a dream, broader than an idea. The vision encompasses vast vistas outside the realm of the predictable, the safe, and the expected. No wonder we perish without it!” Having a vision enables you to wake up every morning with a sense of purpose. It will keep you moving forward, knowing that the Lord has so much in store for you. A person with a vision is a person with a future.
Abraham left his hometown, family, and his father’s ungodly ways to follow the vision of “a land that God said, “I will show thee.” Elisha left the field, his family, and his fortune to follow the vision of a prophet’s mantle. Peter and Andrew left their nets at the vision of being fishers of men. Adrian Rogers said, “A vision will enable you at any given moment to forsake all that you are in order to become all that you can be.” God reveals His heart to His people, and that revelation leads to a clarity of vision of what is coming and it will never lead us astray no, never.
Therefore, the greatest gift God ever gave man is not the gift of sight but the gift of vision. Vision comes from purpose, the reason for which we exist. The purpose is when you know and understand what you were born to accomplish, and Vision is when you can see it in your mind by faith and begin to imagine it. Vision is foresight with insight based on Spiritual sight. Vision is the ability to see things as they should be. When a person does not have a vision, they live by their feeling and sight. That means we live by what we feel and see. That is one of the reasons why people are so depressed, and that is why the future never becomes a reality.
Many people have chosen to ignore divine guidance and live a lifestyle based on greed, lust, selfishness, egotism, and improper pride. Ignoring divine guidance has resulted in increased incidents of unrighteousness, ungodliness, abuse, murder, rape, incest, theft, alcoholism, disrespect for authority, disregard for law, and human life. Vision is a source of divine guidance, and hope; it is the source of courage; it’s the source of perseverance in the midst of difficulty.
Vision sets you free from the limitations of what eyes see and allows you to enter the liberty of what the heart can feel. Vision makes the unseen visible and the unknown possible. Sight is a function of the eyes while vision is a function of the mind and heart. Since vision is something that the eyes cannot see, it takes faith to see the fulfillment of a vision and to work towards it. Sight without vision is dangerous because it has no hope. A vision is an idea that is so powerful it can live beyond the grave.
Vision is a mental picture of your future and the unveiling of God’s plan for your life. It is capturing an idea or a clear picture of what can be in the future to propel the present to begin to act towards it. It is seeing the unseen so that what is seen can be translated into what can be. Vision unlocks what was and what is, to propel you into the land of what could be. Vision is a source of hope; it is the source of courage; it is the source of perseverance amid difficulty. Vision fuels discipline.
Life ends when you stop dreaming, Hope ends when you stop believing, and Love ends when you stop caring. How do I bring balance to the balance sheet of my life? That is why God has given us Vision.
What is the balance sheet of life, let us look at the following principles
• The most destructive habit is worry
• The greatest loss is the loss of self-respect
• The ugliest personality trait is selfishness
• The greatest problem to overcome is fear
• The crippling disease is excuses
• The most dangerous act is gossip
• The deadliest weapon that we carry is the tongue
• The most worthless emotion that we have is self-pity
However, With vision, all things are possible. Vision inspires creativity, ignites purpose and innovation, and fosters growth. When we have a vision, we have something to look forward to, and we understand that the trials we face have a purpose. We have a changed perception as we start to see things the way God sees them! Those who can only see what everyone else can see will never be motivated to change the world.
JESUS CHRIST had a clear vision of what His mission was. As a result, His life had purpose, meaning, and fulfillment in that He achieved His mission on earth. The word translated as ‘‘vision’’ is CHAZON. It is not a reference to the ability to see the future. It refers to the will and purpose of God and is made known, as ‘‘inspired guidance.’’ Guidance implies listening and obeying God. You must have a daily, dynamic, personal connection and prayer life for continual communion and fellowship with God, the source of vision. You will never achieve vision without prayer, but if you stay in touch, you will be nourished both in life and vision. Once God has given us a vision, we must never let people detract or discourage us, but we must also continue to listen to the Lord for His guidance and direction as we move forward. The Lord finishes what He begins. When He places a vision in your heart, consuming you with the vision, in time, our God will fulfill the vision!
