Reclaiming Your Vision: How to Ignite and Fulfill our Original Passion
Hope Discovery for the Day:
Vision brings our hope to life.
Scripture of the Day:
Proverbs 29:18
Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
Sitting on my couch somewhat dejected, I thought about the vision God had placed in my heart. So far away. So many rejections. Some open doors, too. Was the vision already fulfilled? Was I supposed to keep going?
We all need something in front of us that gives us a purpose. Our vision for the life we live does not have to look like anybody else’s and can be simple or complicated. We may even have many visions that we want to see fulfilled.
Having a vision fuels the passion God has given us. Vision brings our hope to life. Without it, our hope remains a whimsical thought. But sometimes our vision can get a little blurry as we don’t seem to be making the progress we thought we should. So many things can stand in our way.
Clarity.
Defining our vision helps us to know what to aim for. Without a clear vision, we will never reach our destination. What is it that burns in our heart? What would achieving it look like? We might need to remove things that distract us from getting a clear understanding of the core vision we are pursuing.
Purpose.
When God places something on our heart that passionately burns within us, we need to stay closely tied to the purpose to stay on track. Obviously, anything He has birthed in us is from Him and for His glory alone. But sometimes we can get sidetracked with sub-goals and begin to think they are a purpose. They are a means to fulfill His will, but not what success is. Just steps toward His purpose for our lives – reaching others with His love. We might have to let go of what we think that should look like.
Sometimes going back to when you first got a vision can help to remind us of the “Why” we will need when we feel like it is pointless.
Goals.
Having measurable goals can keep us on track, but should not be what drives our passion. There are spiritual goals and practical goals that we will need to continue toward our vision. But there is no condemnation if it doesn’t look perfect. Any progress is in the right direction and some goals might take longer than anticipated.
Work.
Visions don’t just happen. It takes work to make any dream come to fruition. It is easy to grow weary in the trenches as a lot of the pieces that form our vision might not be something we feel passionate about. But our vision will not happen if we do not participate in the daily process that vision requires. When we take each the accomplishment of each task as a significant victory, we are motivated to keep going. Ultimately, our work never ends on this earth and the results are all left to God. Trusting the LORD with the timing of certain goals within the vision helps us to safeguard from discouragement when we have not arrived yet. We will never in fact, arrive.
Focus.
After we have defined our vision, understood our purpose and goals and are willing to work on it, we maintain focus by constant use of our compass. What’s that? God’s Word. He is able to illumine our heart and reveal what is the most important work behind our vision – our hearts. The One Who gave us the vision is the One Who will help us to complete it. He has called us and will complete the work He has begun in us.
Lord, thank You for allowing us to participate alongside You in Your redeeming plan. Help us to stay in the center of Your will and to be diligent in carrying out the vision You have given us.
