Envisioning Reality

Envisioning Reality

Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law. Proverbs 29:18, ESV

MEDIEVAL MONKS CONTEMPLATED THEMSELVES, their world, and God’s Kingdom with two sets of senses: the physical and spiritual. They wrote of physical sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell but usually as prompts for corresponding spiritual senses. They sought to see, hear, taste, touch, and smell spiritually and talked about their spiritual vision as priority above all. They cultivated spiritual eyes so they could see eternal truths.

In a sense, that’s what faith is—seeing with spiritual eyes. But faith is only part of our vision, which gives us a context for what we will believe and ask for in prayer. Proverbs 29:18 is not always easy to interpret, but at the very least it tells us that a life of vision—an understanding of what God is doing and where he is leading—keeps us on track. It points us in the right direction. God may adjust our vision from time to time, but he always wants us to have one. Jesus lived with vision; he went to the Cross because he knew God’s purposes and saw the joy ahead of him (Hebrews 12:2). Paul lived with vision—an often adjusted one as far as his travels were concerned—and kept moving forward throughout his ministry to reach the Gentile world. The great leaders and prophets of Scripture were given the gift of spiritual sight, and they anchored their lives on what they saw. Why? Because vision not only shapes our lives; it shapes the world.

Never underestimate the power of your vision. Ask for it, cultivate it, refine it, saturate yourself in it, be motivated by it, but most of all, live it. Create your personal mission statement by envisioning your character, purpose, and work. Your vision will serve as a prophetic sense of destiny to drive you and draw you deeper and further into God’s will for your life. It will tell you how to pray and empower your prayers with faith, expectation, and the certainty of divine hope. It will keep you anchored in the invisible realm and establish you as a vessel of eternal truth.

When God gives a vision, transact business on that line, no matter what it costs.