By Pastor Mike Sanders
Helen Keller was once asked, “What would be worse than being born blind?” She replied, “To have sight without vision.” [1] What is vision? Vision is seeing it before you see it. Chuck Swindoll defines vision as, “the ability to see God’s presence, power and plan in spite of the obstacles.” [2] Vision is a powerful influence upon our lives.
God has placed in our hearts a vision to accomplish His purpose and plan for our lives. Jesus said, “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” (John 17:18 ESV) In order for us to live out that vision three things must be true in our lives.
First we must obtain a positive attitude. A person with a positive attitude is a rare find. There are plenty of people who are negative and critical. Yet God has called us to think on things that are pure, just and good.
To develop positive attitudes in your life, see God in all your circumstances. Too often we focus on the person who hurts us or the problems before us. God has not stepped off the throne in the midst of your struggle, nor has He forgotten about your pain.
As we see God in our circumstances, focus on how big God is rather than how big your problems are. There is no problem that is bigger than God. Instead of seeing the size of your problem, see the opportunities for creative solutions. Vision provides the push through the problems. Don’t see the obstacles, see the answers by faith.
We should never be impressed with the size of men; but rather be impressed with the size of our awesome God. Change your focus from seeing what cannot be accomplished to what can easily be accomplished by the power of God.
As we continue to accomplish the vision that God has established in our hearts, let us also demonstrate a firm belief in God. God has established His promises in His Word to build us up, as well as, to give us something stable to stand upon in an unstable world. If you have found that your circumstances leave you feeling insecure about yourself and your future, put your trust in His promises and His power. By tapping into the power of God through prayer, you will begin to realize your instabilities and insecurities are diminishing.
Finally, courage must be an attribute that we demonstrate to live out God’s vision for our life. Not everyone will be in favor of you reaching your full potential or accomplishing God’s purpose in your life. That’s why courage is imperative to you. We must have the courage to stand up for God’s best in our life. That may mean you have to make some changes in your life now. These changes and choices may not be popular, but they are necessary to achieve God’s vision.
In order to demonstrate courage, we must remain consistent to the task regardless of the obstacles in our life. Our obstacles may appear to us in the form of health problems, relationship problems, financial problems or even emotional problems. Yet, let none of these problems be a lid in your life. Always remember that the challenges we face are not given to us to crush us, but to change us to reach our potential in Christ.
During Robert Woodruff’s tenure as President of Coca-Cola, Woodruff boldly declared that before he died, he wanted every person in the world to have tasted Coca-Cola. With careful planning and a lot of persistence, Woodruff and his colleagues reached their generation around the globe for Coke.
If Robert Woodruff was willing to reach his generation with Coke, how much more can you and I accomplish the vision that God has for our life?
God has placed in our hearts a vision to accomplish His purpose and plan for our lives. Jesus said, “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” (John 17:18 ESV) In order for us to live out that vision three things must be true in our lives.
First we must obtain a positive attitude. A person with a positive attitude is a rare find. There are plenty of people who are negative and critical. Yet God has called us to think on things that are pure, just and good.
To develop positive attitudes in your life see God in all your circumstances. Too often we focus on the person who hurts us or the problems before us. But God has not stepped off the throne in the midst of your struggle nor has He forgotten about your pain.
As we see God in our circumstances focus on how big God is rather than how big your problems are. There is no problem that is bigger than God. Instead of seeing the size of your problem, see the opportunities for creative solutions. Don’t see the obstacles see the answers by faith.
We should never be impressed with the size of men; but rather be impressed with the size of our awesome God. Change your focus from seeing what cannot be accomplished to what can easily be accomplished by the power of God.
As we continue to accomplish the vision that God has established in our hearts let us also demonstrate a firm belief in God. God has established his promises in his word to build us up, as well as, to give us something stable to stand upon in an unstable world. If you have found your circumstances leaving you feeling insecure about yourself and your future put your trust in His promises and His power. By tapping into the power of God through prayer you will begin to realize your instabilities and insecurities diminishing.
Finally, courage must be an attribute that we demonstrate to live out God’s vision for our life. Not everyone will be in favor of you reaching your full potential or accomplishing God’s purpose in your life. That’s why courage is imperative to you. We must have the courage to stand up for God’s best in our life. That may mean you have to make some changes in your life now. These changes and choices may not be popular but they are necessary to achieve God’s vision.
In order to demonstrate courage we must remain consistent to the task regardless of the obstacles in our life. Our obstacles may appear to us in the form of health problems, relationship problems, financial problems or even emotional problems. Yet let none of these problems be a lid in your life. Always remember that the challenges we face are not given to us to crush us, but to change us to reach our potential in Christ.
During Robert Woodruff’s tenure as President of Coca-Cola, Woodruff boldly declared that before he died, he wanted every person in the world to have tasted Coca-Cola. With careful planning and a lot of persistence, Woodruff and his colleagues reached their generation around the globe for Coke.
If Robert Woodruff was willing to reach his generation with Coke, how much more can you and I accomplish the vision that God has for our life?
[1] Maxwell, John. Developing the Leader within you. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1993.
[2] (Swindoll 1987)
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