The Power Of Vision.
Have you ever wondered why some people seem to have some supernatural aid that helps them to sail through life achieving one thing after the other, while on the other hand some are going round in circles never progressing? Advancement and success experts seem to agree with the Bible that vision plays a vital role in the progress and advancement of one’s life.
Talking about vision one might quickly think about the physical eyesight. Even though this kind of vision helps us a great deal in our everyday lives, there is a greater vision which we all ought to have regardless of whether we have the physical eyesight. Hellen Keller was an American author, activist and lecturer. She lost her sight, hearing and speech in the earlier years of her life. However, she grew to be a powerful and renowned author and lecturer. At one time she was asked what she thought could be the worst thing in life and she responded, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision”, and I believe this is true.
The Bible in Proverbs 29:11 (KJV) says “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” The Message Version puts it this way “If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.” It is clear here that living with no vision has no advantage or privilege, rather it is detrimental. When one stumbles all over themselves it means they are hindering and deterring themselves from progressing. That person is his or her own set back.
Now what is vision? Dr Myles Monroe defined vision as “a mental picture of your future. It is the unveiling of God’s plan for your life”. The online dictionary defines vision as “the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination”. In both the definitions, two things are fundamental about vision; first is picture or imagination and second is future. A person is said to have a vision if they possess an image, picture or imagination of their ideal future. Easy as it sounds, you will be surprised that not many people actually have a vision.
Many people can tell you everything that they do not like in their life, but few can give details of the kind of life they would like to live, hence the reason why they stumble all over themselves as the Bible has said. Let us look at the power that a vision carries. Taking from the scripture we have read, if the absence of a vision causes one to stumble, then the presence of a vision enables one to move or progress! Vision has the power to drive a person forward. When you have a picture of the future, it draws you to itself. Vision energises us to rise up against the prevailing situation and reach towards that which we imagine and see in our hearts.
Vision motivates. A lot of times people are weighed down by prevailing circumstances, but with the presence of vision we get motivation to rise up again. This is kind of true as well with the physical sight. Have you noticed that if you are driving, your speed is at times influenced by how far you can see ahead of you. If you drive on a curve or in fog where the vision is limited, the environment causes you to slow down, in other words it limits us. However, when all of a sudden, the curve comes to an end or the fog clears and you can see well ahead of you, you automatically press harder on the accelerator because the vision is clear.
Vision is a source of hope. Hope is such a powerful force and as long as it is present, humans can endure almost anything. The question now arise how do we get the hope? When there is a vision it gives hope, it inspires a sense of expectation because the gaze or focus is not in the now but in the expected future. Vision removes our focus from the temporary setbacks and challenges and focus on the bigger picture and the desired outcome.
Vision gives courage and perseverance. With a picture of the desired outcome in mind, armed with hope for a change, we can surely be courageous to persevere in any situation. The Bible in Hebrews 12:2 (paraphrased) tells us that what caused Jesus to be courageous to face the death of the cross and what caused him to persevere in all the suffering that he went through was because he saw the joy that was to come after.
Vision gives direction to life. The direction that anyone takes as they leave their home for any journey is usually influenced by the intended destination of that journey. A vision serves as a destination to which we work towards, and this helps us to choose the right direction for it. There are so many options and choices in life such that if there is no guiding vision, one can literally waste their life strolling and wandering through the many options. A good example would be a student in college: there are a wide range of courses and programs that are offered in colleges, but, what the student will choose to study is directed by the vision they have, that is who they would like to become after the studies.
Vision is powerful and everyone who desires to have a meaningful and satisfying life experience should have one. It may seem trivial and unimportant, but I encourage you today to prayerfully think about your vision. Who do you want to be in the next five years or ten years? Visualise that ideal and take it as your vision.
Joseph Dhlakama
