Hi!
In our relationship with God, the truth is that God has a plan for you and me. While you may know that, do you have any idea what it is or how you are going to follow it? I think there is a dirth in the church as far as personal vision. We aren't believing anything about who we are called to be, which hinders our growth and keeps us from following God's plan for our lives. I am of the opinion everyone needs a significant vision for their life, which makes following God's plan possible. Everyone needs a vision they can call their own, and this entry is about developing a vision that is connected to the destiny that God has for your life.
The first step in this process is to be spending time with the source of the vision, God. Without being in his presense on a daily basis, any vision you might come up with is likely to be more your vision than God's. You need God's picture of who you are going to be, not something you entirely cooked up yourself, and spending time with God will help bring clarity about what is from God and what isn't.
The second step is to do a thorough evaluation of where you are at, and what God is working on in your life right now. Examples of what God might be teaching you is how to manage your finances, how to build meaningful friendships, learning to hear God's voice better, etc. Knowing what God is working on in your life is critical to getting a glimpse of what God is doing.
The third step is to envision what your life might look like when you have grown in the area that God is grooming you in to the point where it is fruitful. What would your life look like? What would success in this area mean? Would it mean you could give more, financially or otherwise? Would it mean a shift in priorities, such as an increase in time spent in ministry? By seeing what the end result is, you can get a picture of what God is trying to accomplish, thus giving you some vision as to what you are called to.
By iterating through steps one, two, and three you will begin to see a picture. Who is that person you are seeing? What are his or her new priorities? How do they spend their time? Who are their friends? You see, that is what vision is- it is seeing who you are becoming. By developing this vision, you can cultivate in yourself now the willingness to do what it takes to become this person. Most of the real work will be done in your time with God and in the promises you make to yourself that are appropriate for where you are and are promises you can reasonably expect to keep. Keeping the promises should come from the love of yourself you've cultivated in your time with God. As you follow the vision you have, you should keep updating your vision. As you are moving forward, God will give you new pieces of what he is doing and where you are going.
The important thing in this is to keep drawing near to God. Without a certain degree of intimacy with the Father, this process I've described above can easily turn into works, and you must consistently fight for living in relationship with God and not living for the vision or living to try and impress God. My hope is that finding this vision for your life will help you see that God has a calling on your life, and it is a calling that will give meaning and purpose, one that will lead you to experiencing the fullness of relationship with God. Trust me, God has saved the best for this season and the seasons to come- if you will trust him and draw near, I think you will like who you are going to be and discover that life with God is way better than anything you had planned for yourself. Now go out there and develop that vision, and seize God's best for your life!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
If You Have A Problem, God Has A Plan
Hello!
I realize that in some sense the topic for this entry is pretty obvious. However, I find that this is not how I respond to problems; I tend to try to solve them on my own, and I'm guessing I'm not the only one. I promise there will be some meat to this particular post, so hang on!
The truth is, we get awed by the size of the problems we come into more than we pray about them. The natural response to a problem is to find a solution that we can think up. Honestly, our own thoughts will tend to think of the obvious solutions rather than the best or correct solution, and then we get annoyed about the drawbacks to our proposed solution and never act. Sometimes the delays between when we recognize the problem and when we bring it before God can cause damage, so the important thing about this particular epiphany is that you realize that not only does God in general have plans for any general problem, but also that God has a specific plan for this particular problem, and it is up to us to seek God to find what that specific plan is. In doing this, you must realize that he may not give you all the details about how everything is going to work out. Let me give an example- let's say that you hate your job. I mean, you really, really need to find a new job, and soon. Let's say you listen to me and decide to seek God about this specific problem, say by fasting and prayer. You may spend some time thinking about it too; I'm not against thinking about it as part of solving the problem, so long as it isn't the only thing you are doing- often times the praying part will set you up so that when you think about it, it will come to you. What God might give you as far as what to do, may not be exactly what you hope for. He might tell you to move somewhere else. You may not even have a job lined up before you get there, but of course that is what living by faith means- we usually have to trust God with some parts, though which parts are probably dependent on where you are at with God and your faith level. At this point, you have part of the solution. You then need to continue seeking God and possibly also talk to other Godly people about the solution you've come up with. This is all part of living in relationship with God- you have problem, you seek God, God gives you enough of the solution to move on, you move on what you know (after getting confirmation from other Godly people for more significant decisions), and then the cycle starts all over again. This is the life of faith. People who follow through this cycle multiple times get to a place where they have a deep relationship with God.
My hope for you is that you would not be dismayed by whatever problems are in your life. I promise you, if God has allowed a problem to come your way, there is always a solution to deal with it. We may not be enamored with the solution God comes up with, and it may scare us some, but I promise you, if you follow God on the solution, everything will work out. You just have to trust God on this- God is in control, and if you believe in a sovereign God like I do you know that ultimately the outcome is in His hands, and will be for the best. May your faith grow in leaps and bounds as you seek God more and more for the solutions you need for the problems that you are currently facing.
I realize that in some sense the topic for this entry is pretty obvious. However, I find that this is not how I respond to problems; I tend to try to solve them on my own, and I'm guessing I'm not the only one. I promise there will be some meat to this particular post, so hang on!
The truth is, we get awed by the size of the problems we come into more than we pray about them. The natural response to a problem is to find a solution that we can think up. Honestly, our own thoughts will tend to think of the obvious solutions rather than the best or correct solution, and then we get annoyed about the drawbacks to our proposed solution and never act. Sometimes the delays between when we recognize the problem and when we bring it before God can cause damage, so the important thing about this particular epiphany is that you realize that not only does God in general have plans for any general problem, but also that God has a specific plan for this particular problem, and it is up to us to seek God to find what that specific plan is. In doing this, you must realize that he may not give you all the details about how everything is going to work out. Let me give an example- let's say that you hate your job. I mean, you really, really need to find a new job, and soon. Let's say you listen to me and decide to seek God about this specific problem, say by fasting and prayer. You may spend some time thinking about it too; I'm not against thinking about it as part of solving the problem, so long as it isn't the only thing you are doing- often times the praying part will set you up so that when you think about it, it will come to you. What God might give you as far as what to do, may not be exactly what you hope for. He might tell you to move somewhere else. You may not even have a job lined up before you get there, but of course that is what living by faith means- we usually have to trust God with some parts, though which parts are probably dependent on where you are at with God and your faith level. At this point, you have part of the solution. You then need to continue seeking God and possibly also talk to other Godly people about the solution you've come up with. This is all part of living in relationship with God- you have problem, you seek God, God gives you enough of the solution to move on, you move on what you know (after getting confirmation from other Godly people for more significant decisions), and then the cycle starts all over again. This is the life of faith. People who follow through this cycle multiple times get to a place where they have a deep relationship with God.
My hope for you is that you would not be dismayed by whatever problems are in your life. I promise you, if God has allowed a problem to come your way, there is always a solution to deal with it. We may not be enamored with the solution God comes up with, and it may scare us some, but I promise you, if you follow God on the solution, everything will work out. You just have to trust God on this- God is in control, and if you believe in a sovereign God like I do you know that ultimately the outcome is in His hands, and will be for the best. May your faith grow in leaps and bounds as you seek God more and more for the solutions you need for the problems that you are currently facing.
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