WHERE THERE IS NO VISION THE PEOPLE PERISH

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Life has a way of getting away from us. Looking back over our lives, we wonder if we made a difference.  Did we store treasures up in heaven? What did we do on earth that made an eternal imprint?  What could we have done, but we didn’t?

Regret is no way to live out our remaining days. Questioning, should I have stepped out in faith or asked God for wisdom in that decision? The past is gone, and we can only learn from our mistakes and triumphs.

Paul tells us in Philippians 3:13-14, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

There are times when a dream dies, a decision made was wrong, we didn’t obtain the goal, and we wonder if God is for us or against us. Knowing God’s will, seeking Him in prayer, and asking Him to guide our decision making will restore the years the locust ate up. God is on our side and will reestablish us according to His purpose and calling on our life.

Mathew 5:45 tells us, “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust.”

The winds of adversity blow strongly and in every direction. Eventually, everyone feels the weight of some severe trial, hardship, misfortune, or setback. Your present situation is not what you anticipated or planned.

You question God’s will and yourself. Did you knowingly and willfully violate your conscience?  Is this adversity the result of sin on your part?  Is it an act of evil on the part of another toward you?  Or is this the work of God?

Ecclesiastes 7:14 “When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider:  God has made the one as well as the other.  Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.”

Adversity is a setback from which we can take courage and refuge in God. The key to overcoming adversity is the proper response. If you choose to respond correctly, you can turn your setback into a stepping-stone to greater success.  Turning your adversity into advancement is looking at it from God’s viewpoint. No matter what may appear to be the cause, make up your mind to learn from it.

God wants us to keep dreaming, keep seeking, keep believing, keep growing, and keep pursuing His Purpose in life. As Paul put it, “Forget about it, get over it and get moving again. Press On!”

DREAMS – VISION – PURPOSE

BIRTH OF A DREAM:  Abraham had a dream of being the father of a great nation.

DEATH OF THE DREAM: Sarah was barren and became too old to have children.

FULFILLMENT OF THE DREAM: God gave Abraham and Sarah a son in their old age who became the father of a great nation.

BIRTH OF A DREAM:  Joseph had a dream that he would be a great leader and that many would bow down to him.

DEATH OF THE DREAM: Joseph’s brothers sold him to some merchants, and he became a slave.  Later he was falsely accused and condemned to spend his years in prison.

FULFILLMENT OF THE DREAM:  God allowed Joseph to interpret the dreams of the butler and baker and later the king, after which, he was made a ruler in the land.

BIRTH OF A DREAM: The Disciples of Jesus Christ had a dream of establishing and being an essential part of the Kingdom of God.

DEATH OF THE DREAM:  Jesus came to save the world, but they crucified Him, and the disciples saw Him buried in a tomb.

FULFILLMENT OF THE DREAM: God raised Jesus from the dead.  And great miracles were performed by the disciples until the Gospel had spread through all the world.

BIRTH OF A DREAM:  Our vision is to live worthy of God’s blessings. We desire to experience His love, mercy, and newness of life.

DEATH OF THE DREAM: We die to our old self by taking our life to the cross.

FULFILLMENT OF THE DREAM: We are resurrected in newness: in our character, attitudes, and way of life.

The Resurrected Life Always Follows the Crucified Life

KING DAVID HAD A DREAM THAT DIED

Some people say that the best thing to do is never dream, for when you dream, you risk the dream dyeing. The answer to the fear of a dying idea is not to quit dreaming. Goals are the things that fuel our lives. We should not stop dreaming, but we need to know what to do when our dream dies.

After hearing David’s dream, Nathan said to go for it.  He said whatever God put in your heart to do, do it. However, we read in II Samuel 7:4-5 “But it happened that night that the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying, “Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Would you build a house for Me to dwell in?”

God was saying that this wasn’t His idea, and therefore, He was not going to let David do it.  It will not happen. So, David’s dream did not come true. Here we see the Birth of a Dream and the Death of a Dream. We learn later, David’s vision died because he had shed blood by being a man of war.

Dreams, Visions, Missions, and Purposes saturates scripture.  Even today, we have the same callings and opportunities to fulfill what God has created us to become by living life on purpose through serving Him and the body of Christ.

No matter what we do, we should do in the name of Jesus by seeking His will, purpose, and timing. We might need to wait on God, redirect our desires, or change directions all together. “Not my will, but Your will God.”

THE REBIRTH OF DAVID’S DREAM

David is a good illustration for us when our dream dies. He is at the very zenith of his career.  However, the one thing that sets his heart to do is gone. He has already visualized it, and he is enthusiastic about it.  He thinks it is the will of God. But now that David had all this steam built up, his friend has encouraged it, but God says your dream is over.

For some of us, our dream is already dead.  We are wondering what happens now. God’s answer to this question is to keep dreaming and seeking His will. Through these times David did three things that we can learn to help us know what to do if any of our dreams ever die.

1.  David resolved to keep on dreaming: With God’s leading, David revised his dream.  He gathered the material needed for his son Samuel to build the temple. Later in David’s story, we find in 2 Chronicles 6:7-8, with the temple completed, Samuel is looking back and talking about it. “Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a temple for the name of the LORD God of Israel. “But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well in that it was in your heart.”

There was nothing wrong with the vision, and he had no right to stop dreaming altogether. Do you just quit dreaming big dreams for God, great things for your Lord, and even for yourself? You must resolve to keep on dreaming because this is the will of God.

2.  David reviewed and took inventory of any remains of the dream: David does a significant thing when God says no.  He decides to keep a vision alive.  He does a beautiful job after Nathan told him all that the Lord had said.

King David went in and sat before the LORD, evaluating his present state and goes on to praise God for all that he had already done for him. And mindful of all the things God had promised that he was still going to do for him in the future.

That is a perfect place to go when your dream dies.  Sit before the Lord and begin to review everything else that you still have in your life, apart from the goal.  There is a lot left without the dream.  Consider what options God opened because He decided to close this door in your life.

3.  David redirected his energy: David said, if I can’t build the temple then I’m going to spend the energy I have left to gather every single piece of material, from gold, silver, brass, iron, all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance that is needed to get the job done. If I can’t do it, I’m going to help somebody else do it.  He let a New Dream Grow Up out of the Ashes of the Old Dream that had Died.

The best thing you can do when your dream dies is to get moving again. Like David, you can say, “God, I don’t know why these things have happened, and I wished this hadn’t happened, but by your grace, I’m not going to let it be The End.”

Written by, Brad Wyrick