Receiving Your Vision
by G. Craig Lauterbach
I remember hearing a story about a well-meaning lady in a local church. She spent hours trying to console a distraught friend. Finally, after hearing how confused her friend was, this well-meaning lady offered the following words of encouragement. “God understands your confusion. Sometimes He’s confused.” As sympathetic as this woman was trying to be, her words were totally incorrect. God is never confused! In fact, 1 Corinthians 14:33 states “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” God is a God of order. He knows what He wants to do and has a plan to fulfill it. In other words, God has a vision!
What is your vision? If you have a vision, what steps are you taking to fulfill it? If you want the answer to these questions, my advice is, ask the Lord to reveal the vision He has ordained for your life. When Peter made his great profession of faith in Matthew 16:16, Jesus responded to his statement in verse 19 by saying, “... I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” When Peter embraced and proclaimed the vision of God in Christ, he was given the necessary tools to get the job done. He was given the keys (plural), of the kingdom of heaven. Why was he given more than one key? In Matthew 16:18 Jesus says, “... I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Notice, Jesus used the word “gates” here. A gate is a doorway. With every door there is a lock, and for every lock, there is a key. This key has the ability to lock or unlock the door. So what am I saying? The reason Peter was given keys (plural), is because God’s vision is to open the gates (plural) of hell, so those held captive, could be set free.
Many people are looking for a master key when it comes to ministry. But that is not how God works. Many keys are involved in successful ministry. God has one key for children and another for adults. God has a specific key for those in the business world and another for the drug addict. What reaches the wealthy is different from that which touches the poor. In the gospels, Jesus spoke about ministering to individual needs. He said, “I was naked and you clothed me;” this is one need. “I was thirsty and you gave me to drink;” here’s another need. “I was hungry and you fed me;” still another need. “I was in prison and you visited me;” again, a different need. You see, all of these people had needs, but each one was different. These needs represent spiritual gates or strongholds, which require a specific key of provision and breakthrough. This is where vision comes in. Vision reveals the key that can unlock the gate holding back God’s blessing.
I was having dinner with Pastor Tommy Barnett one evening and during that time, he shared what he believes to be the secret to his success in ministry. He said, “Craig, find a need and meet it. Find a hurt and heal it.” His words are right, but this will never be accomplished unless we possess the right key for the right gate. With all of this in mind, let’s look at Proverbs 29:18; “Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint; but happy is he who keeps the law.” In this scripture, there are three things I would like your attention to be drawn:
1. The Vision
The Hebrew word vision used here is also defined as prophetic revelation, or prophetic dream, let me expand. God never does anything by accident. He is a meticulous detailed Creator. With full knowledge of every success and failure, He prepares His plan in advance. From the beginning until the end of time, history has already been written. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying God is the one behind both good and evil. What I’m saying is this: God has orchestrated a master plan that supercedes the evil we all experience in life. We see this throughout the Bible. Look at the life of Joseph in the Old Testament. His brothers sold him into slavery, but what began as a prison, ended in a palace. The life of Moses portrays this: from birth, his life was under attack. Yet God prepared a place for him in the house of Pharaoh. The one seeking his life unknowingly wound up providing training, provision, and protection for the one who would lead the great exodus. God always has the final word!
Success in life is not determined by how much money or talent we possess. In fact, I’ve found many times it’s just the opposite. God specializes in making the ordinary, extraordinary. It’s not about the man, it’s about the Maker. When we understand this truth, nothing is impossible. God’s vision for our lives is his mandate. When He came to Noah with instructions to build an ark, that prophetic revelation or vision was God’s mandate for Noah. The Lord revealed every detail for accomplishing this magnificent endeavor. God had a plan.
What is God’s vision for your life? That is the question many need to settle. People and ministries struggle when they are unsure of this answer. When the vision is clear, it produces two things: 1) direction, and 2) focus. Direction is seeing what to do and knowing how to do it. Focus is the ability to stay the course. Like Nehemiah the prophet, you refuse to be distracted from the job God has called you to do. Those who lack these two ingredients, find themselves floundering throughout life.
2. The Plan
With every vision there are always two groups of people, the leaders and the followers. When a leader lacks direction, they wind up taking their followers to the same place they are headed, NOWHERE! When I first moved into my current home, some friends had contacted my wife Cindy and I about going out for dinner to celebrate. They suggested meeting at our home and then following us to the restaurant. Being the excellent navigator I am, I decided to lead the way. The only problem was, I was new to the area and unfamiliar with the roads. Our friends arrived and we were off. Needless to say, after taking 45 minutes to drive a 15-minute trip, it was obvious I was lost. What was I lacking? I had no direction. The idea of going out for dinner was great, but because I lacked direction, I was hindered from reaching my destination. This same principle applies to us as Christians. There are times we receive His vision, but then fail to get His plan.
The plan is the Lord’s roadmap that allows us to reach our destination, which is the fulfillment of our vision. Luke 14:28-30 states, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it. Lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’” In Proverbs 29:18, King Solomon says, “Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint.” This word restraint in the Hebrew language is also defined as, exposed, bare, naked, uncovered, or reduced to nothing. In other words, there is no protection. I remember at the age of 11, I was playing in a neighborhood football game. Time and time again my mother would tell me not to play without the proper protection. Honestly, she would have wrapped my body with foam padding and duct tape if I allowed her. Nevertheless, I ignored her words and not ten minutes into the game, while being tackled, I injured my right knee on one of the bricks lining my neighbor’s flowerbed. My parents rushed me to the hospital where I received 30 to 40 stitches. Because my body was exposed or uncovered, I got hurt.
This same principle applies spiritually. When we lack a plan, we get hurt. Why is this so? Because we wind up doing something God has not called us to do. Isn’t this what happened to Jonah? He was commanded to go to Nineveh, but opted for Tarshish. This resulted in being thrown overboard and spending three days and nights in the belly of a large fish. Jonah’s plan put Jonah in harm’s way. Many are experiencing failure after failure, disappointment after disappointment, and all because they haven’t taken time to receive their plan from God. They expend time, energy, and resources trying to do a good thing, but that doesn’t mean it’s a God thing. Then when it’s all said and done, they are left tired and discouraged, and angry with God for their failure when He had nothing to do with what happened. It wasn’t in His plan!
3. The Provision
In Proverbs 29:18, the end of that verse reads, “... happy is he who keeps the law.” The Hebrew definition for the word HAPPY used here is also defined as blessed, provided for, relieved, guided, directed, or prosperous. In other words, when we receive our vision from God, and carry out the plan He has given us, He will bless, provide and prosper the vision. That blessing, provision, and prosperity may not arrive on our time schedule, but it will come. No vision from God is realized overnight. As I mentioned earlier, this is why direction and focus are so important. As we sow into the plan God has given, in time the growth will become evident and then the harvest will come. For Noah, this process took 120 years. For Joseph it was 13 years. Moses waited for 40 years to realize God’s vision for his life. Remember, it’s all about God’s timing, not ours. Just because the vision hasn’t come to pass, doesn’t mean you missed God!
In closing, I would like to share a dream the Lord gave me several years ago. In this dream, I saw myself ready to run in a long-distance marathon. I was standing alongside hundreds of athletes in tip-top condition, dressed in stylish outfits and high-tech running shoes. When I looked down at my shoes, they were worn out and had holes in them. It was obvious they had covered a lot of mileage, but I didn’t let that stop me. I refused to be intimidated by the runners surrounding me. I got set, and when the gun sounded, I took off. I remember pushing hard in the beginning and then pulling back and paced myself. I had one thing in mind—the finish line. It was at this point that I suddenly woke up. After opening my eyes, the Lord spoke the following words to my heart. “Son, there are many who are faithfully serving me, but they feel tired and worn out from running the race. Encourage them to focus on the finish line. Tell them to keep their eyes on me. Their harvest is coming. Don’t give up!”
In obedience to the Spirit’s command, I say to those of you who are faithfully running the race, to those who are laboring hard to fulfill the vision God gave, don’t stop! Maintain your diligence and stay faithful. Don’t set a time limit on God. Your harvest is coming. Refuse to compare yourself to those running on the left and right. Your worn out clothes and running shoes do not determine your effectiveness. The anointing isn’t measured by how good you look. It’s about who you are. You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. David faced Goliath with a sling and a stone, not the armor of Saul. Remember, people are not the answer, God is. Look to the Source, not the resource. Stay the course and receive your vision!
