Today our devotional will be from Proverbs 29:18: “Where there is no vision, the people perish“
First of all, I want us to think about our natural vision. The most vital square inch of our body is the eye. We need good vision to function in our daily lives. Of all the senses that we have, I feel that vision would be the hardest to learn to live without.
Many people learn to live without vision, but are limited in their activities, often times they suffer from depression or discouragement; especially those who once were able to see and then lost their vision. In your Christian life, do feel limited, or feel like you are not as strong or as true a Christian as you used to be?
To be a strong Christian in Church, we need to have good spiritual vision. The Bible says that “where there is no vision the people perish” What is spiritual vision? The ability to see what God want us to see; to have a spiritual discernment of the situations we face, to be able to look beyond the heartaches, the trials, and disappointments of life, to look beyond our own needs and desires to see the needs of others, especially those that are stumbling around in darkness because they have no vision.
Naturally speaking, it takes light to have vision. The light is reflected in the eye to different nerves that send messages to the brain that lets us interpret what we are seeing: the colors, the distance. Spiritually speaking, it takes the Holy Spirit to have a spiritual vision. Before Christ came the Old Testament speaks of the time when there was no open vision. In other words only those that were priests or prophets were able to see what God wanted and what God could do for them. When Christ came He opened up the way so that every individual could have this open vision.
The natural vision may vary from person to person, depending on health, age, disease. Some folks have what we call 20-20 vision, which is considered the best. Others have less because of something that has hindered their vision. Sometimes glasses, contacts, or medications are used to improve the vision. If we had to gauge our spiritual vision, what would it be? 20-20, 20-50, or 0-0? If we recognize that our spiritual vision is dim, what can we do to improve or make it brighter?
If you are having vision problems and you go to the eye doctor, first of all he will check to see if there are any impurities or foreign objects in your eye that could be causing the irritation or problem. First of all, let’s examine our lives and see if there is something in our heart that refuses to let God’s spirit work in our lives. We all know that only one thing separates us from God and it is SIN. Perhaps it is just the sin of idleness or worry or perhaps it is a little jealousy or an old grudge. Whatever it is, it will block your spiritual vision. To get rid of it we need to sincerely repent and ask God to forgive us. We need to understand that the world is such a dark place and people are going to Hell every day, and they need us to have the best spiritual vision we can to help them see the light.
Once the doctors removed the impurities or foreign objects from our eyes, you may have to have some type of medication or therapy to strengthen the eye muscles. Spiritually speaking, it works the same with God. Once he has forgiven us, we need to work to increase our vision. Reading His word and praying are the two best medications you can use in your Christian life to gain strength and increase your vision. Exercising your faith when God asks you to do something will also make you a stronger Christian and bring you closer to him. Determine in your heart that you want to be closer to the Lord, to see more of His majesty and to have more of His spirit working in your life. Obey when He speaks. Be humble! Know it is just His great mercy that lets you exist. Love the Lord with all your heart. Love your neighbor as yourself.
Press forward to the mark. Let that vision lead you home.
There are some great examples of God’s people that had visions throughout the bible. One of them was Job. He had a vision of his Redeemer. He knew that no matter what he suffered in this life that he would behold his Redeemer. It didn’t matter if his flesh had rotted or he had no natural eyes to see with, he would still see Him for himself. He had a vision that went beyond the grave. All of God’s children have this same assurance. Many times we just fail to look beyond the daily toil of life to see that our Redeemer is waiting on us and it is just a short time until we will see Him.
Nehemiah’s Vision of the Wall is one that I love to read about Nehemiah and his labor on the wall. First of all he was away from Jerusalem down in another land. Some of his countrymen were passing through and he asked them about the state of Jerusalem. They began to tell him of the sad condition of Jerusalem, how the walls were broken down. Nehemiah’s heart was broken by this news because he loved Jerusalem. He began to seek God’s face and ask for his help and guidance. God worked and soon Nehemiah was on his way down to Jerusalem with a job to do. Now remember he was just one man, but look at the difference he was able to make because he was obedient to God’s command.
Nehemiah didn’t have a vision of the broken down city but he had a vision of what the city could be once the walls were rebuilt and the people united. Many times we look at our little church and think “well we don’t have too many people” and “we can’t do much” and so we just sit where we are. We need to be more like Nehemiah with a vision of what our church could be and how that lost people could be saved. It took obedience both from Nehemiah and the people to build the wall. It took unity of spirit and it took love. It took perseverance. Nehemiah and the people made up their minds they would rebuild the wall or would die trying. We need to be willing to fight the good fight. I’m sure they got weary and we can read how that Satan tried to discourage them continually, but their vision was strong. They knew God would deliver as He had promised if they would just do their part.
If you look in Ezekiel 37, you’ll read about another hopeless situation where Ezekiel was placed in the valley of the dry bones and God told him to preach. I’m sure he could have made excuse after excuse why there was no need to preach to this bunch of dry bones. I suppose that is how many pastors feel when they preach to their congregations. “What good will it do? They are just hearers and not doers.” But Ezekiel believed God. It was that simple. He believed that if God asked him to do something there was a good reason for it. He didn’t have to understand every detail but he just believed.
Many times God wants to work miracles in our lives and we have so little faith that we will not believe and He can’t do for us like He would desire to do. Ezekiel just kept preaching and soon those old bones began to move together and flesh began to come upon them. They began to gain some strength. Then the breath moved into them and they were an exceeding great army. Again, look at what one person accomplished through his obedience to God. Don’t ever think that you don’t matter in God’s work. He needs every member of his Church. He needs us to be obedient. He needs for us to have that spiritual vision that will let us see beyond all of the negatives that Satan presents to us. If we have good vision, we can see the fiery darts coming and can hold up our shield of faith.
John’s Vision on the Isle of Patmos was surely one of the greatest visions that one of God’s children could ever see. John saw that number that no man could number. He saw those that had had their robes made white with the blood of the Lamb. He saw me and he saw you in that number. There have been times in my life when I too have caught a glimpse of that heavenly number, that heavenly throne, that heavenly place that we are going to. We need to look beyond the present time and look to that great homecoming. This would certainly encourage our hearts when we are distressed. It would cause us to lift up our head and know that our redemption draweth nigh. It would let us praise our wonderful Savior no matter what.
So please, look to the Lord, pray about your vision, that it might be increased that we can see what God wants us to see!
