“The Word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:4-5).
In the first half of chapter one of the book of Jeremiah, we see two versions of Jeremiah. One version was from Jeremiah’s view of himself. And the other version was Jeremiah the prophet, from God’s perspective. Jeremiah was seeing himself from human perceptive whilst God was seeing Jeremiah through His power.
Jeremiah here is an example of how we often see our self. We value our self far less than who God says we are in His Word.
God’s assignment for Jeremiah before his conception was that he was going to proclaim God’s word. He was to be God’s mouth piece confronting and warning ruling authorities. Jeremiah was not just a prophet to Judah but God’s mouth piece to the world. “A prophet to the nations” proclaiming an unpopular and unloved message of repentance. Warning God’s people of coming judgement. A difficult and big responsibility!
Until God opened Jeremiah’s eyes spiritually to see the “Big Dream” God had planned for his life he was willing to settle for far less than what God intended for him. The natural man is unable to receive the things of God. Unless we are transformed by renewing the mind with the Word of God and prayer we cannot perceive God’s plan for our life.
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)
God has a wonderful plan for our life. But we must put on God’s lenses to see as God sees us. The word of God is what predicts our future not the natural circumstances of this world.
What is God’s dream for you? What do you see?
7 Keys to Consider About Vision
- Believe The Word of God:
“Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God.” (Romans 4:20).
Be prompt to obey the Lord once you have the confirmation about the direction God wants you to go. Believe and hold on tightly to the promise. The Word of God is what gives us the boldness and confidence that victory is assured.
- Stand And See The Salvation of The Lord
“Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.” (Exodus 14:13).
In Exodus Chapters 8-10 we read how Moses refused to negotiate with Pharaoh. He refused to compromise on the instruction God gave him to bring Israel out of bondage. The devil wants us to be afraid, doubt, compromise and fall into his trap. But God wants us to be bold and courageous standing on His promise. Any attempt to negotiate your calling or compromise your faith will eventually lead to demonic bondage and captivity. Instead of compromise, choose courage. God told Joshua, to win the battle of life he must be bold and courageous. (Joshua 1:9) Decide you will be victorious trusting God every step of the way.
- Let Go of Offences
“Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” (Mark 11:24-25).
Unforgivingness will block the flow of God’s blessing. Refusing to forgive others is harmful. It is like n untreated cancerous cell. It will eventually corrupt every organ in the body. Unforgivingness is one of the major reasons for unanswered prayer. It hinders God’s mercy towards us. Forgive those who have wronged you. Shut the door on the past and open the door for God’s blessings to flow into your life.
- Guard Your Heart Diligently
“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” (Joshua 1:8).
The heart is the centre of a person’s life. Everything of a person is flows out of what is stored up in their heart. It is what is abundant in our heart that will become the reality of our life. What we think is what we will become. “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).
That is why the devil seeks to attack our mind constantly with thoughts of fear, anxiety, defeat and all forms of evil desires. The enemy plots to get us frustrated with a sense of hopelessness about our personal circumstances. If you don’t fight back, casting down wrong thoughts, guarding your mind with the Word of God, it won’t be long before you’re feeling depressed and even suicidal!
“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” ( 2 Corinthians 10:4).
You must arm your mind with the word of God! The devil fights us in the mind but God has given us the weapon with which we need to fight and defeat the enemy. The Bible tells us in Ephesians chapter 6 to put on the armour of God, “…In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” (Ephesians 6:16). Faith is the victory that overcomes the world!
- Sow Generously Towards Your Future
“Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.” (Ecclesiastes 11:6).
Do not become weary in well doing. But sow generously into your future and you will harvest generously. God cannot be fooled and He cannot fail. He is faithful to reward us to the degree we are faithful.
- Step Out of Your Comfort Zone.
“Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. (Matthew 14:29).
Take aggressive action of faith. Be willing to take those baby steps out of the boat to walk on the water! We cannot experience miracle in the comfort of the boat. God unveils mysteries to those who trust Him. He works wonders through those who believe and dare to step out of the comfort zone to follow His will.
The miracle of Jesus feeding 5000 happened because a boy with five small loaves of bread and two small fish gave what was in his hand. That was all he could do. But when he did his part with the little in his hand God stepped in and did the multiplication. We cannot do miracles. But God does the miracle when we hear and obey His voice. What do you have in your hand to go after your dream? Use your gift no matter how small and trust God for supernatural increase.
- Trust God At All Times.
“I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8).
Trust God, keep believing God for the victory. Remain faithful and persistent in fighting the good fight of faith. (1 Timothy 6:12). As you do, God will open doors of opportunity for you to bring in your harvest.Never stop believing God. Watch for and expect your harvest! Stay strong and resilient. Ask, knock, seek and you find. (Matthew 7:7-8). Christ is the assurance of victory because He already overcame, we need to hold on tenaciously to the victory Jesus has already won.
Your personal vision may tarry but don’t get discouraged. Waiting is not a time to get discouraged but the time to fast, pray and stand strong. Write the vision and make it plain. For this purpose, there is a free PDF resource for prayer and meditation. Use this spiritual resource to hear from God and strength your faith. Receive God’s wisdom, clarity and direction for you dream. Please download free PDF here.