We all want to be hyperactive rabbits lacing up our red lightning bolt jogging shoes, taking our place on the starting line waiting for the moment when the starter’s pistol fires and we can careen ahead to claim the glory of victory.
When that first vision of what could be, what should be, begins to become clear in our souls it can be like the sound of a starter’s pistol in our minds and bodies. We surge ahead to claim our destiny. But, as we all know, when the smoke clears it will not be the wild rabbit who wins the race but the steady, slow, tortoise.
Building Block #2: A vision does not necessarily require immediate action.
“A vision rarely requires immediate action. It always requires patience” (20). Charging out of the starting gate too early to fulfill, even a God-ordained vision, will always result in failure, discouragement, and disillusionment. While we will talk more about the specifics of what takes place while we wait when we discuss other building blocks, for now I will say that three things happen while we wait for the vision:
First, the vision matures in us. “For a vision to survive it must be mature and healthy before being exposed to the cynical, critical, stubborn environment in which it is expected to survive” (21).
Second, we mature in preparation for the vision. Think about the story of David. He had been anointed the King of Israel. He knew his vision. He knew God’s purposes for his life. Yet he still had many years of preparation and maturing before the vision would be.
Third, God is at work behind the scenes to prepare the way. “Ultimately we are taking part in a massive assault that began one dark afternoon on a hill just outside Jerusalem. God’s vision for your life is much bigger than you. Apart from his intervention and preparation, you and I are incapable of pulling off even our small part of the operation” (24). While the Hebrew people were in slavery in Egypt they cried out to God and it appeared that he was not listening. But with the birth of a baby to be named Moses and even his being sent away for 40 years to the land of Midian, we see that God was at work all the time, behind the scenes, to fulfill a vision for saving his people. For much of the time, though, it appeared as though God was not doing anything.
Blessings,
Pastor Stephen
Quotations taken from:
Stanley, Andy. Visioneering. Sisters, Or: Multnomah Publishers, 2005.
Building Block #1: A Vision Begins as a Concern.
So what about, “Christmas is a birth and a birth is violent?” Any woman who’s given birth will tell you it’s violent and a baby would too if he could. But what about the violence that came because of Jesus’ birth? Obviously there was Mary’s pain and even the pressure that Jesus must have felt as his tiny body was pushed through a narrow birth canal. But what about the spiritual birth that is made possible in each one of us because of Jesus’ birth, death (violence again) and resurrection? Is that violent? Yeah, I think it is. I think the spiritual birth that is possible in each one of our lives because of the Christmas birth is violent—and sometimes downright painful.
Without a doubt Galesburg, Illinois is a railroad town. Over 160 trains a day go through downtown. Planning a trip across town requires calculating waiting for the inevitable train, or two, or three. All through the day and night the sounds of train horns can be heard as engines pass the innumerable rail crossings in our city. I have learned engineers have a personality to the way they blow their horns. Some prefer the loud sudden blast. Others choose to let the sound gradually build to a crescendo. Still others prefer to have fun with successions of short blasts. I sometimes wonder if they are trying to play a song.