Do you know someone who talks in riddles or is never clear in their communication? You can have a thirty minute conversation with them and walk away wondering what you just talked about or better yet walk away with an assignment to complete something and you don't know what that something is? Or how about following a leader that has it in their minds where they want to lead people but have not adequately painted the picture nor made it plain? I write as that leader who has a vision, a goal, an expected end, if you would, but has not completely or totally written the vision nor made it plain. The reason for not doing so is quite silly when I think about it. It is the fear that the vision might not make sense to others or the fear that it would be ridiculed. But even as I type this I think about all the inventors, civil rights activists, politicians, etc., that had a vision and made that vision plain to others. Inventors like the Wright Brothers. What if they felt like me and decided not to pursue their vision of traversing the land with a "reliable method of pilot control?"
(taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers) Or what if Madam C. J. Walker didn't craft a vision to help women look their best? What if Dr. King didn't have a dream and cast a vision where his "...four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character?"
(taken from http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/08/27/transcript-martin-luther-king-jr-have-dream-speech/) Can you imagine our world today without the contributions of those individuals and others? What if they were immobilized by fear and didn't share their vision or bring others along because they were afraid someone would laugh at them or ridicule the vision? Some of our dreams or visions may look crazy to others...a black president, really? Someone named Barack Obama will serve as our president, are you kidding me? Yes, we can hear the naysayers already ridicule the vision. You have a prominent church in Chicago? Your conferences are world renowned? Really? Yes, really! It is time to create a vision and make it plain. Not generic. Not general. Not superficial. Not vague; but PLAIN! Create a vision and spell it out. Create a vision and accessorize it with details. What do you want to do? Where do you want to be? Write your vision and make it plain. Fear and uncertainty will not serve you well as you work to accomplish your goals. Follow God's Word to Habbakuk when God said:
2 Then the Lord replied:
“Write down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald may run with it.
3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it will certainly come
and will not delay.
4 “See, the enemy is puffed up;
his desires are not upright—
but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness— Habbakuk 2:2-4 NIV
If God blessed you with a vision, write that vision down and trust that it will come to pass at the appointed time. Trust the fact that God is able to give you a vision larger than yourself. It may not make sense to others nor make sense to you but it doesn't need to make sense. The Bible tells us that God uses the foolish things to confound the wise. I want to encourage and challenge you to craft a vision today. Write it down no matter how outlandish it may be. Make sure to make it plain so that others can see it and run along side of you to accomplish it. Finely appoint the details of your vision and watch it come to pass.
I learned this lesson the hard way but you don't have to. Make your vision PLAIN! Until next time.
~Dr. T
