Gotta Have a Vision

"It is easier to serve God without a vision, easier to work for God without a call, because then you are not bothered by what God requires; common sense is your guide, veneered over with Christian sentiment. You will be more prosperous and successful, more leisure-hearted, if you never realize the call of God. But if once you receive a commission from Jesus Christ, the memory of what God wants will always come like a goad; you will no longer be able to work for Him on the common-sense basis." ~ Oswald Chambers

I saw this Oswald Chambers quote on Ben Arment's blog this morning (benarment.com). Being a pursuer of God's vision for life and ministry (not my own, mind you--God's, this struck a chord. When we do not wrestle out God's plan and allow a vision to emerge we fall into the plan of each and every day. The tyranny of the urgent controls, whims take us down dead end roads, and we come to the end of the journey wondering if we accomplished anything of significance.

I know some church leaders who chase any direction that strikes their fancy. Call it "flavor of the week". When you change visional direction as often as you change your socks you will lead a confused and aimless group of people.

Yeah, I'd rather just get out of bed every morning and make life up as I go. That's fun for a while. But the vision keeps me on track, not because it creates a busy to-do list for me, but because it gives me the joy of seeing a marvelous plan unfold. God's vision, the one I participate in, is a really great vision. It not only keeps me focused, but it makes it worth getting out of bed in the mornings. The grand and beautiful vision gives me energy to press through the "stuff" of life because I can see in my spirit what it looks like when the goals are met.

It is easier to serve God without a vision and just go with the flow of whatever comes my way--at least in the short term. But, I choose to follow a better way (look for the word "better" throughout the book of Hebrews). I choose to let the hands of the potter shape my life each and every day.

David Delp, http://aGoodDeposit.com