Today I want to share a word that has been a compass and a guide for my Christian life and ministry.
This word will help you face the struggles and difficulties you may be going through.
Have you been living through difficult days? Have you faced tribulations and hardships? I want to confess to you that I have been living through difficult days.
We all have lived difficult days, and the Christian life is not an easy life, but it is a joyful and happy life!
The Christian life is a life of struggles and difficulties, but also a life of miracles, filled with the supernatural of God.
Jesus didn’t promise us an easy life, but He promised us that we would overcome every battle and that He would be with us and never forsake us.
One of the greatest biblical examples of the Christian life is the apostle Paul. He was a faithful man to God.
Even though he was faithful to Jesus, he was arrested, went through many difficulties and great struggles.
In addition to external problems, Paul went through struggles within the church and with disciples in churches.
In 2 Timothy 4:10 At the end of his life he was abandoned by Demas who was a faithful disciple and Paul said:
“for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica”
II Timothy 4:10
Also in 2 Timothy 4:14,15 Paul was betrayed by another disciple – Alexander.
“Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. II Timothy 4:14
How are you? How is your life? Have you been through fights? Have you faced illnesses, have you been in need? Have you been betrayed? Have you been hurt by people you loved and had invested in? Have you been abandoned? Have you been forsaken?
What to do when we are going through fights and hardships? Let’s look at the advice apostle Paul gives us.
“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Even if you are suffering: Don’t be discouraged, don’t give up, don’t stop serving God because of the struggles, the pains, the betrayals, the slanders, or because of the suffering!
Keep running the race with endurance and focus on the calling that God has for you! Never give up.
Apostle Paul’s advice is: stop looking at your problems, take your eyes off this land, take your eyes off the people who betrayed you and off your pain and look to Jesus, look to what is eternal.
“So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”
2 Corinthians 4:18
LIVE AND WALK NOT BY WHAT YOU SEE, BUT WALK BY A VISION!
That was the introduction, let’s now dive into the word.
Do you have a Vision for your future? What is your vision for the future? What is the vision for your calling in God?
I know many Christians who are lost because they don’t have Vision! They are believers but are lost in the calling of God.
Proverbs 29:18 says:
“Where there is no Vision, the people perish” Proverbs 29:18 KJV (Without Vision you are Lost)
We all need to be moved by a vision and not by sight!
Without a vision you won’t have discipline, without discipline you won’t get anywhere. Without a vision, you will be shifting from one place to the other and you will not fulfil your calling.
We all have the same Mission, but each of us must have a Vision (which is the revelation of our calling)
“Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalms 139:16 NIV
Do you believe that God has good and excellent plans for you?
Do you believe that God wrote and determined your days?
You need to find out what it is you believe in and answer these questions: Who am I, Why am I here? What is my vocation and my calling?
The most important thing is that you discover your calling and do what God has for you! Many people are doing what they weren’t born to do because they have no Vision.
What were you born to do?
I can assure you that your calling is much greater than what you are doing right now!
A true Christian must have a clear vision and walk by that vision.
You and I were sent to this earth to do something valuable.
I believe we all have a calling, a mission and a purpose to fulfil in this life. Do you believe that ?
What is your vision? What is your vocation?
Vision does not speak of what you see, vision does not speak of the present. (Today)
Vision speaks of the passion that is in your heart! And you must live by this vision, and by this passion you give your life!
I have a question for you: What is your vision for your future?
What are your plans? What are your plans for your spiritual life?
What are your plans to invest in your church ?
What are your plans for you to grow as a leader?
Do you follow your SIGHT or do you follow your VISION?
All of us (disciples of Jesus) have the same mission!
Jesus gave us this great Commission: to preach the gospel, to make disciples and save lives, that is our God-given mission.
This is the mission, not the VISION.
We all need a Vision of what God has for us! There are many Christians who are lost in the midst of a mission, and have no vision!
We must be careful not to follow our sights as Lot (Abraham nephew) did when he saw an good opportunity.
“Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)”
Genesis 13:10 NIV
Beware and be careful with the opportunities (“the green gardens”) We cannot walk by what we see, but we need to walk by Vision!
One of the greatest gifts that God has given to man is not the gift of sight, but the gift of Vision !
What is the difference between Sight and Vision?
Sight is the function of our eyes, Vision is a function of the heart.
Being able to see shows you where you are (and how you are), Vision shows you what you can be!
When you have a vision, the difficulties don’t stop you, when you have a vision, the suffering, the struggles, the betrayals, the pain, are springboards that make you grow.
What you SEE, is limited to today, by the present. VISION is not limited to what you see, it is linked to your future.
That’s why we cannot be moved by our sight, by what we see, but we have to be moved by the Vision that is in the future.
You must never live or be moved by your eyes, by what you see!
If you live by what you see, you will fail, so you cannot live by your sight, by what you see, but by your Vision.
What you see is limited by your eyes and you can see only a few meters ahead. Vision, however, is not limited by what is physically around you.
So if you are a Christian who wants to fulfil your calling you can never be disturbed by the present, by what you see!
No matter what condition you are in, if you have a vision, you will be at peace! No Christian, leader, pastor, missionary should trust their eyes!
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
II Corinthians 5:7 NKJV
“For we live by faith, not by sight.”
2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV
The word walking is Living! We do not live by what we SEE, but we live by faith! This means we have to live by what we believe!
That’s why your Vision has to direct your life, not what you see!
True Christians cannot live by your eyes, by what you see or by your sight! We need to live by what we believe in our hearts!
Those who have vision, do not live by what their eyes show, but they believe in what the Vision shows them.
“Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” Hebrews 10:38 NKJV
God said: The just, my just must live by Faith, not by what he sees! Because what you see will hinder your faith.
Years ago 2011 – I went through a hard situation. I was sent by my church as a missionary to Ireland in 2008 .
At that time I had a student visa, after 2 years I opened the church legally and applied to the government to change my student visa to a Missionary visa.
However, the visa was denied because at that time Ireland had no visa for missionaries. I got new documents ready, applied again and they sent a letter denying it and saying I had 120 days to leave the country!
When I got that letter it felt like losing my ground! I came to Ireland and now I would have to go back!
That day I knelt in my room , I confess that I cried a lot , and in that anguish I started to worship God , and I started talking to God : I believe in you , I’m here Lord because of you and I said :
GOD I CAME TO THIS COUNTRY WITH A VISION.
I was in my room looking though the glass door at my backyard.
Suddenly I saw an Angel coming, He stopped a few metres in front of me , smiled at me, and He took out two RED PASSPORTS and showed them to me. Smiled again and was gone.
Then I understood what he came o tell me : The government had sent me a letter to leave the country but God said, you’re not leaving, you’re staying and I’m going to give you this country’s passport!
A few days after this vision, the immigration law of Ireland changed, and since THE LAW changed, I could make a new application and today I have these passports and today I am an IRISH CITIZEN. (To God all Glory)
That’s why, when you’re in a situation, don’t despair, because this situation is temporary.
When you’re in the middle of a storm, stop looking at the size of the waves, stop looking at the strength of the wind, stop looking at the size of your problem. Look at Jesus!
Walking on a Vision is often being out of your mind, it’s crazy!
You have to believe that your “present” is not reality!
For those who have a “Vision” and walk by faith, their Vision is more real than the present circumstance.
As Christians who love Jesus, we need to believe more in what God says than what our eyes can see.
Maybe you can see sickness in your body , but by Jesus sufferings you are healed.
What you are seeing today may trap you here in the “present”, but your VISION will release you to go into the Future.
Because of that, I’m not giving value to the problems I’m facing, I have a vision for my calling, I have a vision for this Church and nothing will discourage or stop me.
Your Sight captures the present (today)! But the Vision will capture the Future. Your sight, your eyes capture what “is”, but your Vision sees what can be!
Maybe you’re living a hard time, going through a crisis in your family, crisis with your children, going through an illness, you’ve been betrayed, maybe you’re unemployed, you’re in a financial crisis, living in depression, anxiety, panic, or a difficult time in your ministry.
God is speaking to you: This is all temporary! The Storm will pass! “Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.”
“Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” John 11:40 NIV
What you are seeing is not the truth! The truth is what God says!
Do not believe in your eyes, believe in the Vision that God gave you. The just shall Live by Faith!
What you are experiencing today is temporary, it will pass! Believe and you will soon see the glory of God.
Do you receive this word? Do you believe in it?
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”