Habakkuk 2:2 The LORD answered me: Write down this vision; clearly inscribe it on tablets so one may easily read it. 3 For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it testifies about the end and will not lie. Though it delays, wait for it, since it will certainly come and not be late.
There is a trendy question being asked on different media platforms. “What would you do if you had no limits or obstacles to stop you from fulfilling your dream or vision? Most people cannot answer this question outside of the usual pedestrian answers of “Make more money, travel the world, and pay off my student loan. We do not dream anymore because we have learned to negotiate with our limitations. We sing hymns and songs to God, basically saying, “I surrender all,” but we have no intention of doing so because we are not sure or believe God hears us, because we have become too comfortable in our negotiated lives. This limitation on our vision is what the world has sown in our minds, and we have forgotten that Jesus set us free to speak to the mountains in our lives and cast them into the sea. Mark 11: 24 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.
Satan is the ultimate vision thief. As Jesus points out, Satan is a liar and a thief and has been so from the beginning and is also the father of lies. There is no truth in anything Satan says to you, and he only has hate for your soul. Therefore, there is no point in listening to him or anything that draws your heart away from the holy vision in your heart. My question to those of you who let go of the vision that was once burning in your heart: when did the dream die, and why did it not alarm your inner man? When did you negotiate with the voice of limitation? Many of us need to repent for allowing the vision God had placed in our hearts to die on the vine of despair. With a humble heart, why not ask God to reawaken and give new life to the vision with fresh instructions to accomplish the impossible? Matt. 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Nehemiah had a vision to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. The opposition of Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite could not accept the vision God had placed in Nehemiah’s heart. Neh. 4:8 They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. These obstructors tried every tactic to disrupt the work, but the vision was stronger than the deception of discouragement. Neh. 6:15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. A monumental task was completed in fifty-two days because the vision that God had sown took root in the hearts of the people. The thieves came to steal the vision, but the resolve of the working crew was stronger. If you had spoken with the workers before the work began and asked whether they could complete the job in fifty-two days, they might have had doubts and set their accomplishment date a bit farther. But God had a different plan. A plan that brings the strength of man’s heart and God’s righteousness together for the good of mankind.
Caleb had a vision of entering the Promised Land with the original crew who had been delivered from slavery in Egypt. This vision never came about at that time. Caleb had to maintain the living word of God’s promise. He was forty years old when he, Joshua, and the ten spies went into Canaan to spy out the land that God had already ordained for them to take and conquer. Then the bad news. Num. 13:27 And they gave this account to Moses: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and indeed, it is flowing with milk and honey. Here is some of its fruit! In short, they said, Yes, everything is as great as God said, However,….. The vision was stolen from the ten spies with this view of themselves. Num. 13:33 We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak that come from the Nephilim! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we must have seemed the same to them!
No matter how much Caleb and Joshua tried to persuade the people of Israel to visualize God’s promise, it took another forty-five years before Caleb and Joshua could enter into God’s vision and promise. Josh. 14:10 And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the LORD spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. The vision thief had destroyed a generation of people because they would not believe what God had said. They believed the false impression Satan had sown in the hearts of the ten spies and paid for that choice with their lives. The death they were afraid of came and killed them. Num. 14:28 So tell them: As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you exactly as I heard you say. 29 You will all drop dead in this wilderness! Because you complained against me, every one of you who is twenty years old or older and was included in the registration will die. The fear of death brought death through the lack of vision of a nation.
When it comes to the vision God gave us, we need to use our words as weapons of Holy declarations. Faith comes by hearing God’s Word, and our faith is released by our speaking His Word as the Holy Spirit leads. Rom. 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. The band of thieves that purloins our visions is fear, despair, worry, doubt, anxiety, and sorrow. You will notice that all of these negative attributes come from within a person’s mind and heart. Satan tries to influence the visionary to focus on being self-absorbed with what is going on in their own soul. If we keep our eyes on the Lord, He will draw upon the courage, strength and ability that God has sown in our hearts through Christ to fulfill God’s vision. This is why God asks us to write the vision down so that we may see the appointed time of its fulfilment. Hab.2:2 The LORD answered me: Write down this vision; clearly inscribe it on tablets so one may easily read it. 3 For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it testifies about the end and will not lie. Though it delays, wait for it, since it will certainly come and not be late. Do not let the thief of dreams and visions take what God has given us in love. Do not be tempted to negotiate the substance of our soul away. Be the visionaries God created us to be, and let us walk in the blessed assurance of God’s eternal plan.
Amen!
We continue to walk in the blessed assurance of God’s eternal plan.
Although we have faced many challenges and obstacles, we believe in our hearts that God, who promised, will fulfill his promises. We continue to move forward so that this vision may be realized. We are convinced that in these last few years God wanted to heal our hearts first from so many wounds, so that we could continue with the vision, because now our children are also running with this same vision. God is good! Thanks Norm, this really encourages us.
Bless you, Eu and your family. Yes, may the Lord give you all the capacity to fulfill all He has sown in your hearts to do. May God’s presence be all over the land and ministry you are stewarding for Him.