“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” – Proverbs 29:18
Recently, while I was driving in our area, I drove into a fog bank so thick that I couldn’t see where I was going. I literally could not see beyond the front of my car. Not know what was just in front of me, whether there was a sharp turn to the left or a curve to the right, and hoping I wouldn’t all of the sudden discover another vehicle going really slow or stopped in front of me, I felt very unsure about the path ahead. I slowed way down and felt my way along until the fog thinned out and I could reasonably see the way forward again.
In life, when the road ahead is obscured or you’re not even sure which way you are supposed to be going, life can seem very uncertain and we can waste a lot of time looking for the right way forward. Having vision for life is even more than get knowing the way forward, it is knowing where you’re going, what is the goal, where you are trying to get to. Do I even have a destination?
As our verse indicates, having vision is vital. Without it, people perish – their life is wasted. Because we all need a vision for life, people are quick to seek one from various sources or to craft one on their own.
Finding a vision for life from a source in society or imaging yourself to be a visionary can give you a sense of purpose and an aim in life. However, it is God who has created us for a purpose and has an ultimate goal for our lives.
George Truett, a well know preacher of the early 20th century said, “To know the will of God is the greatest knowledge. To do the will of God is the greatest achievement.”
Where do we get this vision? How do we find true meaning for life? Fortunately, you don’t have to go on some vision quest or become a great visionary. God has revealed His will for all of us in His word, the Bible.
“And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.” – Habakkuk 2:2.
God’s will for you begins with receiving Jesus Christ as your Saviour, through repenting of your sins and believing in His death, burial and resurrection for the forgiveness of your sins. He is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” – 2 Peter 3:9.
Getting right with God opens our eyes to the vision He created us to fulfill.
C.S Lewis said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
Tom Kline is pastor of Castlegar Baptist Church.
