Day 3 in England: Vision

Today our team continued with the children's activities in Fern Gore. We'd started playing games, interacting with the kids, and teaching them Bible stories yesterday. We already have a group of faithfuls who are excited about being there for our events the rest of the days. I've been working registration and to be honest, I started wondering if it meant anything. I know the practical purpose, but I wondered if I was really making an impact spiritually.

      God had given me a distinct vision for this trip and I didn't know how what I was doing fit into it. After thinking about it, I realized that this was the perfect area for me. I am good at administrative work, I can be a bit quiet, and I prefer one on ones and small groups to large groups. This role put me in the perfect position for all those things. Plus, because I am not a team leader I am able to see outside the games. Because I am not constantly moving, explaining rules, and leading the kids, I am able to see when something seems to be bothering a child. I am able to reach the quiet, disconnected, or scared children. I can see the ones who seem like they are on the outskirts. 

      I realized that I am actually blessed to be in the role that I am. Once I realized that, I was able to see the impact I am able to make in the role I have. I connected with a few different kids at different points of the day. It was beautiful because through my interactions, I was able to help kids get out of their shells a bit. Plus, I was able to show them they were cared for and seen. 

      One of the girls I met and came to adore today was an 11 year old named Chloe. We connected during craft time. My fondest memory of the day was when she gave me the friendship bracelet she'd made during the end of the session. It was just so sincere and meaningful in her quiet way. It was her way of saying a shy "I love you". I'd been working on a friendship bracelet myself and wondered who I should give it to a bit before she gave me hers. I wanted to be intentional about it because it could be used to remind the child of the events, what they learned, and how loved they were. I knew that when she gave me hers, I'd received my answer. I wanted her to know that I saw her and loved her too.  

      In the beginning, my role didn't really seem to fit into the vision God had given me for my role in the events and this trip, but after looking at it from God's viewpoint, I was able to see that it did-perfectly! I believe the reason so many people get God's plan for them wrong is not simply because of disobedience, but because of faulty focus. 

      In Numbers 12:6 (NIV) God says, "When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams." I want to clarify that we no longer necessarily need prophets to hear from the Lord or to receive visions because we now have the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:17-18). 

      Notice the very intentional words used in this verse. God claims that through visions, He reveals Himself to us. Visions aren't meant to simply show us/hint at our future; they are meant to show us God's heart and mind. When you know someone's heart and thoughts, there is a level of intimacy that is reached that isn't normally given to everyone. You are able to see that person in a way that others cannot without that knowledge. That's why visions are so special. They bring us to a new level of intimacy with God because He reveals Himself to us through them.

      The problem with us and visions is that they can very easily become our focus. We want to see them come to pass in our lives and so we begin to take steps to see them through. Unfortunately, we rarely, if ever, get the full picture. We simply see a small piece of what God has in store. That is why when we focus on the vision we easily detract from God's plan for us. We are trying to understand what only God knows with only one piece of the puzzle. We don't even have a clue of what the full picture looks like. That is why moving according to the vision is counterproductive. We place our own meaning onto it and take the steps we think fit into it rather than allowing God to lead us His way-down the path we would have never taken because it didn't seem to fit into what God showed us. This is why it is so important to allow Him to guide our steps rather than to let them be determined by our interpretation of the vision He's given us. 

      God shows us what He has planned based off the perspective of those He plans for us to reach and His glory, but we perceive His visions based off the viewpoint of our own glory. Yeah, we may intend to bring Him glory, but the steps we plan are usually the more comfortable and quickest ones. They are not based on what will bring Him the greatest recognition or praise because if they were we would go for the impossible and painful paths-those that require the most faith and sacrifice. 

       We cannot expect God's vision for our lives to come to fruition if we are following our own steps rather than the Lord's. The Bible says, "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails" (Proverbs 19:21 NIV). We begin to make plans for our life with the little we receive from a vision. While they can help us filter what we need to accept and start working toward, the final determinator must be God, otherwise we will fail at receiving the full blessing God intends for us. Our plans will only make it take longer to get where we are meant to go, but God's plan will prevail in getting us there. That is why we must move according to God's character, Word, standard, and call, and not the vision itself.

      God's plans don't look anything like what we think up and His ways are far from our own. It is not wrong to treasure the vision He has given you or to pursue it, but we need to make sure He takes precedence over it. Only He understands the full scope of what He has shown you. I'd much rather have someone with a complete map guide me than rely on the partial map that I have. Only He knows what is necessary to get to your destination and what kind of terrain He is leading you to. Let Him prepare you by taking you down the road that will best equip you for it.