Vision Maker vs. Vision Breaker

About 20 years ago, God started putting a vision in my heart and mind, and in praying, I have come to realize that whatever vision God gives us, satan is all in to kill that vision. I cannot tell you how many times I have had people that I trust and love tell me again and again to just relax and live your life, and forget this whole vision thing. They are vision breakers!! I have also had some who again and again have told me to keep after it cause God has a special work He wants to do through you. Those people are vision makers. Like Barnabas was to Paul, they can see that something unique and great is happening in your life, and without a hint of jealousy, they encourage you. Vision Makers encourage you to greatness, and Vision Breakers discourage any greatness.

So, what to do? I have held to this vision, and I have continued to hone my skills and pray for the day it will come to fruition, but there are tough times along the way. The toughest part of this whole thing is "the middle." The middle is where my testing has come to see if I will follow through, and the middle has been extremely rough for me. God has been faithful to hold me up and hold me close and keep this vision alive, even in the midst of so much discouragement. The discouragement Paul got was from the church in Jerusalem, because they didn't believe him to be real. Been there, done that!! But Paul persevered and kept on going forward, and look at what God did through his life!

I wrote a book entitled Vision Maker a few years ago, and that book was probably what God wanted me to realize and see to keep me going with my eyes wide open to follow His vision for my life. At times, in the middle, the only thing I have to sustain me is God, and the Holy Spirit keeps me fresh through God's Word, and without this freshness happening from time to time, I would succumb to mediocrity, but that just won't do. I have had people who I really highly esteem, whose words ask me, "Why can't you just be happy as you are?" Honestly, at times I would like to "settle," but God won't let me, and when God Almighty puts something in your heart, it is not a switch you can just turn off. In reality, I should have people who really know me doing everything they can to "clear the path," so I can keep going and keep growing. But alas, that is too much to ask when they can't know my heart as Abba Father knows it.

When God calls you to His vision, I can honestly say, "Go for it," and keep the Holy Spirit as your guide, and it will happen. The journey is also important, and in this journey, I am learning a lot about God and about myself. A song that speaks to this middle part, or the journey, is actually a song written by Miley Cyrus (go figure). I have put some of the lyrics below. I can almost see it That dream I'm dreaming, but There's a voice inside my head saying"You'll never reach it" Every step I'm taking Every move I make feels lost with no direction My faith is shaken But I, I gotta keep trying Gotta keep my head held high There's always gonna be another mountain I'm always gonna wanna make it move Always gonna be an uphill battle Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose Ain't about how fast I get there Ain't about what's waiting on the other side It's the climb.

If we don't have a vision, what do we have? Proverbs 29:¹⁸ Where there is no vision, the people perish. I wrote down my vision years ago, but now I must pursue it and keep pursuing it, and those of you who are in it with me, keep praying because God is up to something, and I must follow through. God said this to the prophet Habakkuk, and Habakkuk made his commitment, and so do I. In Habakkuk 2:1, " I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. ...

So are you a Vision Maker, or a Vision Breaker? My wife, Andra, has been a constant encourager to keep going, and I know that must get difficult at times. The choice is yours. I'm still climbing, and oh, what a mountain is before me. God is a mountain mover. Mark 11:²³ “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren