For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever ~ Genesis 13:15.
Preamble:
Every ending makes room for a new beginning. The old year just passed away, and a brand new one has just begun. It’s a new season, and we give all thanks unto the Lord for counting us worthy to be part of it. Alleluia!
I am thoroughly convinced that this new year is certainly a year of the Lord’s Glory. God is about to take us to a higher level of His supernatural goodness, wherein He will multiply His grace upon us and bless us so profusely until our heads touch the top and we begin to enjoy the fullness of His fitting glory.
Notwithstanding, we must be fully determined to make it a year with positive notes in all areas of our lives. There will be nothing tangible, and nothing new or exciting about the new year if you don’t engage with it as a new person with a new mindset, renewed vision, passion, attitudeand lifestyle.
If you had thought that there’s nothing to readjust in your life, please think again! Oftentimes, we’re limited by what we see.Happily, it’s not too late to reinvent yourself, especially if you don’t want to just wobble around throughout the year. Personal transformation calls for a strong vision of a new life.
Vision is crucial to blessings, and success in life begins with a dream. No matter the plans of God for your life, you must see it first before the hand of destiny will work itout for you.
What you dream about is what you becomeand possess. Joseph started out as a dreamer, and he ended up on the throne. Dreamers are rulers; visioners are world changers. If you live without a dream, you die like a “nobody”.
A life without a dream is like a ship without a compass, or like a car without a steering wheel. To be without a dream is to livepurposelessly. No dream, no drive; no dream, no destination; and no vision, no motion.
What is vision? Vision is “a clear mental picture of a preferred future” (Anon). It is usually based on a clear understanding of God, self and the circumstances. It is divinely affixed to your spirit to guide you to greatness, and it must be clear, sharp and directed to your God-given goals in life.
Again, vision is a blueprint of what you hope to become or achieve in your near or far future. All major achievements throughout history are attributable to people with powerful dreams. Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" or NASA's "Man on the moon by the end of the decade" are excellent examples of vision.
Divine vision is a language of the Holy Spirit, which communicates God’s goal and ideas to an individual. Without this blueprint, the foundation, and even the building blocks, of any mission can never be reliable.
Vision is a portrait of your God-given destiny. It’s a pictorial view of “what” you should do, “who” you should be and “where” you must reach in life. Thus, a lack of vision is a calamity of eternal dimension.
The quality of your life will be determined by your vision and the effort you are willing to put into fulfilling it. What you set your heart on will determine the paths of your passion, and define how you spend your time and energy.
For a leading edge this year, you need the vision of the Lord’s glory. Tom Peters said, "Developing a vision and living it vigorously are essential elements of leadership". Hence, the latest trend in many organizations is to apply the "Vision Integrated Performance” (VIP) approach.
Dreams are divine compasses for God’s plans and purposes in your life. Therefore, anything that blocks your vision must be summarily neutralized today (Gen.13:14-18).
Casting a Die-Hard Vision of the Lord’s Glory
What vision are you casting for this New Year? Dissatisfaction doesn’t come from the absence of things, but the absence of direction. The most important thing in life is not to have the most of things, but to need the least by charting the proper direction. “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18).
As a wise-hearted man/woman, sit before the Lord, reflect, take stock and pray for God’s direction. Make a written list of the areas of your life where you would like to grow or craft changes this year, then tackle them by the grace of God.
Don’t be discouraged if you aren’t seeing cogent results immediately. Nothing great is ever created suddenly. It’s a process; give it time and press ever forward (Luke 16:16). Paul said, “I press toward the mark ….”(Philippians 3:14).
Whatever breaks your focus will eventually affect your progress. Anytime vision is divided, attention is lost, energy is dissipated and divorce is the ultimate end.Divergent eyes can only result in a dark blurry vision.
Most importantly, stick to the heavenly vision (Acts 26:19). Never give up. Keep your eyes consistently focused on it. Make the pursuit of it a “do-or-die” affair. After all, it’s better to die for something than to live for nothing! Reach beyond what you’ve already mastered. You cannot afford to die as if you never lived.
The Lord Jesus Christ told us that the light of the body is the eyes (Matthew 6:21-23). In other words, the whole body depends on the eyes for illumination, direction, provision and protection. And the quality of your life is largely dependent on the quality of vision that you have.
This new year, totally focus your gaze on the glory of the Lord. Distraction is one of the most dangerous attacks on people of great destinies. Continue to reverence the Lord and consistently walk in all His ways. This is a very clear demand from God to His people (Deuteronomy 10:12).
Vow also to love, worship and serve the Lord of glory with all your heart, soul and might, and with all your family and all your resources. There is something about vows that strongly impacts destinies and hastens the performance of God’s glorious promises (Malachi 3:17-18). Remember the vow of Hannah, and birth of Samuel the son of Elkanna.
Friends and brethren, this new year, hold nothing back in your devotion, commitment and consecration to God. Cleave unto Him with a purposeful heart, a fixed resolve, and a dogged determination to move to higher levels of relevance in the things of God. Your destiny will surely fulfill prophecies, in Jesus name.
You will dwell in the pavilion of the Lord’s glory, with endless joy, boundless peace, incredible prosperity and sound health. Your testimony will be: nothing broken, nothing stolen, nothing spoilt and nothing missing.
Indeed, you will excel, do exploits and be supernaturally magnified, until you become very great. You won’t miss it, in Jesus name. Amen. Happy Sunday & Happy New Year!
____________________
Archbishop Taiwo Akinola,
Rhema Christian Church,
Otta, Ogun State, Nigeria.
Connect with Bishop Akinola via these channels:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bishopakinola
SMS/WhatsApp: +234 802 318 4987
