Vision is a tricky thing!

Vision is a tricky thing! Those of you like my wife know that what you see with your eyes is not always an accurate representation of reality. For example, if your eyesight is less than 20/20…for some, significantly worse…if you’re not wearing contacts or glasses, you literally cannot see clearly or accurately what’s right in front of you. Poor vision makes ordinary tasks we take for granted like walking without banging into furniture almost impossible.

And then, even if your eyes are working perfectly, other things like fear and insecurity affect what we see, what we perceive, and even what we believe. How many of us have watched a scary movie before bed, woke up in the middle of the night after a bad dream, and been 100% convinced that there was a masked man with a knife hiding under our bed or in the closet.

We even have a physical reaction and response to our vision – whether real or perceived. When you can’t see clearly, and get bruised and beat up by banging into things, it makes you want to quit and stop moving forward altogether. When you’re lying in your bed terrified of the monsters in the dark, your body sweats, your heartbeat picks up, your mind races, and you can’t go back to sleep without making sure that you’re safe. So, our perception and vision dictates our physical behavior and actions!

The same thing applies to our spiritual faith-walk with Jesus! We must make sure that our vision is accurate, clear, and based in what’s True. If we’re aimlessly drifting with poor or no vision, we’ll get banged up, beat down, and quickly want to quit moving forward altogether. If we allow fear and insecurity to invade our hearts and minds, then our spiritual journey will be full of false lies that keep us frozen in fear, and away from the Truth.

So, what do we do? First, we pray constantly with humble and open hearts for God to show us the right path. We listen to the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit; always discerning with the help of others that God gives us, and the Truth of His Word to ensure that the path laid out in front of us is indeed from God and not infected by human brokenness or fear. Then, perhaps the most difficult part, we act…boldly…confidently knowing that God will give us everything we need to accomplish the tasks that He has called us to.

This Sunday, we’ll look back at the path behind us and celebrate all the ways that God has faithfully and miraculously provided, protected, and guided us along the way. Then, we’ll lay out a few things that we believe God is calling us towards. The challenge for all of us will be to boldly embark on the path. There will always be fear and brokenness from the Enemy to hold us back and throw us off; but God has NEVER FAILED and He’s not going to start now!