Not too long ago, my friend gifted me with a book by Andy Stanley on “Visioneering”. This book speaks through the life of Nehemiah and many others in the Bible who have had a vision for which they were called.
I would like to give you a few thoughts to ponder on from the book that I think would bless you, our GTH reader.
Andy describes visioneering as “the course one follows to make dreams a reality. It is the process whereby ideas and convictions take on substance.”
He brings clear balance in this book by not presenting a secular motivational guru-type teaching. He says:
“The average person has the right to dream his own dreams and develop his own picture of what his future could and should be. But at the cross, those of us who have sworn allegiance to the Savior lost that right.”
Now that is brilliantly said. Many a times, we end up with dreams that look like dreams from heaven. But sadly, they are nothing but fascinations, fantasies and borrowed visions.
As the children of the Most High God and being more than conquerors through Christ Jesus, we are coworkers in Christ. Therefore, it is important that we seek the Lord for His will, His dreams over ours and His plans over ours. From time to time we need to check our motives to see why we do what we do and why we want that which we want.
Here are the 20 Building Blocks that Andy presents in his book:
(For those of you who like to dive deeper into the book, try your local Christian book store or Amazon here.)
- A vision begins as a concern.
- A vision does not necessarily require immediate action.
- Pray for opportunities and plan as if you expect God to answer your prayers.
- God is using your circumstances to position and prepare you to accomplish His vision for your life.
- What God originates, he orchestrates.
- Walk before you talk; investigate before you initiate.
- Communicate your vision as a solution to a problem that must be addressed immediately.
- Cast your vision to the appropriate people at the appropriate time.
- Don’t expect others to take greater risks or make greater sacrifices than you have.
- Don’t confuse your plans with God’s vision.
- Visions are refined – they don’t change; plans are revised – they rarely stay the same.
- Respond to criticism with prayer, remembrance, and if necessary, a revision of the plan.
- Visions thrive in an environment of unity; they die in an environment of division.
- Abandon the vision before you abandon your moral authority.
- Don’t get distracted.
- There is divine potential in all you envision to do.
- The end of a God-ordained vision is God.
- Maintaining a vision requires adherence to a set of core beliefs and behaviors.
- Visions require constant attention.
- Maintaining a vision requires bold leadership.
Don’t be content with where you are when you know that God has a greater plan for you. Let that godly dissatisfaction push you into pursuing God until you have a clear picture of where God is leading you.
Be strong and courageous. Let that conviction of what God has for you lead you through the Holy Spirit into your destiny from God.
Do you have a vision for life? Share with us. What stirs your spirit? How do you sense God is leading you that way?
