Without a Vision

Without a Vision

(Picture credits at end of post)

Where there is no vision, the people perish… (Proverbs 29:18 – KJV)

The vision referred to here is supernatural, such as only God can impart to the human soul.

When God finds a man or woman who is so open to His will and His way, He gives them such an understanding that can inspire others and set them on fire for the truth.

Such a man was George Whitfield who preached with such power thousands were won to Christ.

Such a man was John Wesley whose heart was strangely warmed at Alders gate, and went on to found the Methodist church.

Such a team was William and Catherine Booth who set London ablaze with the message of Salvation through the Salvation Army.

Such a man was Robert Murray McCheyne, who only lived to the age of twenty nine, but who learned to weep for the lost in such a way as sparked revival in his time.

I could go on and on, citing people in the Bible and out of it to illustrate what it means to have a vision of God, but you get my point. Not all you receive a vision from God will be as dramatically successful or famed as these, but their lives will make an impact will not fail to inspire those around them.

The  question is, “Are you and I as open as these to God’s will and purpose as these men and woman are. Can God trust us with a vision that will transform those around us?”

Will our generation perish because there are not enough men and woman open enough to receive a vision of God.

Without a Vision*

A Shakespearean or English Sonnet

(© Tuesday 21st March 1995 – by Christopher Shennan)

“Without a vision the people perish,”

Without a vision the multitudes die.

For the eyes grow dim; hope can’t flourish

When the heart can’t lift in search of the sky.

The human spirit has to dream and reach for

The highest and best that God can provide,

But often, it seems, there’s nothing to search for,

And nothing to stir cold hearts deep inside.

Grant a vision, Lord, to hearts made of stone,

To eyes that are blinded, or growing dim.

Reveal all your glory to those alone —

And those still hungering and thirsting for Him.

Why should those perish who have never heard,

While I hold in my heart Christ’s living Word?

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“Iris (right eye),” copyright by Laitr Keiows and displayed on wikimedia.org. Image used under the Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) license, found here:http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en. No changes were made to the photograph, which can be found here: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iris_-_left_eye_of_a_girl.jpg.

Dead in the Water

 

Dead in the Water

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. (Acts 2:1-2 – NASB)

We have all seen pictures of those old “Tall Ships” that operated on wind power alone.

Sometimes those ships had to endure periods in which there was no wind for days at a time. The term used for a ship in that situation was that she was “dead in the water.”  The sailors were stranded in one spot till the wind started to blow again.

On the day of Pentecost the coming of the Holy Spirit is described as a noise like a violent rushing wind.

A wind like that may put one of those Tall Ships in some danger, but it certainly would not be “dead in the water.”

May I suggest that many of our modern churches today are “dead in the water,” or at least many of their members are? There is no movement of the Spirit in their lives; they are not moved by the Spirit to engage in evangelism, works of service, or acts of mercy. Their lives are static and they have never uttered an “Amen!” in a church service in their lives. They are “dead in the water.”

In the Old Testament a message was delivered to a man named Zerubbabel we could well apply to our hearts today:

‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.’ (Zechariah 4:6b – NASB)

If we did, there would not be so many of us sitting “dead in the water.” The “wind of God” would move us to do mighty deeds in His Name.

Dead in the Water

(© Tuesday 17^th June 2014 – by Christopher Shennan)

I’d been “dead in the water” for years;

Nothing stirred in my soul to be true.

My heart was not touched or inspired

To love and be worshiping You.

 

I went to church often, it’s true;

And often I’d say a long prayer –

I was asked to do a great deal,

But the power of God was not there.

 

I was not content in those days,

With the way things happened to be –

I called on You Lord, in earnest –

And in no time You answered me.

 

The Wind of the Spirit then blew,

Softer at first and then stronger;

The sails of my heart then billowed:

The “deadness” was there no longer.

(Picture by Kerri McKinnon – Used with permission)

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