Vision of the Heart

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”  Prov. 16:9 NIV

So often we go through our day to day lives and have moments of epiphany, moments that challenge us and push us to do better and to want more than what we currently have.  We may be influenced by media, pop culture or people we know personally but in any case, we will all reach a point in our life where we want to do something else than what we currently are.

Vision boards have become a popular thing.  Many people hosts and attend workshops which show you how to use magazine and book clippings to craft an elaborate board of flashy quotes and words that are to motivate you and propel you to your destiny.  The purpose and mindset behind vision boards is:  if you see it, you’ll say it; if you say it, you’ll believe it; if you believe it, you’ll accomplish it.  I myself have had a few vision boards.  My vision boards have began as laundry list of desires of material possessions, to attributes I’ve wanted to correct or obtain, down to reminders of what the Lord has said about me. 

I jumped on the vision board aspect due to the verse in Habakkuk 2:2 KJV, “And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.”

I will admit, it took me a while to figure out exactly what to include on my vision board, but I just put my heart out there, and then added words of faith to affirm what I was believing God for.  Before I finished my first vision board, I had everything on there.  This caused my faith to increase.  I then completed a second vision board, I’ve not accomplished a lot of what I see on here.  But I do see my faith increasing to rise to the challenge of obtaining what I want.

There were some things that had to be removed from my vision board.  Because I realized that I was seeking things that I wanted and that didn’t line up with the will of God for my life.  They weren’t bad things, they just didn’t belong to me and weren’t for me.

The Lord says in Jeremiah, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

In my prayer life I began to ask God to give me His will, His word confirms, “May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” Ps. 20:4

By God giving me the desire of my heart, I realized that I wanted His desire.  Because he gave my heart what it should desire:  it’s Him, His will, His word, His way and His behavior.  Of course material possessions are desirable but they are not necessary for me to live my life.  The things that will collect dust, rot, burn, depreciate in value, mean nothing to me if I am not growing more and more in him.  Neither do these things matter if they cause me grief and add sorrow, it’s not a “blessing”.

So consider this when seeking something from God, Luke 11:11 “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

Are you asking for things of the Spirit which brings truth, life and wisdom?  Truth will set not just you but everyone you share it with free.  Life is everlasting with Christ, our time here on earth may not be “comfortable” but it is a part of God’s plan concerning you, to spread the word of His goodness and how His son Jesus Christ’s blood was shed to remit the sins of every living person.  The life we have with Christ will allow us to defeat the woes of the world:  grief, poverty, addiction, loneliness, sin, etc. Wisdom, which is the applied knowledge of God is always present, and wisdom, is given freely from God to live this life of purpose on purpose.

So yes, make your vision board of what you want to see, but in your writing the vision, make sure it’s the Lord’s.