ByIn close to five years of serving God at The Bible Daily Network, I’ve witnessed how important divine vision plays a role in affecting my life’s choices and goals, movements (travels) and entire lifestyle as a person. Today, many things I’ve seen God do in the ministry have left me totally beyond my wildest dreams, all because of purpose.
Living on purpose is so wonderful and fulfilling that no issue on this earth is enough to weigh you down or discourage you from moving forward. What God keeps showing you about what’s ahead fills your mind with so great an expectation that you’ll see every issue today as temporary. It’s such glory that I can’t express it with words. Nevertheless, as great as they are, there are divine principles to live by that will sustain such a lifestyle. And today, I’m excited to share three of them with you via this article. But by the way, they’re enlisted in Habakkuk 2:2-3 (NKJV). So I advise you to read it below before proceeding to the next part of the article.
[2] Then the LORD answered me and said:
Habakkuk 2:2-3 (NKJV)
“Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.
[3] For the vision is yet for an appointed time;
But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
Because it will surely come,
It will not tarry.”
Principle #1 — Write down the vision
God is the giver of vision, not man. But man, the bearer of God’s vision, is subject to forgetfulness. And a perfect example of this in the Bible is how kings who forgot to live by God’s laws led the Israelites to idolatry.
Ask yourself how many dreams God has given you about your future have remained undocumented. Many. Right? That has happened to me many times until I created an idea repository platform with the team members in the ministry to type any fresh idea I or they conceive about the vision since God is speaking to us all.
Living on purpose is so wonderful and fulfilling that no issue on this earth is enough to weigh you down or discourage you from moving forward.
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It’s not surprising to me that God told the prophet Habakkuk to write down the vision he wanted to see manifest. This prophet was concerned about how wayward the Israelites lived during his lifetime. So after praying for change, God told him they’d return to Him in repentance, but not immediately. Vision is just like that. It speaks of the future and not now. Therefore, penning it down is crucial to remind you of what God has ahead of you.
“Make it plain on tablets.”
In the same Habakkuk 2:2, God didn’t just say, “Write down the vision.” He added that Habakkuk should make it plain on tablets. Those days, a tablet was a carved stone where writings could be scripted permanently for generations to use it. Usually, the only way to destroy them was to break them into pieces.
So for God to tell the prophet to make the vision plain on tablets, means two primary things to us:
- We should reproduce the same visionary inscription boldly and place it in several places we can see frequently (I speak like this because of the plural form of the word “tablets” used in the scripture.)
- We should make the vision visible to several others, especially those who’ll partake in bringing it to its full fruition. In an organisational or ministerial setting, this is very crucial because it’ll give employees, service personnel, employers and even interns a sense of purpose in why they come to work. The “why” behind everything done will be constantly refreshed in their minds.
“That he may run who reads it.”
This phrase in Habakkuk 2:2 means that anybody who sees the vision and plays a part in its manifestation will use it to serve as a basis for what they do. I’ve personally seen this truth work in our ministry’s team for quite some time now. It’s so great.
Principle #2 – Vision is futuristic
The word vision used in Habakkuk 2:2 is from the Hebrew word “châzôn,” which means ‘revelation.’ So vision is futuristic. It’s all about what God will do in the future, not now. That is why those who live by vision in Christ are always notable for speaking about the future and constantly planning towards using divine insight. Even the Bible says in Proverbs 20:5 (NIV) that,
“The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.”
From here, it takes insight to draw out (bring to physical manifestation) the vision God shows you. It’s not by guessing.
“At the end, it will speak.”
When a vision is yet to be fulfilled, many people will not see it. But God says, “At the end, it will speak.”
Here’s a mystery about visionary people. When they’re in the process of reaching the fullness of their destiny, anybody can despise them because their lives will be so ordinary like anybody else. Meanwhile, they’re different. And that is tricky for people because many miss their turnaround points in joining visionary people’s lives due to a lack of insight into their future.
God said that vision will speak of itself at the end, not now. Secondly, the names of visionary people will outlive their graves. Therefore, the future of every great visionary is very glorious.
Look at someone like Dr Myles Munroe. He died in 2014, but his books and resources have impacted millions till today. His vision is still speaking. What a glorious life beyond the grave.
Beloved, if you see such a person, put all ego and disrespect aside to honour him (or her) because if you fail to do so, you might regret it in future.
God is very wise. He will never promote you to a platform beyond what your character can sustain.
Principle #3 – Vision tarries
In Habakkuk 2:3, God unveiled another principle of vision in the process of complete manifestation. That is its tarrying nature.
The word “tarry” means to spend time in one place doing little/wasting time. Every vision, during its formative stages, appears so normal that people not affiliated with it hardly see its progression from the onset. And that stage of life is where God wrought patience in such people.
Assuming God has given you a vision that you’ll have a large church in future. But as I talk today, you’ve only had a hundred church members for the past three years. What will you do? Will you keep believing in God for it, or you’ll give up?
If the vision is genuine, you’ll keep living in anticipation of it. But at the same time, God will use your current ministry stage to build patience in you and test your faithfulness with small things. For it is written in Luke 16:10 NKJV that,
“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.”
So before you get to that height of ministry God has revealed to you in the vision, He’ll intentionally limit the number of church members for a while to see how faithful you are in shepherding them and managing them organisationally. And if you pass that test, then He’ll bring more.
God is very wise. He will never promote you to a platform beyond what your character can sustain. And if you force yourself there, you’ll mess up. Therefore, submit to His training process. Don’t see every delay from God as a denial. Sometimes, it’s for your own protection and training. Balance vision with patience; it will help you.
