The Holy One calls to me this morning. Dreams and visions fill my mind. Out of the depths of a hard slumber, the Holy One shares His light.
I have had many "visions" of ministry, and the hope of a Holy calling over the course of my life. The desire to find my giftings and then to use them is an undercurrent and theme that seems to surface and then disappear from view as life's demands take center stage. Raising children, putting out fires, tending to loved ones sick or helping those in desperate need of encouragement and help as they face devastating losses, supplants all those dreams of doing the "greater" things I see envisioned. There are no regrets but just a sense of all that I might have done in addition to the basics of just living life.
I envy people who seem to have found their spiritual niche. The old attack comes out of the darkness as I look back over a life landscape that is littered with unfulfilled visions and broken dreams. Time and seasons have past into history, opportunities to do great things have come and gone and I find that expectations get adjusted downward the older I get.
I have visions of a better world and deep desire to be part of changing this one. The hope of heaven has been stirred from within my heart and not just for the future but for every day I wake up on planet earth. The Holy One speaks into the oppression of the enemy of my soul and offers a priceless lifeline:
"Your visions and dreams and life experiences are each one, not an end in and of themselves but a means to an even greater end: The honing of a servant".
With that statement, my mind is fueled with hope. Rather than seeing myself as an over-seer of a failed project or an unreliable loser, I realize in simple terms that I am on track with the Lord's vision and that His assessment of me is quite different than my assessment of myself.
Isaiah 55:8-11 reminds me that God's thoughts and ways are higher than mine and that His word will not return void but will accomplish the purpose for which He sent it out into and over each one of our lives.
The personal words of my Lord are spoken gently into my ear: "Apart from Me you can do nothing so do not judge yourself so unkindly".
The compassion of the Holy One is beyond comprehension. At those moments of my harsh self-examination, just when I expect a confirming and justified rebuke, I feel His warm and gracious acceptance, a loving response to the humiliation of my spiritual pride.
My take-away from this morning's conference is critical to all those future dreams and visions that may or may not be fulfilled "my" way. The fulfillment of whatever I may see or dream really belongs to the One who set them up in my mind. His purpose for each and every one may be so different than the purpose I think is there in the end.
The life of my Lord speaks of this truth. We read about His life of miracles and ministry in the gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, yet the overall purpose was greater than the personal suffering He alleviated in the lives of those He touched.
The greater purpose of the Lord's earthly life was to show the true picture and image of God and to do what was necessary to redeem humanity for relationship back with our Creator. His ultimate purpose was to serve all of us and in that role bring Glory to the Father who sent Him. Now we are called to be His servants in each of life's situations that we find ourselves having to deal with each day.
A servant does not get to dictate how or by what terms he serves his master. I can see that dreams and visions motivate me to serve my Master whether they end up being fulfilled my way is not to be my concern. The requirement over every dream and every vision is the same: It must be surrendered back to the One who gives it and I must allow Him to dictate and fulfill the purpose for which He sent it.
If I can trust His assessment of what seems to be personal failure to meet self-established goals, I might just find the greater purpose in His honing of this servant.
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
I have had many "visions" of ministry, and the hope of a Holy calling over the course of my life. The desire to find my giftings and then to use them is an undercurrent and theme that seems to surface and then disappear from view as life's demands take center stage. Raising children, putting out fires, tending to loved ones sick or helping those in desperate need of encouragement and help as they face devastating losses, supplants all those dreams of doing the "greater" things I see envisioned. There are no regrets but just a sense of all that I might have done in addition to the basics of just living life.
I envy people who seem to have found their spiritual niche. The old attack comes out of the darkness as I look back over a life landscape that is littered with unfulfilled visions and broken dreams. Time and seasons have past into history, opportunities to do great things have come and gone and I find that expectations get adjusted downward the older I get.
I have visions of a better world and deep desire to be part of changing this one. The hope of heaven has been stirred from within my heart and not just for the future but for every day I wake up on planet earth. The Holy One speaks into the oppression of the enemy of my soul and offers a priceless lifeline:
"Your visions and dreams and life experiences are each one, not an end in and of themselves but a means to an even greater end: The honing of a servant".
With that statement, my mind is fueled with hope. Rather than seeing myself as an over-seer of a failed project or an unreliable loser, I realize in simple terms that I am on track with the Lord's vision and that His assessment of me is quite different than my assessment of myself.
Isaiah 55:8-11 reminds me that God's thoughts and ways are higher than mine and that His word will not return void but will accomplish the purpose for which He sent it out into and over each one of our lives.
The personal words of my Lord are spoken gently into my ear: "Apart from Me you can do nothing so do not judge yourself so unkindly".
The compassion of the Holy One is beyond comprehension. At those moments of my harsh self-examination, just when I expect a confirming and justified rebuke, I feel His warm and gracious acceptance, a loving response to the humiliation of my spiritual pride.
My take-away from this morning's conference is critical to all those future dreams and visions that may or may not be fulfilled "my" way. The fulfillment of whatever I may see or dream really belongs to the One who set them up in my mind. His purpose for each and every one may be so different than the purpose I think is there in the end.
The life of my Lord speaks of this truth. We read about His life of miracles and ministry in the gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, yet the overall purpose was greater than the personal suffering He alleviated in the lives of those He touched.
The greater purpose of the Lord's earthly life was to show the true picture and image of God and to do what was necessary to redeem humanity for relationship back with our Creator. His ultimate purpose was to serve all of us and in that role bring Glory to the Father who sent Him. Now we are called to be His servants in each of life's situations that we find ourselves having to deal with each day.
A servant does not get to dictate how or by what terms he serves his master. I can see that dreams and visions motivate me to serve my Master whether they end up being fulfilled my way is not to be my concern. The requirement over every dream and every vision is the same: It must be surrendered back to the One who gives it and I must allow Him to dictate and fulfill the purpose for which He sent it.
If I can trust His assessment of what seems to be personal failure to meet self-established goals, I might just find the greater purpose in His honing of this servant.
The Spirit is calling. Can you hear Him?
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