The Working Out of God's Vision

Over the past week or so my mind and heart have been swirling. Emotions of homesickness, loneliness, doubts, fears, etc. have been surfacing. Then yesterday I learned of a sudden and tragic death that hit my pastor's family and church family very hard. And I hurt for them deeply. I feel helpless being so far away.

Over and over, I come to the realization that life is not static. People and circumstances change. Life at home is not "paused" as the people there experience births, deaths, joys and sadness - same as here.

And then sometimes I wish for "changes" in my own life. "God," I pray, "I feel stuck."

The monotony is getting to me, as well as the constant battles against dirt, bugs, my own lack of cultural understanding and the almost constant reminders of my weaknesses and sin. The surrounding needs are great and often overwhelming. And "my" resources are limited and shallow. Speaking of needs, "God," I plead, "I need a home, family and children."

"When will they come?"

Then this morning I read:

"God gives us the vision, then He takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of the vision, and it is in the valley that so many of us faint and give way. Every vision will be made real if we will have patience." - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

In my Bible reading, I am traveling through the Old Testament and am frequently amazed at how God takes His time to tell His story. Twenty-five years to give a son to Abraham and Sarah. Ten plus years for Joseph to be made right with his brothers and for the truth to be revealed. Forty years in the wilderness before God called Moses from the burning bush to rescue His people who had been enslaved in Egypt for so many years. Lord, why so long?

Crafting a thing of beauty, substance and worth takes time. And God is willing to take the time with you.

"The vision is not a castle in the air, but a vision of what God wants you to be. Let Him put you on His wheel and whirl you as He likes, and as sure as God is God and you are you, you will turn out exactly in accordance with the vision. Don't lose heart in the process. If you have ever had the vision of God, you may try as you like to be satisfied on a lower level, but God will never let you." - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

One of my favorite passages of Scripture is Ephesians 3:14-21, a prayer Paul prayed from his prison cell for the Ephesus believers. This is God's vision for us:

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. 

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." 

Whatever you may be passing through, hang on to the Master Potter as He patiently works out His vision in you.

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