Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision the people
perish” KJV

Mother Teresa said if she had not picked up the first
destitute person on the streets of Calcutta,she would never have picked up
the 30,000^th. To be the sort of person who publicly picks up dying people,
she had to put on a new identity. Her comment suggests a discomfort at leaving
her old life behind. When we seek to change our life, how do we gather the courage to take that first step?

Recently, I talked to a fellow writer who is struggling. I
asked her what vision kept her going. She said she had a number of experiences
that pointed towards writing. I didn’t think of it then, but I wonder if she
was faltering because she was not aiming toward a clear vision. We get stuck unless
we know where we are going. And to know where we’re going we need a vision from
God. Before she ever moved to India, Mother Teresa undoubtedly saw herself leading
a hospice for the poor. We too, need to aim toward God’s image of ourselves.

We must see ourselves as a mother, before we take the step
of getting pregnant. If we get pregnant without that and want to be good mothers,
we must develop that vision. If we believe God wants us to run a company we must see ourselves
in the boardroom presiding over meetings. What vision has God given you?
Remember, the first step may be the hardest, because you are leaving the old,
comfortable identity and taking on God’s new identity. 

Father, clarify the vision and give us courage to
take the first steps.

One of my favorite hymns is “A Mighty Fortress is our God.”
Martin Luther wrote it in the midst of enormous spiritual pressures. Satan wanted
to destroy him, as the Catholic monk worked to spread the revelation of grace
that led to the Protestant Reformation. One night, Satan attacked him so
strongly that Luther threw an inkwell at him. The stain of the ink remained on
the walls of Wartburg Castle, where Luther lived, for centuries.

Something about that image, of an ink-stained wall that way
outlasted Luther’s life, captures me. Something about taking Satan so seriously
that he threw an object at him. Something about the image of the man,
cloistered in a castle, fighting for his life and the life of God’s people.  

Martin Luther took spiritual realities seriously. The hymn speaks
of Satan’s power and God’s greater power. “One little word shall fell him,”
referring to the power of the name of Jesus against the enemy’s small power. When
we are involved in spiritually sensitive activities, we can be the enemy’s
target. I’m involved in planning for a city-wide prayer meeting. Tuesday night,
driving home after small group, lights suddenly flashed behind me. The young
policeman told me I’d run the stop sign. I thought I’d stopped. He gave me a
written warning. I thanked him, went home and slept.

Was that Satan’s niggling attack, wanting to upset me in the
face of the upcoming prayer meeting? Seems like it. But Jesus is victor. When
we face various trials, in Jesus, we can, as 1 Peter says, “count it all joy.” We
can count it so because “God has willed His truth to triumph through us.”

Come Holy Spirit. Reveal the spiritual realities around us,
especially your great power and love that triumphs over all the arrows of the
evil one.        

 

"Jesus gave them this answer: “I
tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he
sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does."
John 5:19. NIV

I want to do what the Father is
doing. Jesus only did what he saw the Father doing. I can see my hand in front
of my face. I can see cheesecake. But my eyes don’t seem to see what the Father
is doing.

A couple of weeks ago on my
morning walk, as I passed a downtown bar, I noticed a folded up $20 bill on the
sidewalk. My eye was drawn to it immediately. I have a gift for recognizing
money. Even folded into quarter-size, my eye discerned the color, shape, and
value of the object.

What would it be like to have
such sharp eyes for the Father’s work? To recognize the nuances of his
presence? I knew a man once, a long time ago, who could see the Holy Spirit on
unbelievers. During an evangelism event on campus, he pointed out a woman
sitting on the quad, listening. 

“God is speaking to that woman.
Why don’t you talk to her?” 

I approached her and had a good
conversation about the reality of Jesus. 

I have been in other groups
recently where people say they can see the Holy Spirit doing the work of the Father.
So far, that’s not something I can see. Can you? We have been trained to see
$20 bills. Maybe the Father, if we ask him, would gift us with the ability to
see the color and shape of his hand at work. Then we too, could do what we see
the Father doing. 

Father we need gifts of discernment. We want to see your hand at work
so that we can do what you are doing.