God's Vision For Your Life

"During the night I had a vision.

I saw a man riding a red horse.

He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine,

with red, brown and white horses behind him.

Zechariah 1:8

The Book of Zechariah

You wake with a start, sweating profusely. You aren't sure what the dream was about, you just know it was bad. You remember trying to run in the dream, but not being able to move your legs. It was pure fantasy, but it felt real and it was enough to wake you up.

Dreams can be caused by indigestion, anxiety, desires, concerns, and other mental and emotional conditions. Dreams can be fun, entertaining, and even enlightening. But they can also invoke fear, stress, and outright terror.

Zechariah, God's prophet in Jerusalem more than five hundred years before Christ, had a nightime experiences that kept him awake for a week. More than mere dreams, these were visions of God's future plans for his people, including a description of the Messiah. Through these visions God gave his message to Zechariah, who then faithfully relayed them to his family, friends, neighbors, countrymen...and us.

As you read Zechariah, take hope in knowing that God controls the future, your future, and that the King is coming. Then get a good night's sleep.

God's Vision for Your Life

READ Zechariah 1:1-6:8

SITUATION The exiles returned from Babylon to rebuild the Temple. Enemies however, thwarted and stalled the project. Zechariah motivated the people and encourage them to resume their work.

OBSERVATION God provides the strength we need to accomplish great deeds for him.

INSPIRATION There is great power in dreaming big. Such vision implies a long-term approach to ministry. Many leaders suffer from having to constantly rethink their vision because it is so small they accomplished it quickly, or so insignificant it barely seemed worth the effort. God's vision for your life, though, is grand. His vision is not one you are likely to accomplish in a year or two. A few Christians visionaries have learned that once you catch His vision, it will outlive you. Your role is to grasp it, articulate it, and see that it gets acted upon. Your responsibility is not to see it come to conclusion. Work toward the end, but do not feel guilty if it is not fully accomplished in your lifetime. Along the way, simply being part of making that vision become reality will seem like sufficient reward.

Dreaming big, through God's enablement, is also one means of allowing the Church to see and to flaunt God's power and majesty. His desires are so much better and more meaningful than our own that when we envision them and fully support them, the spiritual and emotional empowerment is incredible. People become genuinely excited over the grand possibilities. The magnitude of the task is dwarfed by the realization that He wants to do it, and He intends to make it happen through you. (From The Power of Vision by George Barna)

APPLICATION Do you have a friend who works hard in service the the church? Send that person an unexpected note of encouragement. Cheer your friend on in his or her work. Add that name to your prayer list.

EXPLORATION The Need for Vision -- Proverbs 29:19; Faithfulness--2 Timothy 1:3-7.

The Devotional Bible -Experiencing the Heart of Jesus, Max Lucado General Editor, New Century Version, Thomas Nelson Publishers