I’d like to begin by sharing a mini-vision I had some years ago. The vision was of a little country church my aunt and cousins went to. God was really visiting them and great things were on the horizon for them. In the vision I saw the ceiling of the building open up and what looked like a ladder stretching from Heaven to earth going right through it. The blessings of God were coming down by way of that ladder, angles carrying them and then returning to get more. You say, “What happened to that church? How come we don’t hear of it anymore?” Well, just like everything God does for and through people, the devil tries to come in and destroy the work of God. As in this case, that church no longer exists.
So just because the vision didn’t come to pass fully, does that mean it wasn’t from God? No. Visions and revelations that come from God are His will concerning the things they’re about, but the cooperation of the people involved will determine whether they come to pass or not. God has a great plan for all of our lives. Our cooperating with Him will determine it’s success. Let me go out on a limb here. I believe Adolph Hitler was called to be an evangelist. The gifting to convince people was there, only the devil came in and capitalized on it, using it to destroy millions of lives instead of saving them. Only when a heart is truly devoted to God can the gifting within it be used for His glory.
Now I’ve got you wondering (possibly) what you’ve been called to do. Well let me ask you this question: first and foremost, are you delighting yourself in the Lord? Pursuing Him daily with no other agenda? If so you have a promise from Him that He will give you the desires of your heart. Another way to say it is: He will put desires in your heart from His as you delight yourself in Him. What do you like to do? Or, what do you find yourself doing a lot of with pleasure? With pleasure? Yes, with pleasure! Jesus said He came to give us a life to enjoy and that His yolk was easy and His burden light.
In his day Paul’s companions could have judged that Paul really missed it. That he was out of the will of God. Read in his second letter to the Corinthians the things he endured (4 & 11), yet he called them “light afflictions” (4:17). In short, a demon was sent from Satan to beat him up, to get him to stop spreading the Gospel (which includes all the good news of God’s involvement in our everyday lives). When he prayed, asking for the removal of this trouble, the answer came, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (12:9). Allow me to paraphrase: “My power and all of the tools I’ve given you to use are enough for you to conquer AND ENDURE (get through to the victory).” That’s grace! God’s strength and ability enhancing our weaknesses (inability to produce results) to enjoy the quality of life and victory He enjoys!
I named this encouraging word “Go Back” because I’m hearing the Spirit of God calling us to go back to the dream or vision we may have had at one time but have allowed to slip away. Maybe things haven’t turned out the way we thought they would, so we’ve gotten discouraged and given up. Perhaps all hell has broken out against you and the pressure to quit has been too great! Jesus said the devil comes for the Words’ sake to choke it out of our lives and prevent it from maturing. Yes, the black and white on paper we call the Bible, but also the Word God has spoken to your heart concerning His will for your life. The devil can’t prevent the Word from coming to pass, but if he can talk you out of “continuing therein unto,” then he has nothing to worry about. Let’s return to our first love and passionately pursue Him and His will for our lives!