How to Get Vision for Your Life

No one wants to waste their life.  We don’t wake up thinking, how can I waste my life today? It just slowly begins to happen, and we finally notice it when we lose something precious to us, like when a relationship ends, a job is lost, or money runs out. If you have lost God’s vision for your life, you will frequently wrestle with this feeling that you have wasted your life. 

But what if you could get God’s vision for your life back? If Jesus walked up to you today and said, “Hey, what can I do for you today?” How would you respond?

Maybe you don’t really have any idea what you need most because you’ve lost your vision for your life. You’ve lost God’s vision for your life. There has been a lot of craziness over the last couple of years with COVID and quarantine and political issues, and all these different things have impacted careers, families, mental and physical health, and many other things. As a result of this turmoil, so many people feel lost and don’t know where to turn. 

Maybe you’ve lost your vision for your family, and your kids and marriage are in disarray. Maybe you’ve lost your vision for your finances, and you’re just throwing money down a black hole of subscriptions and things that you don’t really need, and you’re not focused or dialed in on what God’s vision for your finances should look like. We know drug addiction is up over the last year. Alcohol abuse is up over the last year. And as a result, maybe you, like so many others, have lost your vision for your health, and bad habits are ruling your life.

I would suggest today that perhaps the reason why you feel this way is because you’ve lost God’s vision for your life. You’ve lost what God is doing and wants to do in and through your life. You can’t see your way through this challenging situation or challenging circumstances that you’re facing because you’ve lost God’s vision. I love what the wisdom in Proverbs chapter 29 verse 18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” 

And so when we see this phrase, “where there is no vision that people perish,” this word “vision” is the Hebrew word “hazon,” and it literally means a dream. So when there is no dream; when there’s no vision; when life has no direction or focus; when you don’t know God’s dream for your life, the people perish. Now the Hebrew word for perish is the word “parra,” and it means out of control. So literally out of control. So when there’s no dream from God; when there’s no vision from God; when you’re not pursuing that vision, the people feel like life is out of control. Maybe that sounds a lot like your life.  It kind of sums up where a lot of us are. You just feel like things are out of control in your life. And so we’re not focused on God’s vision. 

And as you think about that question today, “What do I need most in my life?”, I suggest that your answer not be a whimsical, “Well, I need more money,” or “I need a new job,” or “I need to get married,” or “I need a girlfriend.” This question requires a deeper answer. It really gets under our skin into our heart because the greatest thing that you need today from Jesus are the things that are going to allow you to make the biggest and greatest impact for the Kingdom of God.

What does that look like? Jesus asked a man by the name of Bartimaeus this question in the Gospel of Mark chapter 10. This is the biggest moment of Jesus’ life so far. And he’s got a lot on his mind. He walks through the city gates. Every city had a wall and gates. And as he walks through, it would not have been uncommon in the first century for beggars to be there, all the newcomers, coming to the city, asking for money. And so in this case, there are many people begging at the city gates. One of them is a man who is blind and his name is Bartimaeus. And what happens to him on this day is a miracle. 

 46. “When they came to Jericho and as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David,have mercy on me.” And then many rebuked him telling him to be silent, but he cried out all the more. “Son of David, have mercy on me.” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man saying to him, “Take heart, get up. He’s calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprung up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way. Your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

If you want to make your life count, you need to get your vision back. Bartimaeus needed his physical vision, but he also needed spiritual healing. He needed salvation. And so no matter what your needs are today, ask this question: How can I get God’s vision for my life? How can I make it count? To answer that question, we’ve got to look to Jesus. This is His example. And in this story here’s what we learn: Jesus was willing to hear the cries of the hurting. There are huge crowds around Jesus and lots of needs around Him, and yet He hears one man cry out to Him on this day.

Are you listening to the cries of the hurting around you? If you want to make your life count, if you don’t want to waste your life, this has got to become a habit. There are so many needs in your city. There are so many things that you could be a part of to make a difference. You have to hear the cries of the hurting.

I think some of us are so good at complaining but we’re really terrible about doing. Maybe it’s time for us to pull back the complaints and the tweets and the Facebook posts. It’s time for us to become the hands and feet of Jesus so that we can be a part of the solutions and help meet the needs of the people in our city. 

So, if you want to know God’s vision for your life, here’s where it starts… What are the needs around you and which ones fire you up? In other words, what do you care about? What are you passionate about?  You will find your vision when you understand the God-given burden that is upon your heart. This is where the work begins. 

Question: What are the needs around you?  Which ones are you most passionate about?  Write them down and start asking God how you could be a part of the solution.