{"id":9834,"date":"2021-11-15T11:25:34","date_gmt":"2021-11-15T11:25:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-sites.ccci.org\/agapeuk-old\/?p=9834"},"modified":"2023-05-11T10:36:06","modified_gmt":"2023-05-11T10:36:06","slug":"has-your-vision-died","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-sites.ccci.org\/agapeuk-old\/has-your-vision-died\/","title":{"rendered":"Has your vision died?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Home<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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By Tony Brown<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Have\u00a0<\/span>you\u00a0<\/span>ever\u00a0<\/span>heard<\/span>\u00a0a talk that has had a lasting impact on you<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0which you have referr<\/span>ed to<\/span>\u00a0again and again?\u00a0<\/span>Many years ago<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0I\u00a0<\/span>heard one such talk entitled \u2018<\/span>Has your vision died?<\/span>\u2019 It focused on a handful of Biblical characters who had all experienced setbacks in their journey with God.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>

Each of them had\u00a0<\/span>had\u00a0<\/span>a clear sense of calling from God to be\u00a0<\/span>or<\/span>\u00a0do something significant. Yet<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>a good while\u00a0<\/span>on from that\u00a0<\/span>initial\u00a0<\/span>experience<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>it seemed as if there was little chance of that calling\u00a0<\/span>ever\u00a0<\/span>being fulfilled.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Biblical examples<\/h2>

Abraham and Sarah were told they would have many descendants who would be a blessing to the rest of the world. Yet over 20 years later they had still not even had one child together.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Moses was told he would be the means by which the Israelites would escape the horrors of slavery in Egypt and be led into a good and spacious land that God would give them. Yet,\u00a0after\u00a0escaping\u00a0from\u00a0Pharaoh,\u00a0the people\u00a0complained\u00a0about the lack of food and water\u00a0in the desert\u00a0and\u00a0longed\u00a0to return to Egypt. To make matters worse, while\u00a0Moses was\u00a0away\u00a0having a\u00a0mountaintop\u00a0encounter with God, they\u00a0turned to worshipping idols,\u00a0just\u00a0like the Egyptians did.\u00a0How dispiriting for Moses.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Maybe you,\u00a0too,\u00a0have reached a time when what you had hoped for in your journey with God seems\u00a0more distant and out of reach than when you first started.\u00a0A\u00a0cloud\u00a0of\u00a0disappointment\u00a0or even\u00a0of being\u00a0let down by God\u00a0may have\u00a0set in. Maybe you wonder if you heard correctly from God in the first place.<\/span>\u00a0

How do you deal with\u00a0<\/span>such<\/span>\u00a0thoughts and feelings?\u00a0<\/span>There may be an\u00a0<\/span>inclin<\/span>ation<\/span>\u00a0to take matters into your own hands. Like Abraham did when he had a child by Sarah\u2019s maidservant Hagar. But\u00a0<\/span>such behaviour<\/span>, even when done with the positive intent of being pro-active and taking responsibility<\/span>, all too easily becomes an effort to take back control. It amounts to trying to make happen what God has promised\u00a0<\/span><\/span>He<\/span><\/span>\u00a0will do.<\/span>\u00a0It sails far too close to the territory of Adam and Eve\u2019s rebellion in the Garden of Eden.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
<\/span><\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"pexels-pixabay-235986\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Joseph<\/span><\/h2>

Another Biblical character who suffered multiple setbacks in his journey with God was Joseph\u00a0(Genesis 37-50).\u00a0By the age of 17 he had\u00a0had\u00a0two dreams that convinced him God was going to do\u00a0something profound through him that would cause his older brothers and parents to\u00a0bow down to him in respect and honour.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Within a short time, the exact opposite happened. His brothers initially plotted to kill him, before eventually opting to sell him into slavery. So much for respect!\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

But that was not the\u00a0last of his setbacks. Having gained\u00a0a favourable reputation in the eyes\u00a0of his new\u00a0Egyptian\u00a0master, Potiphar,\u00a0that\u00a0new\u00a0respect and trust\u00a0were\u00a0cruelly snatched away\u00a0through\u00a0the deceit and spite of Potiphar\u2019s wife. Joseph ended up in prison,\u00a0a fate\u00a0even\u00a0worse than slavery. How painful it\u00a0is to\u00a0be punished for doing the right thing. We may wonder why we bother to follow God\u2019s ways when it leaves us worse off than we were before.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Languishing in prison,\u00a0Joseph must have wondered how things had got so bad. Where was the respect and honour that God had apparently promised him?\u00a0There is\u00a0no indication God gave him any\u00a0new\u00a0dreams to reassure him. Instead, Joseph seemed\u00a0to end up interpreting other people\u2019s dreams (correctly as it turned\u00a0out).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Eventually, that gift of interpreting\u00a0dreams brought Joseph to the attention of\u00a0Pharaoh\u00a0and, through\u00a0a display of wise planning,\u00a0he was put in charge of\u00a0\u2018the whole land\u00a0of\u00a0Egypt\u2019.\u00a0Pharaoh\u00a0presented\u00a0him\u00a0with\u00a0a robe more\u00a0splendid\u00a0even\u00a0than the coat of many colours his father had\u00a0given him.\u00a0And Egyptians\u00a0were\u00a0commanded to \u201cbow the knee\u201d before him\u00a0as his teenage dream had once shown his brothers\u00a0doing.\u00a0How things had changed! But it had taken many, many years.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Hands,Praying\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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And still the promise of the respect and honour of his brothers was unfulfilled.\u00a0How easy it\u00a0would\u00a0have been\u00a0at this point\u00a0for Joseph to turn his back on his roots and on the\u00a0dreams\u00a0God had given him\u00a0\u2013 to give up on God and\u00a0follow Egyptian ways.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Yet when, finally, his brothers ended\u00a0up in Egypt, Joseph made a remarkable declaration. He told\u00a0them \u2018You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good\u2019. This, after all the\u00a0setbacks, all the\u00a0shame and dishonour Joseph had suffered following his brothers\u2019\u00a0betrayal. Somehow, through it all, Joseph\u00a0had\u00a0clung on to those original dreams and to a belief and trust in the\u00a0goodness\u00a0and faithfulness\u00a0of the\u00a0God who gave them.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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I guess there are two reasons \u2018Has your vision died?\u2019 has stuck with me for so long. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

One is that the talk resonated with my own experience at that time. Not long before, I had discovered that the job I believed God had led me into was not going to work out the way I had imagined. It felt as if I had an impossible choice; either ignore God\u2019s call and leave the job or obey that call and surrender my hopes and dreams of what it would be. After a lot of soul searching and prayer, I finally accepted the latter. Today, 37 years on, I can honestly say I have never regretted that decision, even though I\u2019ve met further setbacks along the way. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The other reason the talk has stuck with me, is that I\u2019ve found it echoes other people\u2019s experience too. Many of us, it seems, have had setbacks in our journey with God. But, again and again, people have told me how the setback caused them cry out for God\u2019s help in trusting Him and His promises. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"God,Jesus,Christ,Way,Of,Life.,Choose,The,Path,To\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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It has been a <\/span>powerful <\/span>reminder to me not to try and take back control when things don\u2019t seem to be working out<\/span>. It has driven me to reach out to God and trust that He knows best<\/span>, even when that best means going through hardships and disappointment<\/span>.<\/span> It has enriched my understanding of the character and purposes of God.<\/span> And <\/span>after each setback <\/span>the vision has been reborn.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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