Don’t buy into the lie that fulfilling your dream or achieving God’s vision is too hard. Many will come along and because they have never reached out to do great things, they will discourage you from living God’s vision. Don’t expect this vision process to be easy either. It takes WORK. Yikes! You mean in order for God to use me, there is going to be work involved? Yes there will be work involved, but it will be work that will be enjoyable and fulfilling in this dreaming/visioning process. WORK is an acronym that I created for this process, which stands for Willingness, Obedience, Remembrance, and Keenness.

Willingness – Enthusiasm for the Vision

Willingness to work is a key to not only seeing a preferred future, which is the result of vision, but to fulfill that vision. God created man to enjoy his work that brings a sense of pride and accomplishment, which in turn brings glory to His name. God initially made creation so Adam and his children would work the earth and take care of it. That was until sin entered the picture and brought about chaos. After the fall, Adam and his descendents would have to labor to get the earth to produce crops for food and thus began what we know as job dissatisfaction. It would be safe to say that many people today are unhappy with their jobs, while others would say they enjoy their work. Even many of those who are Christ followers, who should follow teachings of scripture regarding work, do not get the satisfaction and enjoyment from their occupation.

Obedience – not just for Dogs

God’s vision requires obedience, not because God expects it, but because it signifies something far greater. It shows that we love God. “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.” Obedience at its most basic level is to keep a command that has been given to you. There are many commands in the Bible for those who are under grace. Some of these commands are to love God with all your heart, to do good to those who hurt, to love your enemies, to read the Bible and to pray and this list goes on and on. Here is a very important principle; obedience equals love. This principle applies to every relationship you have, not just your spiritual relationship with Jesus.

Remember Whose Work It Is

The third letter in my acronym WORK is “R” for Remember. For some of us to remember something that happened yesterday is a challenge. When we forget why we are doing what we are doing, not only will the vision die, but the organization, (in this case the church) will die also. Applied to an individual’s life, it means aimless wandering through life with no purpose or goal. I don’t know about you, but I don’t relish the thought of aimlessly wandering through life, doing the same thing over and over again. There are countless numbers of people who are in that boat, who have forgotten their life mission, their dream, and God’s vision for them. They get up every morning and go through the same routine, take the same route to work, and eat the same meal every week and it continues on and on and on. They are not living life, they are existing and that is sad.

Keenly aware of God

Being able to be keenly aware of what God is doing around us is essential in being a part of His vision. Here is why. God could very well be bringing people into your life that He wants you to minister to in some way. If you are not paying attention and are not intentionally looking for God to work each day, you will miss God at work in your world. This takes effort and as I have already mentioned, people for the most part wouldn’t work if making a living wasn’t a necessity. That mentality follows us into our spiritual lives. We feel that serving God should not be work or at the least feel like work. When you have God’s vision, you will start seeing with God’s eyes. Remember, God’s vision is about people. Our vision is typically about money and stuff. You will start seeing areas of ministry such as people who are hurting and you will begin to see mission opportunities of service and evangelism.