Obedience to the "Heavenly
Vision"
I was not disobedient to the
heavenly vision —Acts 26:19
If we lose "the
heavenly vision" God has given us, we alone are responsible— not God. We
lose the vision because of our own lack of spiritual growth. If we do not apply
our beliefs about God to the issues of everyday life, the vision God has given
us will never be fulfilled. The only way to be obedient to "the heavenly
vision" is to give our utmost for His highest— our best for His glory.
This can be accomplished only when we make a determination to continually
remember God’s vision. But the acid test is obedience to the vision in the
details of our everyday life— sixty seconds out of every minute, and sixty
minutes out of every hour, not just during times of personal prayer or public
meetings.
"Though it tarries,
wait for it . . ." (Habakkuk 2:3).
We cannot bring the vision to fulfillment through our own efforts, but must
live under its inspiration until it fulfills itself. We try to be so practical
that we forget the vision. At the very beginning we saw the vision but did not
wait for it. We rushed off to do our practical work, and once the vision was
fulfilled we could no longer even see it. Waiting for a vision that
"tarries" is the true test of our faithfulness to God. It is at the
risk of our own soul’s welfare that we get caught up in practical busy-work,
only to miss the fulfillment of the vision.
Watch for the storms of
God. The only way God plants His saints is through the whirlwind of His storms. Will you be proven to be an empty
pod with no seed inside? That will depend on whether or not you are actually
living in the light of the vision you have seen. Let God send you out through
His storm, and don’t go until He does. If you select your own spot to be
planted, you will prove yourself to be an unproductive, empty pod. However, if you allow God to plant you, you will "bear much
fruit" (John 15:8).
It is essential that we live
and "walk in the light" of God’s vision for us (1 John 1:7).
(Taken from Oswald Chambers – “My Utmost For His Highest” March 11)