Those without vision will perish...

“Those without vision will perish…”

Proverbs 29:18

I am going to be super honest and open, I am not the visionary type. In the Christian community I sometimes feel like this is a sin. My personality is the doer nature not the dreamer type. This can be super discouraging and frustrating, especially when being surrounded by people who have big dreams. I want to be able to easily come up with visions and dreams for my life, but it is hard. I am not saying that I don’t have any; it’s just a struggle to create them. This may seem funny but I would rather set goals that I can accomplish than have a dream that may never come true. But I have recently realized that when I do this, I am taking God out of the picture and am only relying on my own strength. I have been really challenging myself to have a dream. I want to do something with my life that when I talk about it I can only give credit to God. There are many things in my past and present that have happened that I do and can only give God the glory. I just want to envision a future that does the same. I have really been pressing into God to help me do that. I do not want to put in Him in a box. I want to be willing and ready to do whatever He asks no matter how impossible it may seem. I want to dream big with Him. That sentence coming out of my mouth makes me laugh a little because its something I have never said before. Dreams have always seemed silly and like a waste of time. Why not just set practical goals and achieve them. Why not? Because like I said before that is only let God do so much. In reality, for me personally, it comes down to a matter of fear. I am fearful that I will fail, I am fearful that it will be too big, that it will be impossible. A quote by Pastor Don Wilson really demonstrates how fear can damage your future: “Fear dreads the future and glamorizes the past. When a person looses their vision for the future they will return to the past.” I have the power to do it not because of me but because of He who lives in me that is clearly stated in Philippians 4:13. And another thing is that God wants us to succeed. He doesn’t want us to feel like failures. “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” He is on our side 100%. So why does it still feel so hard, because it is not in my natural nature. I want to do, I want to see things get accomplished, I do not want to wait, and I have very little patience. But I know at this stage of my life it is what I need to do. I need to dream and create a vision for my future that is undeniably focused on Christ. It is still a huge learning process for me. I have talked to people who I admire, that have big dreams. They have come along side me and have given me very helpful tips. One big thing that I learned through them is that God wants to use my passions and personality type.  He knows that I am a doer and has created me like that. So I can rest assured that He will use the gifts that He has given me. In my current stage, I feel like a passion in me is to come alongside people with a vision and help them carry it out. That doesn’t let me off the hook of discovering my future vision and dreaming big with Him, but I do think that will always be a part of my life. I believe dreaming with God should be a part of every Christian’s life. For some it is easy and they have notebooks full of visions and dreams, for others, like me, its very difficult and rather frustrating. Either way it is imperative for growing closer with Christ. I hope this encourages you to dream big especially if you have a personality like me. My last closing thought for you is: “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” Ephesians 3:20

Be the beautiful God created you to be,

Alissa