Vision for the New Year

(Prov 29:18 NIV) Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law.

First of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I pray you enjoyed your celebration experience as you crossed over from 2009 into 2010. I will take a break from our current series, for a few days, to share messages about preparing for the New Year.

In January of every year I spend time with God, seeking His vision and purpose for the year. We then lay out (on paper) what I believe we have received and we allow that vision to be the ruler by which we judge our decisions during the year.

This is how I believe I will get incrementally closer, every year, to God’s expected end for my life (i.e., my purpose and destiny). Dr. Myles Munroe says this about vision/purpose: “If you pursue the wrong assignment, you’re going to need things you can’t get, because the provision isn’t there unless the vision is yours. It’s someone else’s assignment, and he has his own warehouse. Sometimes, people make demands on God that He can’t supply because He can’t give us what doesn’t belong to us. Again, knowing God’s will for your life is the key to your prosperity.”

Receiving tailor-made vision is absolutely critical and with that in mind, we will investigate a few scriptures relating to vision and purpose this week.

What is Vision? Most people simply connect vision to sight and even then, many do not understand sight. We don’t see with our eyes, we see through them. We actually process what our eyes see in our mind. Our mind sees. That is why when someone takes the time to relay a difficult concept to you and you finally understand it, you say, “I see.” What do you mean? You mean you see it, but not with your eyes, you see it with your mind. Your mind has grasped the concept, idea, thought, etc. But then again, vision is more than mere sight or even comprehension.

VISION is seeing beyond where you eyes or your mind can look. Sight is common, vision is rare! Vision shapes purpose. Purpose gives birth to plans. Plans help us layout goals. Goals become incremental steps that take us towards an expected end. And all of this starts with vision.

Are you ready to be a Visionary for God?

Let me tell you a short story about Mr. Walt Disney that deals with vision. Mr. Disney sat in an open field many years ago, just shortly after opening Disney World. At the time, the park only had a few rides. He sat and looked out into an open field for a long time and he seemed very preoccupied. A worker, who was cleaning nearby, came and asked Mr. Disney what he was doing. Disney said, “I am looking at my mountain.” This seemed very strange to the worker and he simply walked away. Many years later, at the opening of Space Mountain, a young man introduced Mrs. Disney to the platform. He said that it was great to have her there, but it was a sad that Mr. Disney died without ever seeing his mountain. Mrs. Disney took the microphone and corrected the young man. She told the crowd that they were just seeing the mountain, but her husband had seen it many years before.

Walt Disney saw it well before it ever came to pass and that is how the Father desires for us to live. He wants to reveal His plans and purposes for our lives to us, so that we could operate with vision, well before the manifestation of His promises. Like Mr. Disney, vision can help us develop a plan that can quite possibly outlive and outlast us.

Why? Because God is too big a God and our lifespan is too short of a time for God to JUST be concerned with us. When God looks at you He sees your legacy, but He needs you to see it as well, so that you will cooperate with Him as He seeks to bring to pass His best for your life! We will discuss our focus text more tomorrow.

So what does this mean to you today? It simply means that you have a great deal to do with what happens in your life in 2010. Don’t think that things will “just happen.” Prepare to spend time with the Father to receive and respond to His vision for your life for this year!


Father, I receive Your Vision for my life in general. I also receive Your vision for me and my family for this year. I know that I have a part and You have a part. I declare, by faith, that I will do my part in 2010 I am Your sheep and I hear Your voice. I receive Your Vision by revelation. I have the discipline to develop measurable goals that support the accomplishment of your plan. I complete those goals. The completion of every goal takes me incrementally closer to Your overall vision for my life. Thank you for helping me to receive it, believe it, document it, and follow it – in 2010 and beyond! I speak this by faith! In Jesus’ name. Amen!