Forging Ahead

Vision Planning for the Life You Desire

Recently I had the pleasure of gathering with some friends in my home as we cast vision on our future and created Vision and Prayer Boards to hang in our prayer spaces at home. The goal for this project was simple: cast vision and pray over our desired future in Jesus’ name.

Today I’m going to give you a few tips to help you move toward the desired Vision you see for yourself as you seek God for your future.

Vision

“Where there is no (prophetic) vision the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18 KJV (emphasis mine)

The Bible is very clear that the people of God need a vision in order to stay in right order with God’s will and purpose. Vision comes from God. The only way to receive a vision for our lives is to come to God and ask God for a vision. 

God won’t give us the full picture, but He will reveal the vision to us in pieces. We must be obedient in each step of the vision in order to receive more pieces of the vision. When I think of some of the people in the Bible who didn’t receive the full vision, but were obedient every step of the way: Ruth, Bathsheba, Esther, Mary – think of the great losses they suffered, the great tragedies they had to go through BEFORE they saw victory and triumph. Can you honestly say that you would say “Yes” to God if it meant losing a husband, or a child, or potentially losing your life? Obedience is the key to finding the path forward in our lives and purpose. The next right step forward is found in obeying the step God told us to take.

The vision isn’t always going to make sense this side of Heaven. Not to us. But always to Him. Always according to Him and His plan. That’s why it’s important that we follow the plan. His way, not our way. His timing, not our timing.

Prayer

“Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6 NET

Prayer is the communication we have with God. It is how we make our requests known, but it is also how He makes His requests and His plans known to us, as well. The prayers between Father and child are special. The Lord longs to be one with us, to deliver His good plans to us. There is only one way we will know what the Father has planned for us, we must ask Him and we must be still long enough for Him to tell us.

We can’t forge ahead any new paths until we know which paths are ours to take. God has those paths laid out for us. Only God knows which ones are for us, and which ones lead to dead ends and heartaches. I don’t know about you, but I want the ones that lead to blessings and abundance and God’s goodness. We don’t always get entirely good paths. Look at the examples above: Ruth, Bathsheba, Esther, Mary. They buried children or husbands. But, there can be good scattered about our paths that help make up for the bad along the way. Ruth found Boaz, Bathsheba mothered Solomon. Esther rescued the Jewish nation, and Mary witnessed the resurrection of her Lord. There will be good and abundance along our paths if we look to God as our source for everything.

Our prayer life anchors us to God and the plans He has for us regardless of the storms our lives go through. We have a God who cares about us and a Savior who redeems our life’s storms. And we find them waiting for us on the other end of our prayers.

Word/Scripture of the Year

It’s still January and while the year is just beginning, I want to encourage you to sit with the Lord if you haven’t already and ask Him what verse He wants you to focus on this year. Perhaps pick up a devotional or your Bible and thumb through it. Let your mind rest on something. Pick a topic and Google it if you must. Find Scriptures that would help you keep that topic at the forefront of your mind this year. My verse this year is found in Job:

“Your beginning will seem so small, since your future will flourish.” Job 8:7

Find what works for your season or what you’re experiencing right now that needs encouragement, and choose that verse for your Scripture of the Year (SOY).

And then, pick a word. My word this year is Flourish. I want to flourish this year in all my endeavors. It’s what drives me to do better at my attempts than what I’ve done in the past. It’s what gives me the belief I need to sit down and write a blog post every week. I want to flourish in all my pursuits, even my pursuits for my health. I’ve been on a journey for better mental health and overall physical health. That’s flourishing right now, as well.

This Scripture and Word of the Year will be helpful when you go to make your plan for the year.

Putting it all Together

My very own Vision/Prayer Board is posted here for example. It hangs in my office facing my desk so I see it every day. At the top of my board is who I am: Regina Piper Brown, Writer. I want to remind myself every day that this is who God called me to be. I am a writer. It took me years to accept this calling, but now that I have, I won’t back down from it. He called me to it, and I will do it. Ask yourself that same question as you put together your plan: What has God called you to? Who has God made you to be?

Also at the top, my ministry, Faith to Follow. God gave me that ministry and I want to remind myself to be diligent and cultivate it well. Be a great leader and that starts with good plans from God. Ask yourself: What has God put me in charge of? Has God given me a ministry?

Finally, at the top/middle, my Scripture and Word of the Year, to remind me of my focus this year. Ask yourself: What Scripture and word does God want me to focus on this year?

I have envelopes across the board that I use to put my prayer requests inside. I write them down on index cards and put them inside the corresponding envelopes: Praise, Confess, Thanksgiving, Scripture, Petition, Answered, and Daily Prayers which has a different prayer for each day of the week.

The rest of my board is Vision. Pieces of my vision are not all together, and pieces of it are already partially activated, I just want them to come into better focus, so I put them on there for a clearer picture by year’s end. Your board doesn’t have to be this big, or this adventurous. You can make it your own. The point is to sit with God, get a word, get a Scripture, and at least start to dream a vision for your life.

And the first step in making that vision happen, is Prayer. When you pray, you activate all of Heaven align with God’s purpose for your life, and you align your heart with God. That’s how you know what God wants, and that’s how you walk out what God wants you to do with your life.

Forging ahead, making new paths, creating a life God dreamed of when He created you. Don’t think for one minute the God who made something as glorious as an ocean sunrise and mountain sunset didn’t look at you and think that He could make something glorious out of your life, too. He did. He does. He will.

With love and blessings,