Enlarge Your Vision

Are you tired, dissatisfied, or bored with your life? Do you wonder, “Is this all there is?” God did not create you for mediocrity. You are not an average. Your life is not meaningless. If you want to enjoy and experience God’s best, then you have to enlarge your vision. 

Limited thinking will result in a limited life. A friend recently asked me, “Sandy, what is your motivation for success in life?” I replied, “Hunger and a desire to impact the world with the gospel.” As I align my thoughts with God’s, it shapes my vision. You too can change your future by changing the thoughts that are playing in your mind. Your vision is your most valuable asset. 

Abraham was living in a tent when God told him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are… for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever” (Genesis 13:14-15). You may be in a limited environment right now, but do not let that limited mindset get in you. You may be surrounded by poverty, mediocrity, sickness, or an addiction. That may be where you are but that is not who you are. You were created for greatness and meant to leave your mark on this planet. 

I heard about a sixth grader who was tasked to write down what he wanted to be when he grew up. The young boy wrote that he wanted to make people laugh on the television. When the teacher saw his answer, she asked, “Does anyone in your family work in television?” The boy replied, “No, ma’am.” The teacher told him, “You need to write something more realistic.” 

The young boy was very disheartened. He went home and told his dad what had happened at school. His dad put the paper on the top drawer in his room. He told his son, “Before you go to school and before you go to bed each day, look at this paper and thank God that you will be on television one day. The boy did just that. Today, you can find Funny Man Steve Harvey on TV making people laugh, seven days a week. 

Friend, people may try to belittle or discredit you. Your loved ones mean well but God did not put the vision in them. That is why they do not understand the big dreams that God has placed in you. Do not be discouraged! People did not breathe life into you. Your critics did not call you to do great things. God did! Just because someone does not believe in your dream does not mean it is not going to happen. What God promised will come to pass. Write down what He has said and thank Him for it in advance. That is called faith. Whatever you can see with your eyes of faith, you can hold in your hand. 

Sometimes we limit our own thinking. If you put a lid on your potential, it will dwarf possibilities. I encourage you to stretch yourself. Think bigger. When we embrace the vision God has for us, we can make a big difference in the world. 

This is what happened to a man named Gideon. God told him to lead His people against the opposing army. An angel appeared to Gideon and said, “You are a mighty man of fearless courage!” But Gideon was confused. He answered, “I am the least in my family and my tribe in the weakest.” He started to make excuses. Does that sound familiar? How often has God put a dream in our heart, and we try to reason it away? Jesus said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God”. 

God did not call Gideon who he thought he was. God saw his potential. He told him what he could become. Gideon felt weak, insecure, and intimidated but God called him a mighty man of courage. He went on to defeat his enemies. Friend, God wants to do some extraordinary things in and through your life. Like Abraham, whatever you can see, God will give it to you. He wants to save your whole family. You can beat that illness. You are going to give birth to that child that you have been praying for. You will get the contract that you were hoping for. You can live free from debt, depression, and addiction. He wants you to start that house church. You can build that orphanage. Enlarge your vision. You are not who people say you are. You are who God says you are—a child of the Most High King! God has a wide-open and specious life for you. Think big! Pray bold prayers! Expect more! God will take you places that you have never imagined! 

“I can’t tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn’t fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. I’m speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively” (2 Corinthians 6:11-13 MSG). 

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