Acts 10:10-11 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.
Vision changes our innate character, virtues and values. Jacob set out to his uncle’s house in Paddan Aram (which is located in modern day Iraq). At dusk when darkness fell in the desert there were no motels for him to check-in; he took a stone, put it under his head and fell asleep. He had a dream while he slept on the hard rock and the vision became the GPS of his life. He saw a stairway resting on the earth reaching up to heaven and angels ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying (Genesis 28:13). The vision made it very clear to Jacob that God was only giving him a ‘work permit’ to work at Paddan Aram and not a ‘permanent residency’. He was leaving home only to a temporary haven and that the Lord God will bring him back to his homeland. God did not give him a vision because he was perfect in all his ways. Jacob’s innate nature was still crooked and crafty; but God gave him a vision to perfect his ways. Visions are given to carry us from our imperfection into God’s perfect destination.
God didn’t see Jacob as a crook but saw him as a champion even when he was fleeing from his home to escape his brother’s wrath. The vision that Jacob received perfected his ways.
Virtues, Values & Visions:
1. Grind: Jacob’s temporary asylum was his grind. Working for his uncle was the boot camp where the Lord renovated and reshaped his virtues and values. The Lord made Jacob taste his own medicine! His uncle was craftier than Jacob which reformed Jacob from a ‘cheat’ and a ‘devious fraud’ to a ‘diligent sincere hard worker’. There would be grinds that we go through while pursuing our vision. A bossy boss, a difficult co-worker or a betraying relationship might be our grind to get us to our destiny.
2. Guide: Jacob’s guide was God’s word. Jacob was offered an extension of his work permit after working for his uncle for about 20 years but he declined it as he knew that his time had come to return back to his Promised Land. Let God’s Word be your guide.
3. GPS: The vision became the GPS of his life. Let the still small voice of the Lord be the navigator of your life.
Follow your God-given vision and He will transform your virtues and reform our values.
Genesis 31:13 “I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.’”
Prayer: Father in Heaven, refine my virtues and reform my values to build my life on the vision and the passion that you have instilled in my heart. Amen.
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