'VISIONLESSNESS'
'Where there is no vision, the people perish...' (Proverbs 29:18 KJV)
The great American inventor, Thomas Edison, was an unrepentant visionary. When his mother's life-saving surgery had to be postponed in a dark theater till there was daylight, he started thinking of how incandescent light could be provided indoors. It is reported that young Thomas made ninety-nine failed attempts in his laboratory to generate light but refused to give up. It was his hundredth effort that succeded in producing light and that was the beginning of incandescent light in our world.
I attended Sunday service in one of our churches and I listened to the message in which the young preacher emphasized what he called 'visionlessness'. While one could query the authenticity of this word in proper English usage, the message delivered was quite motivating, but it left me thinking beyond motivation. 'Visionlessness' could be lack of vision, true, but it could also mean having vision and lacking the passion to drive home the vision or dream. Either way, all it births is failure at the end of the day. A song writer says when dreams are brought to your doorstep and you do not welcome them, they just lie there and die there. This is why the saying goes that the graveyard is the richest place to find unfulfilled visions and dreams! In the bible, Caleb was sent on an espionage mission with eleven others. What they met frightened the daylights out of them; they saw mountains and giants but notwithstanding, Caleb and Joshua saw different. Caleb might have dreamt then of an opportunity to own a portion of a piece of the land flowing with milk and honey, while Joshua probably saw himself leading the people to possess the same land as a nation. The bible tells that these two tore their clothes and said, "If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ " (Num.14:8). But the men who had gone up with them said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” (Num.13:31). What a visionless lot! They could not see beyond their fears. They were myopic, not able to envision the future. Most of them did not make it to the promised land but Joshua and Caleb not only made it they also fulfilled their dreams. Same with Joseph and his brothers. While Joseph flaunted his dream of a great future in his brothers' faces, all they dreamt of was how to pluck out the dream or vision from his eyes rather than have their own dreams. At the end, all of them ate crumbs from under Joseph's table as prime minister in Egypt.
Visionaries impact their world. They hear from God His plan and purpose for their lives and, not only do they run with it, they also passionately follow it through. This is the way men and women with God-given visions have changed the world, like Thomas Edison who gave the world a staggering 103 inventions. God uses those who are willing to follow His vision to impact His creation. Like one lawn tennis coach said, "The reason many of us fail to deliver good shots is because we do not follow our shots through"! Friends, ask God for your own vision and then develop the passion to follow it through.
olusegunisaac2018@gmail.com
The great American inventor, Thomas Edison, was an unrepentant visionary. When his mother's life-saving surgery had to be postponed in a dark theater till there was daylight, he started thinking of how incandescent light could be provided indoors. It is reported that young Thomas made ninety-nine failed attempts in his laboratory to generate light but refused to give up. It was his hundredth effort that succeded in producing light and that was the beginning of incandescent light in our world.
I attended Sunday service in one of our churches and I listened to the message in which the young preacher emphasized what he called 'visionlessness'. While one could query the authenticity of this word in proper English usage, the message delivered was quite motivating, but it left me thinking beyond motivation. 'Visionlessness' could be lack of vision, true, but it could also mean having vision and lacking the passion to drive home the vision or dream. Either way, all it births is failure at the end of the day. A song writer says when dreams are brought to your doorstep and you do not welcome them, they just lie there and die there. This is why the saying goes that the graveyard is the richest place to find unfulfilled visions and dreams! In the bible, Caleb was sent on an espionage mission with eleven others. What they met frightened the daylights out of them; they saw mountains and giants but notwithstanding, Caleb and Joshua saw different. Caleb might have dreamt then of an opportunity to own a portion of a piece of the land flowing with milk and honey, while Joshua probably saw himself leading the people to possess the same land as a nation. The bible tells that these two tore their clothes and said, "If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ " (Num.14:8). But the men who had gone up with them said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” (Num.13:31). What a visionless lot! They could not see beyond their fears. They were myopic, not able to envision the future. Most of them did not make it to the promised land but Joshua and Caleb not only made it they also fulfilled their dreams. Same with Joseph and his brothers. While Joseph flaunted his dream of a great future in his brothers' faces, all they dreamt of was how to pluck out the dream or vision from his eyes rather than have their own dreams. At the end, all of them ate crumbs from under Joseph's table as prime minister in Egypt.
Visionaries impact their world. They hear from God His plan and purpose for their lives and, not only do they run with it, they also passionately follow it through. This is the way men and women with God-given visions have changed the world, like Thomas Edison who gave the world a staggering 103 inventions. God uses those who are willing to follow His vision to impact His creation. Like one lawn tennis coach said, "The reason many of us fail to deliver good shots is because we do not follow our shots through"! Friends, ask God for your own vision and then develop the passion to follow it through.
olusegunisaac2018@gmail.com
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