Vision Lists & God’s Plan: How to Dream Big Without Losing Focus

Transcript

Welcome to the podcast. Today, I wanna quickly talk to you about something that's widely taught as a must do for any person that's looking to improve in their life. In fact, I'd say that nearly every motivational speaker or self-help teacher and many, many pastors, including mine, would teach that this is a must do if you want to keep growing and improving.

And while I totally agree with the practice of what's being taught, I do think that we need to be aware of some potential issues that can arise if we don't stay in the middle of the road here. You know, you can easily get in a ditch on either side of the road, and we want to make sure we're staying in the place that's going to help us reach our destination. Amen.

Let's talk about the practice of making a vision list. How many of you have heard about the importance of making a vision list? Now, let me just take a minute to describe what a vision list is for those of you who may not know.

A vision list is something that you write, you create for yourself, and you write down a list of all the things that you want to see come to pass in your life. It's a list of the goals that you want to accomplish. It can be a list of the things that you would like to have or own, or the things that you would like to do.

It may be a list of places that you'd like to go or relationships that you would like to have. You know, if you're single, you might have a spouse on your vision list. Or if you're currently renting a house, you may want to own your own home, so you would put home ownership on your vision list.

Does that make sense? And let me be clear here. I think every single one of you should have your own vision list.

I have one. As a matter of fact, I was working on my vision list this morning, going over it. I do believe it's important for you to sit down and get quiet and to take the time to dream and write down the goals and the aspirations that you have in your heart for this phase of your journey.

because a vision, a vision list can inspire hope in you. A vision list can give you a direction to start moving towards and it can be a great tool to help keep you focused and help keep you inspired. And I'm 100% convinced that you should make one.

There's just something that happens when you take the time to write down your vision. Even in the Bible, there's a verse that says, write the vision and make it plain, make it clear because without vision, the people will perish. God's word tells us that it's important for us to have clear vision.

And when you take time to seek the Lord about your vision, it becomes even more powerful. Now, not everything on your list has to be a life-changing goal or a life-changing revelation. I believe you can put things on your list that are there just for fun, and things that you want to have or things that you want to do.

You may want a new flat-screen TV to watch football on, and you put that on your list. You may have a certain golf course you want to play, so you write that on your vision list. And we don't have to spend hours and hours or days and days talking to the Lord about whether or not it's okay for us to put that on there.

But there will be some goals, there will be some dreams that you put on your list that it's vitally important that you spend some time talking to the Lord about it. In everybody's list, it's going to look different. You're going to have dreams and goals that are God-given ideas for you, and they're going to be different from mine, and that's good.

Your list and your goals, they're going to be unique to you and your calling. And again, I want to encourage you to make a vision list as soon as you possibly can. But let me point out a few things that I think can lead to some problems if you get out of balance, and I've done this.

That's how I can know to talk to you about it, because I've done every one of these. The first one is this. If you aren't careful, your list of goals and dreams can actually make you feel discontent or depressed about where you're currently at.

A vision list can motivate you, and it can encourage you to keep going forward in the things of God for your life, but it can also become overwhelming and discouraging if you don't view it with the right perspective. This list isn't meant to make you feel like a loser. It's meant to help spur you on and give you a prize to focus on.

And the truth is, no matter how far you've traveled, no matter how much you've grown, you should always be looking at a vision for the future. You're not going to outgrow vision. You're not going to outgrow having goals in life.

But again, your perspective is key here. It's key. And ask me how I know, because I've done the very thing that I'm warning you against.

There have been lists that I've made that have just discouraged me. because I hadn't taken the time to develop my faith enough to really believe for what I was putting on my list. I couldn't see how it was possible for me to get from where I was at to where I had in my heart to go.

Now, I think it's good for you to put things on your list that you can't accomplish in your own strength. It takes God's power, His hand to help accomplish those things. You should have that on your list.

But it's important for you to be aware that that's what those things are. They're outside of your own ability and your own strength during this season. And as long as you know that and you can handle it right, it's good to have big dreams on there.

But perspective is key. And that leads me to the second thing I want you to be aware of when making a vision list. The second thing that can cause a problem with a vision list is if you don't know and understand that the list will change.

That list will change and it will progress as you grow in your relationship with God. If you think you're just going to make one list and that list is never going to change, you're going to miss God's best during certain seasons of your life. Your vision will change from one season to another.

You know, when you first start out, your vision list will be made up of things that will be different than your list after you've been walking with the Lord for 15 or 20 or 30 years. You will progress along your journey and things are going to change. Callings will change.

Places and seasons will change. And we talked about that in episode two. So just be aware that it's OK to adapt that list and to change it as you go and change it as you grow.

And the third concern that I have with a vision list is the possibility of making the list more important than anything else. Even your relationship with God. And again, I have done this.

That's why I can encourage you not to do it. Your list, it can actually become an idol to you. The goals that you put on that list can easily become the most important thing to you if you're not careful.

Let me give you an example of this. For years, the number one thing on my vision list would be something involving me being in full-time ministry. That was number one on my vision list to be in full-time ministry of some kind.

And in the natural, that seems good, right? What a great and godly goal to have. But about a year ago, the Holy Spirit showed me that I had actually made the goal of being in ministry an idol.

Reaching my goal had become way more important to me than anything else, including my relationship with God. So this is just something we have to be aware of. Your list is not your purpose.

Your relationship with God and growing in that relationship is your purpose, like we talked about in episode one. But all that being said, a vision list can be a God-breathed and a Holy Spirit-inspired endeavor. A God-given vision list can help set your life on the path that God's preparing for you.

God-given vision, it'll inspire hope and excitement as you take steps of faith to see your dreams and your goals come to pass. Now, as we start to wrap this up today, I want to give you an exercise that I believe will help keep you in the middle of the road where your vision list is concerned. You know, practicing this exercise from time to time, it's going to help keep you balanced, and it'll help you to not lose focus as you move forward towards your dreams.

And here's the exercise. I want you to get yourself a piece of paper or a notebook and go find your cozy spot, whatever that is, whatever that looks like. For me, that means I'm curling up on my couch in a nice soft blanket.

I'm turning on some soft piano jazz. I'm going to have a fireplace screensaver of some kind on the TV. I'm going to have me a nice cup of good, strong coffee.

That's my cozy spot. Now for you, it may be out in the woods. It may be sitting on your back porch.

You know, wherever it is, find it with your notebook and your pen. And what I want you to do is I want you to make a gratitude list. I want you to just start writing down everything that you can think of that you're thankful for.

I'm talking details now. Don't just say, I'm thankful for my house. Write down the details.

What about your house are you thankful for? What about your house do you like? I was working on my gratitude list this morning, and I was writing things like my storage shed.

I'm thankful for utilities. I'm thankful that I've got hot water to take a shower. I'm thankful that I've got clean cold water to drink.

I'm thankful that we've got a good furnace and air conditioner that blow hot heat and cold air in the summer. Get specific. What are you thankful for?

And as you write this list, what's going to happen is you will feel something good starting to take place in your spirit. When you take the time to thank God for all of his blessings, it will help keep you in a healthy place, and it will actually feed your spirit. In episode 4, our last episode, I quoted Colossians 3.15 when we were talking about letting the peace of God be our umpire in life.

In the end of that verse said to be thankful always. Remember that? Being thankful to God is a biblical command, and it will lead to great benefits for you.

And as I record this podcast, we are just days away from the Thanksgiving holiday, and I can't think of any better time than right now for you to make your gratitude list. And I'm asking you, friend, I'm pleading with you to take this serious and to do it. Make it a priority for you.

And I also want to encourage you to make your vision list. It's time for you to get focused on your future and make your vision list for the season of life that you're in and where you want to go and where you feel like God wants to lead you. And it's also time to take time to thank God for the grace that he's shown you and how he's helped you to get where you're at right now.

Amen. Let's pray. Father, right now, I pray over every person listening to this podcast.

And I ask that you would help encourage them to make this gratitude list. As they do, Lord, as they take time to thank you for all your blessings, I think you will be right there with them. They'll sense your peace.

They'll sense your grace and your mercy. And your love for them. And, Father, I also ask that you would encourage them and spur them on to make their vision list.

And as they do that, I ask that you would give them Holy Spirit-inspired ideas. Things to believe for that you would bless. Lord, and also put some fun things on there.

Just some places they'd like to go, some things they'd like to do, some relationships they might want to have, goals that they have personally, and in their relationship with you. Father, I pray that the Holy Spirit would anoint them to make this vision list. But that it would be done in a healthy way.

Lord, help us to stay focused. Help us to be aware that this list is not to be more important than you. Help us to be aware that this list shouldn't discourage us.

It should encourage us and motivate us to keep going. You're with us right where we are. You love us right where we're at.

But you want to keep leading us into the greater things. And to do that, we've got to set some goals. We've got to get a clear vision.

Your word tells us that without vision, the people perish. We do not want to perish outside of your greater things for us. So I ask that you would help us to keep focused on that and keep it in balance.

And help us to understand that our vision list can change. Help us to be adaptable. Help us to be willing to be led step by step, wherever you take us, call by call.

Lord, that we would be flexible, that we don't get so set on our vision list, that we're not willing to adapt, we're not willing to make adjustments. Father, we need to be led by you, each and every step of the way. And as we do this, we will bring honor and glory to your name.

We're so thankful. We're thankful for the blood of Jesus. Lord, thank you that we don't have to pay the price for our own rebellion and our mistakes.

Thank you that Jesus took all those stripes for us. He shed his blood for us. Thank you, Lord, for doing that.

Thank you for being our high priest, interceding for us with the Father, pleading for us with the Father. Lord, thank you for that. Thank you.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. I'll talk to you soon, but until next time, be blessed.

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