Vision in the Valley, Part II

The other thing I learned about vision came from the July 6 devotion from My Utmost for His Highest.

Sometimes, God gives us the vision, promises His protection, and lets us dance on the mountaintop, basking in the joy of knowing He has something big and special for us to do. Oswald wrote, "We always have a vision of something before it actually becomes real to us." 

Aha. That's the kicker. It has to become real. C.S. Lewis illustrated the journey to Christ as a walk down a mountain. You can stand at the top of the mountain and see your destination... that sweet little cottage that has a fresh cup of tea waiting for you. It feels so close. But, in order to get there, you have to hike down the mountain, out of sight of the house. So far out of sight, it may seem impossible that you will ever find it again. When your eye is on the prize, any task seems doable. As soon as the dark trees cover the view and your bug spray starts wearing off, it's like WHAT THE ACTUAL HECK IS HAPPENING.

I'll tell ya what's happening. You're on the right track.

In order for the vision to become reality, "God takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of that vision." (Thanks, Oswald.) He will reveal the vision, the promise of what is coming, then He says, "Okay, kid, let's get ready for it." And forward we walk. But Satan is quick to jump in with temptation. Fear, discouragement, lies. Suddenly, the vision disappears and we feel abandoned. What happened to the vision?! WHEN DID THIS FOREST GET SO SCARY. In the moment, the time spent coming down the mountain feels endless. The goal is nowhere to be seen. Honestly, you forgot what you were moving towards in the first place.  

Have you ever been in that spot? Did you see the vision, only to have it disappear behind a bend in the road? It is a terrifying place to be. It's hard, and uncomfortable, and exhausting. But, "Every God-given vision will become real if we will only have the patience...ever since God gave us the vision, He has been at work." I will be the first one to tell you patience is one of my biggest struggles. I want the problem fixed yesterday. I want the circumstances to change immediately. I like to take the reins and make stuff happen. But good things? Those take time. And God? God's got all the time in the world. He's not hurrying. He is taking His time to make sure I am in shape for the goal. There is literally nothing I can do to speed up the process. And that is okay. The process doesn't need speeding up. The process is what it is, and walking (trudging, slogging, stumbling... you pick) through it is precisely what God has in mind. The only way to get from point A to point B is to make the journey, however long it takes. No rushing. Hard as it is, there is great peace in that reality. It means I don't have to make things happen. What will be, will be. I only have to trust the vision, and press on.

I think the most important truth to hang on to is that the valley is a place we are brought. God takes us down on purpose, in order to bring us back up infinitely better prepared for Kingdom work. It doesn't make sense, but there it is. I don't think we ever recognize the valley as part of the plan until we come out on the other side. Or maybe we recognize it when we take our eyes off the ground and look up. Ah, that's it. There is joy in the valley if we look heavenward, and choose to see Jesus. A dear friend sent me this prayer, from a collection of Puritan prayers called "The Valley of Vision".  

Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,

where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights; 

hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, 

that to be low is to be high, 

that the broken heart is the healed heart, 

that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, 

that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, 

that to have nothing is to possess all, 

that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, 

that the valley is the place of vision.

Vision in the Valley, Part I

When I was in college, I found my grandpa's daily devotional book. It was My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers. Each dated page has a short verse, and a few paragraphs of reflection (sometimes rebuke), and wisdom. I know he's not God, but Oswald knows what's up. I bought myself a copy of My Utmost, and have been using it on and off for about six years. It's interesting (and hilarious, perfect, etc.) how timely certain entries have been. I can forget to read for a week, then pick it up and BAM, my world is rocked by some soul-revealing truth. The Lord works in mysterious ways, am I right?

For the past week or so, Oswald's theme has been about vision. Or, more accurately, what to do when God gives us a vision, and we lose sight of it when the waves start rolling. To say that theme is applicable to my heart is an understatement. So, here is my unpacking of Oswald, Jesus, and vision, part one.

On June 27, Oswald's verse of choice was from Jeremiah. "'...I am with you to deliver you,' says the Lord." 

Jeremiah 1 is the story of Jeremiah's calling. God says, "Hey, dude, it's Me. It's time to do what I made you to do." 

Okay, first off, that is huge. Huge. I am reminded of the scene in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, when Aslan crowns the four Pevensie kids kings and queens of Narnia. They were clueless, ill-prepared and afraid. They were children. But Aslan made them royalty, and prepared them to fulfill their roles. He bestowed upon them dignity, power, and identity, even though they didn't deserve it or earn it. God works the same way, I think. He delights in using us, though we are broken people. He has a vision specific to you, and He shares it with you and promises to prepare you for it.

Initially, Jeremiah's all like, "Umm, I can't do all that. It sounds hard and I'm scared. Everyone will be mean to me."

Because humans get scared real quick. We see the vision, or part of the vision, and we're like UM NO THANK YOU I CAN'T EVEN. Maybe because we imagine trying to handle it in our own strength. I've noticed that more often than not, God's plan for a person's life is far grander than anything they would have concocted alone. Not grand in the sense of pearls and velvet and fame. But He knows that, by His power, we are capable of more than we think.

God responds to Jeremiah, "I will protect you. Do what I'm asking of you, and I will protect you. Don't worry about defending yourself, protecting yourself, or seeking justice for yourself. Just carry on in what I tell you to do, and I will handle the rest." 

I am a huge proponent of seeking justice. I do it selfishly all the time. If I feel I have been wronged, I have the hardest (hhhaaarrrdddeeessst) time letting it go. On the outside, that seems totally normal, even okay. Of course I'm allowed to be mad at the man who broke my heart. Of course I can be frustrated by a friend who has treated me poorly. There is every kind of justification in the world for holding on to hurt feelings. It's righteous anger, right? It's okay to be mad at a situation that is bad. 

But... "I am with you to deliver you." 

Wait. What? You mean it's not up to me to seek justice? It's not my job to fight for myself? Nope. Nope it's not.  Oswald wrote, "Wherever God sends us, He will guard our lives...looking for justice is actually a sign that we have been diverted from our devotion to Him." Y'all. That right there is the BIGGEST relief. Know what it means? It means I don't have to hold on to grudges in an attempt to rectify injustice. If a situation needs to be dealt with, God will make it happen. He is in the ring for me; I don't have to fight my own battles. I can focus on the vision. If I follow the Lord, and listen for His voice, and carry on in the work He has put before me, He will handle the hard stuff.

It's maybe the most freeing lesson I've ever learned. If God is fighting for me, two things become true:

1) There's no way I'm going to lose. If God is for me, who (seriously who?!) can be against me? Courage comes from the bone-deep knowledge that, ultimately, God wins. And if He wins, I win.

2) I can focus outward, and quit worrying about myself so much. Self-pity and self-seeking justice are unnecessary in light of God's promise to deliver. There is freedom to get out there and try, freedom to fail, and freedom to love big. There is freedom to forgive, too.

When God reveals the vision, step one is to agree to follow Him. To give up the need for control, and wholeheartedly walk into whatever He asks. The great thing is, we don't have to walk forward without the assurance that He is walking with us. 

"I am with you to deliver you."