Write the vision down and make it plain. These were the words from God to the prophet Habakkuk. When we talk about vision, we often think in abracadabra terms. Like the putting it on paper makes a thing so; however, the putting it to paper is only a third of the work. Is it an important part of the work? Yes. But if there is no intention, no breath, no life in the vision, it just becomes a good idea written on paper. Lots of great ideas have been written on paper but they lack the intention that is the laser focus, the unwavering dedication, and commitment to seeing the vision accomplished. Or they lack breath, the constant motion, the inhaling and exhaling of hope, joy and peace.
In order to bring a vision to pass, you will need both the ouch and the hallelujah.
What most don’t realize, and I will admit it has taken me a lot of tears and years to understand is, there is a process to seeing a vision come to fruition. Another word for vision could be the stretching of your patience or the ironing out of the wrinkles in your growing pains. Or simply put, in order to bring a vision to pass you will need both the ouch and the hallelujah. Think about Joseph who had a vision that one day he would be a great leader. He had a vision that the sun, moon and stars bowed down to him. He shared this vision with his brothers, and then the stretching and ironing started. The process looked nothing like what was written on paper, in fact it was the exact opposite. He experienced the ouch. Joseph had every reason to belabor the drastic difference between what was written on paper and what he was experiencing. Imagine Joseph, “Hey, I wrote the sun bowing down to me, not being thrown in a pit.” The truth is what is written on paper is the end result. The hallelujah!
We all fall in love with the end result. When we talk about the vision, often we are talking about the end result, but not the process. The evidence that the vision is alive is that our commitment to the end result doesn’t waver during the process. The ouch. Write the vision down. This is what we are working towards, this is where we hope to end. This is our hallelujah. But, the process to get there will involve some ouches along the way. Are we ok with that? Are we ok with the stretching? Are we ok with the ironing? Are we ok with change? Will we still believe in the hallelujah, while we are experiencing the ouch.
The book of Hebrews states,
No training seems pleasant at the time. In fact, it seems painful. But later on it produces a harvest of godliness and peace. It does this for those who have been trained by it. Another way to put it might be, though the stretching and the ironing out of our wrinkles doesn’t feel good, in the end it will bear a hallelujah. Shalom.
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