What do you “see”? (1)

“Look up…and count the stars…That’s how many descendants you will have!” Genesis 15:5 NLT

Vision is the God-given ability to see the invisible. Without it, “people…stumble all over themselves” (Proverbs 29:18 MSG). When God told Abraham he would be the father of many nations, he and Sarah were old and childless. Naturally speaking, it looked impossible. So God “took Abram outside and said…‘Look up…and count the stars…That’s how many descendants you will have!’” It wasn’t enough to hear what God said, Abraham needed to see it in his mind’s eye. And although the promise wasn’t fulfilled for twenty years, every night when Abraham looked up at the heavens, the stars were a constant reminder of God’s faithfulness. Woodrow Wilson said, “No man that does not see visions will ever realize any high hope or undertake any high enterprise.” To give birth to something, you must first conceive it by seeing it through the eyes of faith and burning the image on the canvas of your mind. Jesus said, “If your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness” (Matthew 6:22-23 NAS). Legend has it, when Michelangelo looked at a chunk of marble the owner told him was worthless, Michelangelo said, “It’s priceless to me. There is an angel locked inside, and I must set it free.” What you “see” will change the direction of your life. Like a thermostat, it dictates how high you rise or how low you fall. And the good news is, no matter how dark things look on the outside, today God can give you a fresh vision and a new future.

Bible in a year: Genesis 46-47