Vision

I'm not big on devotional booklets. Too many people substitute reading Scripture with some cheesy devotional thought (I hope I didn't offend anyone with that, but be honest, too many "devotions" are just touchy feely cheese.). But we have this one little devotion sitting by the potty that I read every so often and one I read the other day is worth passing on.

"Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled." Habakkuk 2:3 TLB
In the early stages of pregnancy a baby is easier to lose. The same applies to your God-given vision; you need to protect it. The enemy tried to destroy Moses and Jesus before they reached their secon birthday. Why? He feared their future -- and he fears yours too! Furthermore, when a prospective mother is not "showing," she has to go on the word of her physician. Getting the idea? There are certain things you need to do in order to "deliver" what God has promised. When your doctor says, "No smoking, drinking or eating certain foods, etc," he's thinking about your future. "But others can do these things," you say. Yes, but they're not carrying within them what you are. The call to give birth to a vision means daring to be different, even radical: It means disconnecting from relationships that can hurt you, staying out of certain places, and reordering your priorities according to your God-given destiny, not popular consent. If you think fulfilling a vision is easy, check the price tag! Like childbirth, it's hard, it's lonely, it's sleepless, it's appetite-changing, it's schedule-altering. It involves pain and leaves stretch marks. So before you give lip service to, or play around with God's purpose for your life, ask yourself, "Am I ready to carry this thing to full term?" Visions aren't for the immature, the impatient or the faint of heart. And you can't downsize them when things get tough.
Esther's vision meant putting her life on the line and saying, "If I perish, I perish" (Est. 4:16). Did she perish? No, but she had to be willing to. Are you? -The Word for You today March 25.