A New Vision for Your Life

Consciously or subconsciously, most of us have an idea in our minds of who we are and what we're here on earth for. We are spouses, parents, teachers, car mechanics, nurses, engineers. We have an idea of who we are and what we do. If we're Christians, we know that what we do on earth matters in heaven--so the "vision" we have for our lives has its genesis in who God wants us to be--for His purposes and His glory.Now, what if you're going merrily along in your life, and all of the sudden, what you thought your purpose was is altered, changed, or entirely removed? What then?How do you go from what used to be to---what's next?In the Bible, many people were called to new visions for their lives:1. Moses was called from being a shepherd to lead the nation Israel out of Egypt.2. David was also called from shepherding to being Israel's king.3. Esther was called from being a peasant girl to being Queen.4. Paul was called from being a well-respected Pharisee, to a leader in the early Christian church who was regularly beaten, threatened, shipwrecked and ultimately martyred for his faith in Jesus.In each of these examples, people went from lives of relatively safe obscurity, to lives of sacrifice, discomfort and risk. Their visions were bigger than comfort, security and well-being. Their visions were larger than life itself, because they worshipped the Maker of their visions more than they valued their own agenda--and their lives.What about you? Has life as you thought it would be suddenly changed? How can you invite God to show you His new vision for your life? Think about how God changed the visions of Elisabeth Elliott, Joni Eareckson Tada, and Chuck Colson. Widowhood, disability, and prison were the dark roads to the new vision God had for these contemporary heroes of the faith.Even in the face of death, God can use your life to point others to Him. For what you think is the end may actually be the hour of your most fruitful ministry. Because if we truly believe that death is swallowed up in victory, then when we face death, we can use the time left to faithfully share with others what our hope really is. And that is the vision that we all should have--no matter what our life circumstances.It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. Philippians 1:20