VISION – PICTURE OF PURPOSE

“And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, OPEN HIS EYES that he may SEE.” Then the Lord opened the EYES of the young man, and he SAW…” – 2 Kings 6:17a

In order to perfect Purpose, God releases VISION – PICTURE of PURPOSE to His people: “And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, OPEN HIS EYES that he may SEE. Then the Lord opened the EYES of the young man, and he SAW. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2Kgs.6:17a). In response to his prayer, God gave Elisha divine VISION – a picture with a purpose. The purpose was to inspire faith and courage in him. Elisha’s servant, who had not seen the vision, was afraid, uncertain and frightened, until Elisha prayed: “Lord, I pray, open his eyes, that he may see.” The young man was not physically blind, but in that instance, like a veil uncovered from his spiritual eyes, he saw with vibrant vividness, the vast visitation of the heavenly host. Fear took flight. Faith was birthed. The vision had come alive!

Although God released this vision to Elisha to accomplish a specific purpose in a moment of time, it is His pattern to grant lifetime visions to whoever desires and believes Him. Vision is the seeing of a sight, and God often reveals His Mind and Will through picture language. He wants to unveil the reason for your being – your Purpose – through pictures in your spirit. Divine visions therefore involve seeing pictures in the spirit realm. A picture must be seen for vision to be real. Pictures can be either purposeful or purposeless. A divine vision is a purposeful vision; it is a divine picture with a positive purpose.

God has given redeemed humanity the spiritual ability to ‘see’ – to perceive – the fullest possibilities in Him: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ASK or THINK, according to the power that works in us” (Eph. 3:20). By this Power of Perception, we are able to “create our own world” and impact our spheres of influence for His Glory. God has empowered us to see things with our spiritual eyes long before they manifest in actuality.

Many definitions of VISION have been propounded by accomplished and respected servants of God, but they all have a common thread around them. Here are some profound definitions of Vision that I have cherished over the years:

A Vision is a clear PICTURE of what the leader sees his group being or doing... (Dr. John Haggai in Lead On).

A Vision is a long term PICTURE of what your business, organization or association can become (Dr. Anthony D’Souza).

Vision is INSIGHT into GOD’s PLAN for you...the unfolding of a divine plan as it relates to a nation, a group of people or an individual (Dr. David O. Oyedepo in Understanding Vision).

Vision is the FLASH of DIVINE LIGHT to the mind of the human spirit by the Holy Spirit...which has to do with God’s will, with something that God wants done or a situation about which God wants something done (Zacharias T. Fomum in Vision, Burden, Action).

Vision is a clear and precise mental PORTRAIT of a PREFERRED FUTURE, imparted by God to His chosen servants, based on an accurate understanding of God, self and circumstances (George Barna in Turning Vision into Action).

Vision is a clear mental PICTURE of a better tomorrow, given by God, which moves a person to believe that it not only could be done, but it should be done (John Maxwell in Million Leaders Mandate).

All of these definitions carry the notions of both PICTURE and PURPOSE. They speak of picture, insight, light and portrait. Conclusively therefore: Divine Vision is Divine Picture PLUS Positive Purpose. Vision is however MORE THAN a MENTAL PICTURE. From a biblical perspective, Vision is fundamentally spiritual: the spiritual dimension of vision is superior to its mental dimension. Matthew Ashimolowo wrote in Take a Giant Leap: “Eyes that look are many; eyes that see are few!” May the Lord grant us eyes that SEE – spiritual and mental eyes that see clear PICTURES of PURPOSE, in Jesus name!