"Where there is no vision, the people perish." Proverbs 29:18a KJV
The King James Version is possibly the only translation that translates it this way, but I strongly believe there is a lot of truth in this phrase. For the past week and a half, I've had almost no focus, no vision for anything beyond getting the next immediate task done that I had to do. After finishing a task, I would fall into wasting my time in front of a screen, be it a TV or a computer, being very efficiently unproductive. I would subsequently feel worse off and try to numb it with more of the same uselessness.
As a result, both my academics and my walk with God have suffered as of late, causing a nasty, self-perpetuating cycle. Although now I understand why this proverb is so true. Where there is no vision, there exists no purpose; where there is no purpose, hope is not to be found. But why?
"Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."¹ When my focus, my vision, my purpose, my hope is so wrapped up in the short term, it passes away with the moment is was invested in. With no hope, there is no purpose to drive my actions. Without purpose, there is no vision for how to fulfill that purpose and obtain that which is hoped for. Without vision, there can exists no focus to accomplish the finite elements of the vision.
So what now? I need to lift my eyes back up to my final goal, to the crown that will last forever,² to Him who is my hope, and will ever be the source thereof. But how do I balance that with all the urgent tasks and commitments I have that demand my attention and energies this instant? I'm still trying to figure it out, and you'll need to figure out what this means for your own life.
(Though I would not be opposed to talking about it with you.)¹Romans 8:24b-25 NIV
²1 Corinthians 9:25 NIV
Comments (7)
Woah, where did all the commenter people go? Lol...
That verse reminds me a whole lot of Psalm 2:3, since people perishing can also be "casting off restraint," in other translations. And so the vision needs to be in God's hands, under His control or else it is empty. Hm, anyways, I tend to have the opposite problem right now, where I have a future goal, but I don't work for it daily. Instead, I, for some silly reason, think if I just wait for my goal, it will happen without doing anything differently. Ha. Yeah. Problem. :) Thanks for the post.
soooo true. I've been having problems with this exact thing this semester. I procrastinate a lot so that causes more problems and stress. I'm trying to change but it's rather difficult.
I am able to do all things through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13
=) you can do anything
Wow! Thanks for this post, I am going through something similar as well in my life, glad to hear that I am not the only one who doesn't have it all figured out as well.
@SUPAHeARt - Idk, they're probably hiding somewhere, or I'm just not updating regularly enough for them!
@IrisLoamsdownofDeephallow - I hope things start getting out better soon!
@kaiayanfds - good verse :)
@beautifullybrokenbutnotdamage - haha I don't think I ever will, at least not fully. It's a learning process...