‘‘I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.’’ Acts 26:19
When God gives you a vision:
(1) It will interrupt you. Sometimes God will speak in a voice you can’t tune out. Other times, like Jonah, God will let you go to the bottom to get your attention. Either way, things won’t go right until you say yes to Him.
(2) It will illuminate you. You may not like what God says. Ananias didn’t like going to pray for Saul of Tarsus, a man with the power to put Christians to death. But God said, ‘Go, for he is a chosen vessel…I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake’ (Acts 9:15-16). Notice the word ‘suffer’. The devil isn’t going to send you a congratulatory telegram because you have decided to do God’s will, so be prepared for attack.
(3) It will inspire you. You will accomplish things you never dreamed possible. Look at Gideon. When God found him he was hiding in a winepress (see Judges 6:11); not exactly a promising start. When the angel called him ‘a mighty man of valour’ (v. 12 ), he replied, ‘I am the least in my father’s house’ (v. 15). When the angel said, ‘The Lord is with you,’ he replied, ‘If the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us?’ (vv. 12-13). When he finally took the job, he wondered, ‘How can so few of us defeat so many of them?’ Yet at that very moment his enemies were having nightmares about him (see Judges 7:13-15). The secret of victory lies in knowing: ‘It is God working in me’ (see Philippians 2:13).
