06/10/2025
This Sunday Sts. Peter and Paul Serbian Eastern Orthodox Church, we complete our journey through the Book of Proverbs with two main topics: "Without a Vision, the People Perish" (29:14), and the "Proverbs 31 Woman".
What is the vision God has given to you? What has Almighty God ignited inside of you for the Kingdom of God, for your life, for your family, and your function in the church?
People drift off into a world of distraction when they lack purpose and a sense of mission. There are many activities available for people today, so many worldly distractions. There are so many things we can enjoy in the generation of distractions that little work is done for the Church and God’s Kingdom.
A simple solution to the dilemma of distraction, and an essential ingredient to a life spent well is to find your passion – your reason for being on the earth. Each one of us needs to hear from God and get a passion for something that gives us a reason to get out of bed in the morning. When we give ourselves to our passion we are less likely to be distracted by the non-essentials of life,
What does it mean to have a passion or a vision from God and how do we get it? There is a reason why God’s people have visions that burn within them - Paul said in Romans, “...The God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.” (Rom 4:17). God wants to give you a vision for your life, your family, and your part in this church. Do you have goals for your marriage? For raising your children? For running your business? The power of focus is like a magnifying glass; it focusses energy into a single point of passion. Paul likened the Christian life to running a race, and having our eyes steadfastly fixed on the goal of winning the prize. There is power in a focused life. “He who focusses the most, wins.”
Many believers drift from their purpose and calling when they get distracted by worldly pleasures. The Bible says, “Narrow is the path that leads to life, and few there be that find it.” In other words, on the highway of life, many believers get distracted off the main road, and fail to enter into “life,” as God fully intended them to. The roadside is where all the rubbish in life collects. What a shame to leave the highway of God’s purpose for your life, to spend time being distracted by all the left-over rubbish! Without a vision, people perish on the wayside of life.
How do we get a vision from God? We need to humble ourselves before God and labor in prayer until we hear Him speak to our hearts. You will sense yourself becoming consumed with a burning passion to become more than you are, to do more than you have ever done for the Church, and to do it with excellence instead of mediocrity, and to never be distracted by your detractors.
Once God gives us a vision we must never turn back from what He has placed in our spirit and heart. Never stop pursuing the vision! Never let anyone tell you, “It can’t be done.” Automobile genius Henry Ford once came up with a revolutionary plan for a new kind of engine. We know it today as the V-8. Ford was eager to get his new idea into production. He had some of his men draw up plans and presented them to the engineers. As the engineers studied the drawings, one by one they came to the same conclusion. Their visionary boss just didn’t know much about the fundamental principles of engineering. He’d have to be told gently – his dream was impossible. When told, Henry Ford said, “Produce it anyway.” They said, “But it is impossible.” Ford said, “Go ahead, and stay on the job until you succeed, no matter how much time is required.” For six months they struggled with drawing after drawing, design after design. Another six months. Nothing. At the end of the year Ford checked with his engineers, and once again they told him that what he wanted was impossible. Ford told them to keep going. They did. And they discovered how to build a V-8 engine!
We must never let people detract or discourage us and we must also continue to listen to the Lord for His guidance and direction as we move forward. What is the vision God has given to you? What is it that Almighty God has ignited inside of you for the Kingdom of God, for your life, for your family, or for your function in the church?
