Why is this important to me? Why should I keep listening to this message?
God wants you to know what He wants you to do. He wants to be involved in the decision making process. It’s not the big decisions that get us into trouble allot of time, it’s the small decisions that not only get us into trouble, but also determine the direction of our life.
God will direct and guide you in your life by giving you a big picture vision for your life. God has a picture of what He wants to see happen in your life, your dating, your marriage, your finances and all areas of your life.
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Video Highlights
Here are some highlights from Discovering God’s Will by Andy Stanley:
Lord, what is the big picture for my marriage? God what do you want to see down the road in terms of my relationship with my children? Give me a vision for what you want to see happen to me professionally. Give me a vision of where you think I need to be financially, and as you begin to ask that question, and as you begin to draw on the resources that you already have you will begin to bring into focus a mental picture of what could be, and you will believe should be in each of these areas of your life and here’s what happens. The vision gets clearer and the options get fewer and the decision gets easier and that’s how it works. A vision is the big picture and its destination is where things are going to end up.
At 8:19 Andy continues on the vision of marriage:
As you define what marriage could be, and what should it be, you begin to define and describe that so it gives you a clearer vision of what marriage could be and should be for you and it automatically eliminates allot of potential people from your life.
What could be and should be for us as a family financially. What could be and should be in terms of how we give and how we save and how we prepare for the future and the clearer the financial vision comes into focus the fewer options there are.
At 20:12 Andy teaches on Nehemiah Chapter 6:
As Nehemiah said in chapter 6, “I am doing a great work right here and I cannot come down”. Anything that would distract him from rebuilding the wall was not going to distract him. This guy, Nehemiah, clearly know what God had called him to do, rebuild the wall. Anything that contributed to rebuilding the wall was a yes and anything that would distract him from rebuilding the wall was a no. Decision-making was very easy for Nehemiah because once he had the big picture of what God ultimately wanted to have happen all the options prioritized themselves. There were very few options so it was easy to decide, the message was simple, “I’m doing a great work and I cannot come down”.
Three quick points of application. Number one is would you be willing to at least being praying that God would give you a vision for your life and the key areas? Just ask Him to help you see your finances in three to five years the way You’d like for them to be. Give me a picture of what You would like to see my marriage or my relationship with my kids 35 years from now. Secondly, write it down as a sentence or paragraph. Over time and years it will change and God will shape it and conform it. He shares at 32:58 in the sermon the third thing is to act accordingly, you begin making decisions based on what you could be and should be in your future and anything that moves you towards what it is that God has called you to be.
At 33:24, Andy concludes with thoughts on the vision for you life:
The good news is that the crisis is the bad news. The good news is that God allows, creates, causes and endorses overwhelming scenarios in our world so that we can discover God.
The problem may not be gone, but you handed it off because the battle is not mine. The battle is the Lord’s. We bless your name Lord, not because the enemy has disappeared, but because you handed it off and you’re going to let God run with this. You’re going to call Him down from heaven because heaven rules in spite of the situation.
