We live in a society where the ambitious and those that are dedicated to a vision or a dream are the ones most likely to succeed in what they're aiming for. Our culture has rewarded those that will press on and on towards a goal, paying no attention to the negative comments or negative circumstances that surround them. In the world we live in today, you can overcome most poverty and undesirable living conditions if you have enough willpower and drive to get up and do something about it. Even people who have very little education, if any at all, can often achieve amazing accomplishments. Why is that? Is it because they are extraordinary individuals gifted with some incomprehensible intellect? Or is it something else that's working within them? We all know famous men that failed over and over again before becoming successful, before achieving what they were reaching for:
Thomas Edison's teachers said he was "too stupid to learn anything." He was fired from his first two jobs for being "non-productive." As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied, "I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."
Henry Ford failed and went broke five times before he succeeded.
R. H. Macy failed seven times before his store in New York City caught on.
F. W. Woolworth was not allowed to wait on customers when he worked in a dry goods store because, his boss said, "he didn't have enough sense."
Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." He went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland. In fact, the proposed park was rejected by the city of Anaheim on the grounds that it would only attract riffraff.
What drove these men? What kept these men pushing forward when there was no obvious sign of a reward and no promise of success? I believe it was the fact that deep inside their hearts, ingrained in the very neurons of their brains, and the very fiber of their being, was a dream that was destined to be realized. Thank God for the accomplishments of men that have dreamed big. We benefit from many of those realized dreams today. God has been good to us in blessing these men with a drive and determination to bring about many things that are useful in the kingdom of God, (cars, planes, communication). I believe that before the foundations of the world, God had ordained that certain men would be instrumental in bringing about certain inventions and developments. That being said, I do believe that God had created them in such a way, that though they failed over and over, the dream and the goal was always before them and that desire is what kept them working when others would've given up and walked away. Those that stood around them may not have understood what God was doing. "Why are you spending so much time on this?" "why are you spending so much money on this?" "why are you giving so much blood, sweat, and tears to this?" They couldn't see what these men saw, otherwise they would've worked the same long hours and days and made the same sacrifices these men did. Can you imagine how insane they may have appeared to others? To actually begin working to create something that was never seen, never heard of, never experienced. Home missions' Pastors and saints knock doors expecting someone to come to a church that no one has heard of? They preach a gospel to a community that knows only false doctrine and expect to see something working. Yet to these men, it was just as real as the air they were breathing. They would let nothing and no one take the vision from them. What they were reaching for was important to them, it was sacred to them, it was everything to them. And for that reason, every disappointment, every heartache, every failure was a small price to pay. Indeed, it was very insignificant to them in light of the big picture. "What do you mean it won't work? What do you mean it can't work? What do you mean it can't happen?...It's already done." That's because to them, it was already done. The Bible said that Jesus, "who for the joy that was set before him, endured.." Jesus saw it when he was in the garden. The vision Jesus had was that of people talking in tongues on the day of Pentecost. He saw deliverance for those bound by drugs, depression, and gross sin.
When God filled us with the Holy Ghost, He also planted dreams and visions in our hearts. There were desires that were God inspired, sown as seeds within us. Try as we may, we can't shake it. We can leave God but that dream and those plans will find us and haunt us wherever we go. David said if he made his bed in hell, God was there. I don't believe we will ever be able to stop thinking of what it was that God had for us to do. Like the voice called out to Samuel at night, I believe God keeps whispering in our ears in our quiet time, our alone time, and during every service when the word of God is preached. We must come to the realization that there is nothing we are willing to give in exchange for our souls, for our salvation or the salvation of others. What we are reaching for is the will and purpose of God. What we are reaching for is a dream and a vision that is eternal. Our purpose in the kingdom is to win the lost. Nothing can outweigh that when put in the balances next to what the devil has to offer us. Does our pride weigh more? Does the bitterness we are harboring weigh more? When we see our backslid teens and our brothers and sisters that have fallen and consider the hours we will spend in intercession, what is sitting on the other side of the scale carrying more weight than these souls? The dreams and visions that God has imparted to us must ultimately be what we are reaching for. God help us to strive…help us to maintain our vision and stay the course.
