When the Vision Manifests Differently

by Andy Lee @WordsByAndyLee

I sat on the bed this morning talking to my husband about responses I’d received concerning my daily live Facebook broadcast. Despite my worries, I’ve been encouraged by many to continue.

“You’re crazy,” he lovingly said.

He’s right, I am. I had fought this public Facebook broadcast for a year, yet here I was going live on my personal timeline everyday.

Mike continued our conversation encouraging me to keep on preaching Jesus, to do what stirs my soul and answer the call I heard so long ago. And as he spoke my mind traveled back to my college freshmen dorm room when I first received the call to pastor—or so I thought. It was a vision I interpreted as a call into full time ministry. In the vision I wore a clerical robe and stood in front of a wooden altar much like the one in the tiny Methodist church I grew up attending.

But through the years that call took many twists and turns, a few shovels of dirt were thrown onto it and buried it, and then one day it was resurrected anew with the idea to write a book.

The vision I had received when God called me into full time ministry did not involve children and diapers, being a military wife, being the author of a book sitting on shelves at my local book store or videoing myself preaching the Word of God. What God is doing is beyond my imagination.

But the vision was key

But the vision was key.

The heart of the vision has not changed. I am in full time ministry. Everyday.

If you are reading this post, I believe God has called you. He has given you a vision. And you have stepped out in faith according to your interpretation of the call. But there is a good chance that the manifestation of that vision is taking a long time. The editors want something different than your idea. Agents demand your platform to be bigger. Or perhaps the vision was like mine, and you never thought that full time ministry would actually keep you behind a computer most of your days rather than one on one with people or preaching to a sleepy congregation.

Oh, but He is so good my friends, because God gives us visions that we can understand on our level, and then He takes it beyond our comprehension. We simply must be faithful to what He has called us to today. We must step out of the boat. For most of us, it is shallower than we thought. All we need to do is stand up. For others, we need to put our eyes on Him and grab His hand because the waves are big.

Can I encourage you today that if the call is not manifesting as you had envisioned, you are on track! Don’t despise where you are and the number of visits on your blog or the lack of book sales.

Be faithful to what He is calling you to today.

Trust His vision.

Trust His economy. “And if anyone gives a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will not lose their reward” (Matthew 10:42).

He loves faith.

He loves you.

Trust the Vision-Giver. Not the vision.

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When the vision manifests differently - @WordsByAndyLee (Click to Tweet)

Andy Lee loves to teach about Jesus, and she loves to help people dig deep into the biblical languages. She is a Bible teacher, retreat speaker, blogger, mom to three grown children and a kitty named Hank, and wife to Mike. She’s the author of two books: The Book of Ruth Key Word Bible Study: A 31-Day Journey to Hope and Promise (AMG 2015) and A Mary Like Me: Flawed Yet Called (Leafwood 2016). Andy broadcasts the Bite of Bread on Facebook every morning Monday through Friday at 8:20 ET, and she encourages faith and study on her blog Daily Grace found on her site www.wordsbyandylee.com. Join Andy on her blog and daily broadcasts to learn how to dig deep to live fully.