Bread of Life

Vision 2020

Annie    28.5.20

It seems so long ago that we celebrated the start of this new decade “The Twenties”. When so many people commented on 2020 vision being the description of perfect vision. Was 2020 going to be the perfect year? Or the perfect start to a decade that would bring all sorts of wonderful benefits to society, business or our poor environmentally ravaged planet?

And here we are, five months into this year, reeling from the scourge of Covid 19 that has run rampant through our earth. Thanks be to God alone, this didn’t take Him by surprise and He is holding the reins. But how do we view all of this? Are we rushing to and fro trying to find some kind of sense amongst the chaos? Or are we doing what He desires, are we learning to use His Vision, not our blinkered, myopic eyesight? Have we used this time to develop an instinct that means our first action is to run as fast as we can toward our Abba Father, no matter what happens?

Through Christ we see what it is to live in God’s 2020 Vision. We see what it means to lay aside our preconceptions of how life should be, or how we want it to be. God’s 2020 Vision shatters the mirror that we see in so dimly, and Christ knew this. In His humanity He faced everything we face but He also knew that His Father has the only perfect Vision and He strove to use this Vision. God knows that we, too, need to learn how to strive to do the same, so that we will not be swayed by all that is going on around us.

By feeding upon God’s Word, by drinking the Living Water and laying down our lives, we will begin to draw closer to this goal of seeing through God’s Vision, moving our perspective in line with His. We will begin to be less affected by the noise of the world, less dragged into the whirlpool of fear and panic. We will see ourselves as God sees us – valuable, precious and loved beyond measure.

Today, meeting with some dear friends and praying with them, God gave me a picture that was precious, clear and relevant to us all, wherever we are in our journey with Him.

As some of you know, my time with Chaplaincy has come to an end, but not my passion for this ministry that God values so highly. We were praying about direction, about God's unique plan for each of us and each time someone mentioned the word direction or path, I saw a winding path immersed in drifting, swirling fog. This happened at least 4 times, each time filled with more clarity.

I could see in my mind's eye the faces of the 2 trampers who had been lost in 54,000 hectares of densely forested bush in Golden Bay, and what the expert search and rescue leaders said describing how it was that they survived for almost 3 weeks, and were found alive and well. They had got lost in a fog that rolled in, but they had some food and found a campsite near a clear flowing stream. They were well prepared even though it was meant to be just a day's trek. And they found a place where they could be seen, and where they could see. What caught the attention of the helicopter search crew was what looked like fog or smoke that they could see from their vantage point high above the trees, so they got closer and identified it as smoke by the smell. And, by God's grace, these 2 young people were rescued and are now safely home.

So what does this mean for all of us? We are all on a journey called life and it is fraught with so many twists and turns and potential dangers. To know where to turn when we get lost in a fog of indecision or loss or weariness, we need to be well prepared; to have a supply of life giving food and water from the Person of God Himself. We need to position ourselves where we can be seen as we cry out to Him. We need to remain in Him, waiting until we hear His rescue coming. Our prayers need to rise before Him like the smoke of incense, a pleasing fragrance to Him.

We need God’s 2020 Vision to know that He will never fail us, He always hears our cry and He will answer. He is faithful, He is our deliverer, our refuge and strength. He rescues us because He delights in us.

I need to thank Henk for prompting me that this isn't just for me, but to share because, inevitably, we all get lost in the fog sometimes and the only way out is using God’s 2020 Vision.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roQovDZeAWE