Where there is no vision the people perish, but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. Proverbs 29:18
Our vision is one of the gifts God gave mankind so we could enjoy the beauty of the world He created for us. It is one of our five senses and it allows us to see beauty, color and detail s about the world we live in. The natural aging process seems to diminish our ability to see as easily, we wither struggle with near sightedness or farsightedness, meaning people can either see things close up and struggle with seeing things further away; or they can see things further away and struggle to read things like books close up. There are a lot of factors that affect our vision, poor nutrition, diabetes, high blood pressure, auto immune disease and even straining at a computer all day can affect a person ability to see things clearly. Cataracts are a thickening of the eye lens, causing the vision to become blurry and if left untreated it can lead to blindness. To me, blindness would be one of the most devastating experiences, not seeing the faces of your loved ones, experiencing the beauty God created, being able to read, or even the independence of getting in a car and driving down the road. It would be hard to get anywhere and to navigate the world around you. I believe the same is true in a spiritual sense. If we do not have a clear vision of God and what He is doing, it is difficult to function and thrive. Proverbs 29:19 goes so far as to say “Where there is no vision the people perish.” I read a book several years ago called “Deadly Emotions,” and it showed research that correlated what is going on in our physical bodies is a manifestation of what is going on in our spirits and will show up in a physical way. For example, a person who has a lot of neck pain is often truly a pain in the neck. Genesis 27:1 “Now it came to pass when Isaac was old, and his eyes were so dim that he could not see and he called for his older son Esau.” Isaac had lost his ability see and he could not even recognize his own son. He called Esau in so he could bless him and give him the double portion. Isaac father Abraham had many visions and encounters with God Almighty and when Isaac was bound and laid on the alter to be sacrificed, just as Abraham raised his hand to kill him with a knife, the voice of God called from heaven and stopped him. Isaac grew up haring about the visions and encounters with God and yet there is no place recorded in scripture that he had a vision from God. I wonder if God chose not to visit him or if Isaac chose not to respond to the vision God gave him. According to Genesis 25, God explained to Rebekah, Isaac wife that her difficult pregnancy was due to the warring of the two nations in her womb, and the oldest would serve the youngest. I do not believe that God only gave Rebekah the revelation and He did not share His plan of a chosen nation coming through Jacob with Isaac. Genesis clearly shares some of the visions that Abraham, Isaac father and Jacob his son had. I believe Isaac had the same opportunity to partner with God in His plan of redemption. In his rebellion, Isaac was determined the son he loved, his oldest son Esau, would have the birth right and the double portion. I think it is interesting that Isaac could not see physically either. (No, I am not saying everyone who has trouble seeing is guilty of not obeying God, Jesus addressed this issue when He healed the blind man.) I do believe that spiritual blindness can affect our ability to see things in the natural. Our spiritual vision will show us things we cannot see in the natural. Rebekah knew what God had promised her and she manipulated, lied and created a plan to steal what Isaac was going to give Esau. Jacob part in the deception made him a fugitive and he had to run back to his mother family for safety. Jacob dreams of a normal life around his parents ended abruptly and he was on the run not knowing what his life would hold. 1 Samuel shares the story of Eli the high priest and his wicked sons. People told Eli how wicked his sons had become; they were even having sexual relations with women who came to offer sacrifices in the temple. Eli refused to discipline his sons and remove them from their office and God sent a prophet to warn him that even though God had chosen Eli house to be the high priest, because of his sin, God would no longer allow the house of Eli to hold the office of high priest. Had Eli repented and removed his evil sons, I believe that God would have given him more sons to carry on the anointing of high priest. Just as his spiritual eyes had grown dim, so did his physical eyes. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” The United States of America is not in the mess it is in because of evil politicians. For too long, the modern church has embraced the ideologies and standards of the culture of the world and embracing the false doctrine of inclusion and diversity. Pastors have been afraid to preach the truth of God Word, because they do not want to offend any one and cause them to take their money and leave the church. Our spiritual eyes have become dim and now our natural eyesight is in danger as well. The church allowed politicians to write ungodly laws that have taken away our God given freedoms. Too many Christians have separated their spiritual beliefs from their behavior and their politics. When we can vote for a political party who uses abortion as their main platform, something is wrong with our vision. The NJKV translates Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no new revelation, the people cast off restraint.” WE are living in a nation that has cast off restraint. Sadly, too many churches have cast off restraint and they have embraced sin that God has clearly told us in His Word are wrong. I think it is interesting that in the story of Isaac and Eli both the word of the Lord was scarce. Did God suddenly stop speaking? God started the bible with speaking and all throughout scripture, God spoke to men and women who would listen for His voice and obey. Throughout the Bible, God gave men and women visons and dreams of His plan for the world along with clear instructions of how to partner with God plan. God gave each of us a free will and I believe that we can choose to ignore the word of God and not cherish His wisdom. The end of Proverbs 28:19 says “happy is he who keeps the law.” When we do not know the word or if we do not do what we know to do, we allow the god of this world to dim our spiritual eyesight. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 “ But even if our gospel is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ , who is the image of God should shine on them.” Unbelief will blind our spiritual eyes and if we walk in unbelief long enough, we will become spiritually blind. One of the main causes of unbelief is that the dream of vision does not happen when we think it should. Joseph served 13 years in prison before he saw his dream of ruling over his family came to pass. Habakuk 2:2-3 “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it;” I do not want to perish. I do not want my family to perish. I do not want the United States of America to perish. I do not want people around the world to perish. God does not want anyone to perish; 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” Joel 2:28 God promised to pour out His Spirit on all flesh. “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams and your young men shall see visions. And also, on My manservants and on My maidservants, I will pour our My Spirit in those days.” We are living in the last days and we need a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. I do not want to live on the victories and revelations of the past. I want to hear from God with new revelation and new strategies to be an overcomer. The Holy Spirit also gives us the Power to be a witness according to Acts 1:8. Ask God if you have allowed unbelief to dim your vision of God and what He is doing in this age. God promised to give old men dreams. God wants to give you a vison for your life and for the life of your family. I know God still gives people visions and dreams, which are night visions. Some vision God gives us comes in the form of a fresh revelation. Many missionaries in the middle east are sharing the dreams the Muslims are having. The missionaries are telling the Muslims about Jesus, and the Muslims keep interrupting them saying they know the man in white. As the missionaries questions them, they are telling about the dreams they are having where Jesus comes to them in their dreams and shares His love for them and the truth of the gospel. Once they have a dream encounter with Jesus and truth, they are ready to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I read an article that came out of the Gaza strip just recently, and 200 Muslim a night are having the dreams of Jesus are converting from the Muslim doctrine to a real relationship with the living God. I pray that God will give you fresh vision, revelations, of Him and make Himself known to you in a fresh new way. I pray that you would move past the unbelief and start to dream dreams for your future and the future of your family and our beloved Nation. I pray that God would reveal to you how much He loves you and remind you who you are in Him. I pray for those who do not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, to have Jesus dreams where He shows up in the bedrooms at night and shares His love with them. I pray for those who are in prison, that they would have a fresh new experience with Jesus, and would walk in the freedom that a relationship with Jesus brings.
Cathy Nesmith