It was Monday morning when I was leaving the skin doctor's office for my yearly follow-up when I felt led in my spirit to visit a friend who was working nearby. Normally hubby is with me, but on this day, he was home caring for one of our rescue cats who is recovering from a recent stroke.
Phoning my husband, I asked if he minded and that I would be home in about an hour. He assured me that everything was fine and do what I felt led to at the time.
After praising God for a good report, I headed to the cardio rehab building where my friend was the head of the department. I first met her in 2015 when hubby was recovering from his triple by-pass heart surgery. Although he has since finished his treatment there, we have stayed in contact with the wonderful staff.
The Importance of a Vision Part 1:
The Forgotten Vision
For months we had talked about having lunch again but never actually scheduled anything. Walking up the stairs I realized it was about noon and could have brought lunch for us had I noticed the time before arriving.
The room was about empty except for one woman who was finishing her session. After our greetings I waited in the conference room for my friend and knew this was a divine intervention from the conversation that took place over the next thirty minutes.
Her co-worker was not feeling well and had gone home before I arrived. It was just the two of us when my friend began telling me about the bad health report she had recently received.
As she dealt with a situation, I asked the Lord for wisdom in how to minister to her and He did. Giving her instruction on what the Lord had me do many years ago concerning an incident that happened to me, I shared my story and advised her to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit that I did for my own healing.
Our time together was emotional, but as always, a delight. When I was about to leave, I asked if there was anything else I could do for her. Without hesitation she shared something private she had been praying for concerning her husband.
It did not take me two seconds before I smiled with excitement - "I can help! I know what the problem is. He's lost, you know - "forgotten" - his vision for life and is literally perishing!"
What really caused me to recognize this was a God moment, was that I had the same conversation with another lady I just met a few days ago. Her response was the same - "That's it!"
Both situations reminded me of something that happened several years ago on a much larger scale where the people also lost their vision.
What Vision Plan?
There is a little country church tucked in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains. The congregation is not very large, but they are loyal and believed for their flock to grow.
One day while no one was in the building the church burned totally to the ground. It appeared that all their dreams and the vision for the church had gone up in smoke, leaving them no way to come back from such a devastating tragedy.
People of the community loved that tiny church and reached out to those who attended. Shortly after the incident the surrounding families and businesses gathered to clean up the rubble, and the charcoaled skeleton of the building that was bulldozed.
Standing in faith that God was not done with them, they decided to rebuild with a bigger structure in mind that included a basement for the youth. Hiring a man to dig the basement, the excavation plans began for the new foundation that fit the vision placed on the heart of their pastor.
Everyone in the church was so excited how God brought the small community nestled in the hills together. News of the event spread throughout the nation and touched the hearts of the big cities everywhere. People wanted to get involved and not long after the contributions came pouring in to carry out the vision God had given.
While construction was underway Bible studies were held in the homes of the elders each Sunday, and the church had already started to outnumber their existing fellowship. God had shown them tremendous favor financially and added to the church before they ever stepped into the new building.
Several weeks had gone by when the committee members decided that they should meet at the land site and see how the work was progressing. When they arrived, they found that the basement was already completed, but there was a big problem. Someone had neglected to follow the vision plans of the church.
The design and layout were to turn the original position of the church in the opposite direction. With the land boundaries being narrow the new design would allow them to add on as the church grew. Plus, they could have a larger parking area that was handicapped accessible meeting all the updated building codes. However, that did not happen.
The excavator had positioned the basement sideways instead of front to back. He remembered how the old church was positioned and just made the new one the same way disregarding the new plans.
Rather than go through all the work of starting over, the committee decided to leave the new church sideways. The plans for a larger building had failed because someone failed to follow the master plans and no one checked on the vision of the church daily. How could they, there were no written plans!
One Year Later
It was a Wednesday morning at Cardio Rehab that my husband had heard about this miracle building that God had rained upon with favor. The brother of one of the members shared the story sparking our interest to visit this wonder God had lavished with abundant blessings and favor.
The harsh winter months went by and come summer we were able to travel to join the congregation in a service one Sunday morning. I was so excited to hear about what God had done on this forgotten hill in the Smokies, and knew it would be a great story to share on Daily Favor. This was God in action and I could not wait to see what He had done for this part of the Body of Christ.
We had driven for hours and knew we were near our destination, but where was it? Getting lost in all those hills we stopped by a local business and they directed us to where we needed to go. Nearing the street where we had to turn there was a big sign boasting the church’s location. From what we read our anticipation grew, but was almost quashed when we arrived at the drive to turn into the parking lot of the church.
Yes, indeed there was a new building but there was little sign of life around it. The lawn was overgrown and unkempt. As for the parking lot, it was non-existent and people parked willy-nilly … anywhere they wanted. The whole thing looked in disarray like it had been practically abandoned. Even the old sign was disheveled and not up to date.
Stepping into the foyer no one was there to greet us, but when we entered the sanctuary the handful of people turned around to say hello. For the next hour it felt uncomfortable, like we were in group therapy and no one wanted to participate.
Following the service, we were given a “home” tour with the friend’s brother taking my husband in one direction and his senior son whisking me off to the prized kitchen area thinking that was what I would like to see. Oh, if he only knew that the kitchen is merely a place to collect food already prepared for me by hubby!
Making our way to the basement that was “for” the kids, I was escorted in and out of the three small classrooms that opened into the enormous kitchen/dining room.
There were no nursery facilities or adult classes … they would be held in the rather narrow sanctuary as usual. In other words, they were not expecting more people on Sundays, but used the facilities for birthdays or parties.
Having a few celebrations for members was not the issue, but why not add a few more events to the schedule including the community who helped them rebuild? Surely, they had found favor from God and mankind; had they not recognized it?
The Forgotten Vision
When our tour was finished, I felt compelled to ask what happened to all the people who donated to the church. Why weren’t any of them coming and what happened to the pastor?
An older woman chimed in, “We’re way back in the woods … no one wants to come here.” How could that be I thought; they must have wanted it and thought it was worth rebuilding otherwise they would not have helped to have it rebuilt right?
Looking around the new construction I asked where their vision board for the church was located. They did not have one, another member answered, stating the pastor left because the congregation was satisfied to use the building as a glorified living room and kitchen for their own families. Well, that was blunt!
My heart was saddened to hear this, when in fact the place where we stopped to get directions was a widely known family campground. There were all sorts of water sports like skiing, canoeing, or fishing, along with music events and cook-offs. It is a great place to bring the entire family, and is always filled with kids of all ages year round.
Actually, the campground was so popular that they recently began holding Sunday services for their visitors from all over the country. When inquiring about the services we learned that,
“Oh, we are not a religious campground, but have pastors come in to hold services free of charge. They are packed! People kept asking about a church in the area so we gave them what they wanted. They even do communion once in a while.”
Wow, "We gave them what they wanted!" Church ... they wanted to attend church! God supplied the favor for the new church, but they forgot the vision and abandoned the plan!
Every week that church’s congregation was gathering less than two miles down the road! The forgotten vision the former pastor had was for outreach ministry … and it was already there. When they abandoned the vision plan the favor of God stopped.
Scripture reminds us of how important it is to keep the vision of God that was placed in your heart alive. Without a vision plan people will die from lack of purpose.
Friends, when God places a vision in the heart of His children, He expects it to be done and places favor on the project. His plan will be carried out, if not by you, then someone else and the favor will be reassigned elsewhere.
Perhaps you have become discouraged with the dreams, desires, and vision you had in your heart so much that you have abandoned, no, forgotten it. Let me assure you, God has not and His favor is still available to those who will get back on track with the plan He originally placed in your heart.
Until next time, favored blessings!
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More to come in this series:
The Importance of a Vision Part 2:
What Happens without a Vision Plan
Helpful Resources on This Topic:
by Andy Stanley
Available in Paperback, eBook, Spanish, audio CD, MP3
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Note: When used the words satan or devil are not capitalized deliberately, because we give him no place in our lives.
Names and or places may be changed to protect privacy.
Disclaimer: Article information is not meant to be used as treatment for mental or physical issues, but geared toward spiritual awareness.
Disclaimer Notes: Results may vary due to lack of belief.
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Smokey Mountains, Church, Vision, Daily Favor Blog, Teaching Series, Fay Ann Daniels, Favored1, Andy Stanley, Christian Living, Discover Your Vision, God's Vision for Life, Favor of God, Inspiration, Teaching Series
