Where
there is no vision, the people perish…
—Proverbs 29:18 KJV
If you don’t have a compelling dream or vision
for your life, you’re road kill! If you’re working just to make it to the
weekend… If you’re simply surviving, trying to “gut it out” until your
next vacation… If there’s not some kind of fire burning inside you that
gets you up early in the morning and sometimes keeps you up late at night,
you’re committing “slow motion suicide.”
Reports indicate that pop icon, Michael Jackson
may have been the first human being to ever go two months without REM — rapid
eye movement — sleep, which is vital to keeping the brain and body alive.
According to a CNN report, “The 60 nights of propofol infusions Dr. Conrad Murray said he gave Jackson to treat his insomnia is something a sleep expert says no one had ever undergone.”
Dr. Charles Czeisler, a Harvard Medical School sleep expert testified, “Lab rats die after five weeks of getting no REM sleep, he said. It was never tried on a human until Murray gave Jackson nightly propofol infusions for two months.” [1]
The point?
When you stop
dreaming, you start dying!
The proverb nails it, “Where there is no
vision, the people perish…” In
other words, “They die…” They become “the walking dead.” They’re
physically alive; but mentally, emotionally and spiritually they checked out a
long time ago.
We all need a dream!
We need something bigger than ourselves to live for!
Whether you’re a person of faith or not, you
have to admit that Jesus is a great example of a man who was gripped by His
purpose in life. He was galvanized by “the end game.” He was driven by a dream!
In fact, He had such clarity on who He was and what He was about, that nothing
could distract Him from it.
Jesus was driven by a dream!
Jesus regularly said stuff like this:
“That
is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not to be served—and then to
give away his life in exchange for many who are held hostage.” —Mark 10:45 MSG
That’s clarity!
What is your dream, vision or purpose in life?
Have you defined what your life is going to be about?
Have you defined what success looks like for you?
This is critically important stuff!
When we don’t take time to get crystal clear
clarity on our dream, mission or purpose in life, we tend
to just drift. Andy Stanley said it like this: “Everybody ends up somewhere
in life. A few people end up somewhere on purpose.”
“Everybody ends up somewhere in life. A few people end up somewhere on
purpose.” —Andy Stanley
These are people with a dream!
Why not begin the process today of getting
clarity on your dream, mission and purpose in life?
Spend time writing the dream down.
Not sure how or where to start?
You can always ask God for help. Ask Him for clarity. James 1:5 says, “If you need wisdom,
ask our generous God, and He will give it to you.”
Try this experiment: Give God
the first 15 minutes of every day this week. In those 15 minutes, spend time
worshiping God, reading His Word, and inviting the God to direct you. You
may even want to pray this simple prayer:
Holy Spirit, what are you saying to me?
Spend time listening. This is sometimes the most
difficult part of prayer for me.
Then, spend time writing. Write out your prayer. Write out the thoughts that God brings to mind. This is not the time to “play editor.” Just write…
Today’s the day for you to define your dream!
Ready. Set. Go.
[1] Alan Duke, CNN, Expert: Michael Jackson went 60 days
without real sleep, Monday, June 24, 2013,
http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/21/showbiz/jackson-death-trial/
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