The Middle of the Vision
I can still see my newly awakened self sitting at my desk in college. Rummaging around with ideas Holy Spirit dropped into my spirit throughout the day. Opened books all over the desk and floor. Graphs and designs haphazardly drawn on paper because I was so excited about the download that I had to draw it out quickly. Ideas scribbled all over the side of my class notes. And, because iPhone apps were few and I needed to keep up with revelation that was flowing at me from heaven like an unhinged water hose, I created a way to keep track of everything via Dropbox.
In this moment, 21-year-old me could see a vision larger than myself coming together before my very eyes. It was big. So big that I would have to remind myself that the vision was created for my spirit to receive, dissect and dwell with before handing it to my soul to process for packaging and distribution.
Now, if you told 21-year-old me that I would still be in a process of unpacking the vision, I would’ve gotten really defensive. My immature pieces and parts would’ve been greatly offended by someone else’s “doubt.” After all, I had all of the answers. Haha!
But… Here I am 13 years later painstakingly walking the vision out one moment at a time. Understanding more and more that this will most definitely take a lifetime to complete.
I actually had a new thought recently. Knowing I am living in the vision every day I said, “It’s frustrating being in the middle of the vision because I so easily become overwhelmed by the process of achieving what I can see. I sometimes lose sight of the fact that I have to fully and continuously live the processes of cultivation. And yes, I do have a picture of the completed puzzle, but there are so many pieces and parts I don’t have yet. So, I have to continue to excavate the grounds of the spirit realm to receive the next pieces to the ginormous puzzle I’ve been given. And then… Then I have to have faith and hope to move forward with those pieces, all while trusting Holy Spirit will lead me to the place where the new pieces connect to the parts of the puzzle that have already been put together.”
Last week my sister said, “I know what your soul wants when it envisions the future, but what does your spirit want?” I said, “Oh… You know…. She wants to continue to pull revelation down from the realm of heaven so that it can be simplified, packaged and distributed for the earth realm. She doesn’t really care that much about what my soul cares about. She’s more focused on the job she’s been sent here to do. She gets frustrated when my soul doesn’t work with her because she knows the assignment must be executed with excellence.”
And that’s just how it is for the spirit and the soul. Living with a Holy Spirit-imparted vision is both exhilarating and exhausting. It’s exhilarating for the spirit as it receives impartation and direction from Holy Spirit for forward movement, but then it is exhausting for the soul who has to constantly hear, “I’m sorry, but it’s not time yet. Holy Spirit is saying that we need to ‘be patient.’ No, we can’t do that today and WE DON’T NEED TO GO THAT WAY. We need to go this way.” Eventually, the soul does learn. It does begin to learn the processes of the kingdom and how to operate with the spirit in the driver’s seat. Afterall, we are created to be in unison.
However, the vision… The vision is still somewhat an unfolding mystery of sorts. I think one of the most frustrating parts of dwelling with a Holy Spirit-imparted vision is the reality that his ways are so different than directions I might read about in a business book or advice I might receive from someone in marketing. Yeah, His mindset for forward movement is completely innovative and usually involves a series of waiting for someone else to mature in a part of his or her life before the next phase of something can begin.
Which is why I want to encourage you as I continue to encourage myself in the middle of the vision:
Stay spirit forward and focused on the vision He’s given you. I know it can be very challenging and burdensome, but remind your soul who is in charge and then stay focused. For me staying focused means creating an environment where my soul cannot become easily distracted by things that drag it down. There are so many things my soul wants right now. Things that Holy Spirit has promised my soul, but hasn’t given it a date or time. So, I am always aiming to protect my soul from being sucked down a rabbit hole of distraction which always leaves it feeling overwhelmed and double-minded.
Remember, this is a Holy Spirit imparted vision. A lot of the double-mindedness in my soul is a result of comparison. My soul compares the vision and my business to those around me. My soul tends to forget that working with the realm of Heaven is different than simply working with the earth realm. Meaning, I am required to work with solutions from above. As a spirit being, I am required to lean on Holy Spirit and allow him to give directions, trusting that he is a better CEO and micromanager than I could ever be.
Be prepared for the long-haul. A Holy Spirit-imparted vision is a marathon. Not a sprint. So, pace yourself. What He’s imparted to your spirit will come to fruition, but it won’t happen all at once. Some parts of the journey will develop very quickly and others will take time. So, be prepared to go the distance with Him.
Persevere no matter what. Since the vision is a long-haul, be prepared to persevere. I am always so honest about the fact that it is very challenging on the soul to keep going, but when we choose to persevere at all costs, we do see breakthrough. New life does spring forth from the grounds of perseverance. So, don’t ever stop what Holy Spirit has tasked you to do until He says you are finished.
Rest. I wish I learned this earlier, but please rest. The system the earth realm offers us doesn’t provide a method for rest. We are more so told to “rest when you’re done” and “sleep when you die.” That’s not God though. That’s not how His visions and plans are successful. Instead, He is a huge promoter of rest and rejuvenation. He understands that we need to take a moment or many moments to breathe and process what we are doing before the next phase of the vision begins.
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