An Oasis in the Desert

And the parched ground shall become a pool. Isaiah 35:7

From "My Utmost for His Highest":
"We always have visions, before a thing is made real. When we realize that although the vision is real, it is not real in us, then is the time that Satan comes in with his temptations, and we are apt to say it is no use to go on. Instead of the vision becoming real, there has come the valley of humiliation.
"Life is not as idle ore,
But iron dug from central gloom,
And batter'd by the shocks of doom
To shape and use."

God gives us the vision, then He takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of the vision, and it is in the valley that so many of us faint and give way. Every vision will be made real if we will have patience. Think of the enormous leisure of God! He is never in a hurry. We are always in such a frantic hurry. In the light of the glory of the vision we go forth to do things, but the vision is not real in us yet; and God has to take us into the valley, and put us through fires and floods to batter us into shape, until we get to the place where He can trust us with the veritable reality. Ever since we had the vision God has been at work, getting us into the shape of the ideal, and over and over again we escape from His hand and try to batter ourselves into our own shape. The vision is not a castle in the air, but a vision of what God wants you to be. Let Him put you on His wheel and whirl you as He likes, and as sure as God is God and you are you, you will turn out exactly in accordance with the vision. Don't lose heart in the process. If you have ever had the vision of God, you may try as you like to be satisfied on a lower level, but God will never let you."

I will admit, when I read today's scripture, I was a bit confused. "And the parched ground shall become a pool." In reference to what - life? Sure, that's like saying "Things will get better." Well, duh, if you have faith in God, and live according to His will, yeah things will get better. So I went to my on-line Bible to read this in its context. More poetry, more prophecies? More... oh, cool - more VISIONS!!! Exactly what Isaiah is all about!! How cool is that!

The Book of Isaiah is filled with Visions - of what is to come. I will never forget the story of Jesus in the Temple at the age of 12, preaching from Isaiah on what is to come, but what actually had already been realized. Isaiah reminds us to have hope. How pertinent a message to receive, then, that Our visions will be realized if we continue to have hope.

I have felt as if I am faltering in my walk as of late. I have had prophecies said over me for the first time in my life, visions revealed, and none have come to fruition. Am I doing something wrong? Does God expect more of me? Where am I falling short?

It is not in my time, it is in God's. I have to remind myself of that truth. It will happen. But now is the molding ground, the testing ground, the shaping and the hammering and the drilling ground. God is making me into someone who can make these visions come to task, if I don't lose patience in the meantime. But I also need to let God lead.

Your Journey with Christ will be filled with plenty of Visions, but before these Visions can be realized, God must work on you. It hurts sometimes. It doesn't make sense sometimes, but that is when you reach deep down in the bottom of your soul and you dig a little more. You gotta sink your cleats into the ground that you stand on just a little bit more. The test is one of patience, endurance, loyalty, focus. You are an athlete in training. Seeing the Vision realized is not the goal. The real goal is Heaven and God's glory, so train intensively. This Vision is more than something that God wants you to do, it's something He wants you to be. So as a potter prepares his clay, as a painter primes his canvas, as a chef lays out his ingredients, as a dancer or singer warms up their bodies and voices, so God is preparing you.

Isaiah promises us our parched ground shall become a pool. Our Visions are real. God would not give us Visions to have us spin our wheels, run in circles and accomplish nothing. Wait on God. Don't Give up. Trust in God. Never take your eyes off Him.

Patience. Endurance. Loyalty. Focus.