Konrad Adenauer said, “We all live under the same sky, but we don’t all have the same horizon.” 

This past weekend Jeanne and I had the opportunity to visit the Alps.  From our vantage point six countries may be seen on a clear day:  Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Liechenstein, France, and Italy.  It was a breathtaking view but what is even more amazing is what God wants to do in your life!  That’s why the Apostle Paul prayed:

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might.  (Ephesians 1:18-19)

Paul wanted the Ephesians to not only understand their position in Christ, but to experience the blessings of that truth.  Vision is the catalyst that enables you to experience those blessings.  You realize that there is more – so much more than what you are experiencing now.  C.S. Lewis in The Weight of Glory trenchantly observes,

It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

Tragically I wonder how many people are just playing with mud pies?  You must realize God has a unique destiny for your life!  Antoine de Saint Exupery said, “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders.  Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.”

You may feel like you’re stuck in the mud, but remember that you are still able to see the stars.  Or you may feel that you’ve reached a level of competency that is good enough.  Bobby Clinton who has dedicated his life to the topic of leadership describes this phenomena as plateauing.  This is when people stop growing and may feel stuck in their life.

Leaders who are competent tend to plateau. Their very strength becomes a weakness. They can continue to minister at a level without there being a reality or Spirit empowered renewing effect. Most leaders will plateau several times in their life times of development.  There again is a dynamic tension that must be maintained between leveling off for good reasons, (consolidating one’s growth and/or reaching the level of potential for which God has made you) and plateauing because of sinfulness or loss of vision.

Realizing God’s vision for your life enables you to see far beyond what you can imagine.  Solomon wisely wrote, “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law” (Proverbs 29:18).  I tell my students, “My greatest fear for you is not that you set your sights too high and that you fail – my greatest fear is that you set your sights too low and become content with a subnormal, mediocre life.”  How is God enlarging your horizon?  Don’t settle for less than His best!