Fashioned to Forge the Future
“1 I will stand my watch
And set myself on the rampart,
And watch to see what He will say to me,
And what I will answer when I am corrected.2 Then the Lord answered me and said:
“Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.
3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time;
But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
Because it will surely come,
It will not tarry.4 “Behold the proud,
His soul is not upright in him;
But the just shall live by his faith.Habakkuk 2:1-4
“Write the vision…” is a phrase that has long echoed in my spirit. I have visions and dreams that have not even begun to take form, but I write that vision, and I pray over that vision, and I speak to that vision. I believe that when it time is right, it will come. Dreams are a theme that have been heavily woven through my life, and I often say that “to dream is to go beyond yourself.” Today, I want us to dream again. I’m not talking about small-minded dreams and things you could do on your own if you applied yourself. Dreaming is NOT goal-oriented living. I am talking about God-dreams; these are the dreams that God puts in your heart which would be impossible without Him.
Today, we are going to walk through this passage in Habakkuk and start dreaming again.
In Habakkuk 2:1 we learn to set ourselves where we are - on our watch post and ask God to give us a vision - His dream for us to forge. We set ourselves and look to Him and we wait. It does not end with the vision, once we get it, we need to write it down (v.2) and be specific and clear about it. It will come to pass - don’t hold back because it has not been done before. When God gives the vision, it will not lie. Wait for it and be expectant. (v.3) Speak to the vision (v.4) Speaking life and faith is partnering with God. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for…” - things that are expected. (Hebrews 11:1)
Too often we dream out of a normative state and our dreams focus on either a change of circumstance, or a personal accomplishment. We have lost the art of dreaming well.
As a child, we have this ability to create and embrace imaginary places. We dream of things that today we would call crazy, impossible, or childish.
When a child dreams, the whole world changes.
When we dream, we put on logical, personal, and time limitations.
This is not dreaming, but goal-oriented living.
In the loss of our ability to dream well, we also lost the passion to drive us. In our goal-oriented lives, we do not live to our fullest potential. Our dreams have turned into lowly goals. Our passion has turned into a measured output of energy, and our potential is suffering in our normative state of mind.
We will never achieve more than what was possible for us to do when we last knew how to dream well. Instead of our dreams growing, they diminish in a world of realistic possibilities where you are not expected to flourish anymore than your born circumstances, culture, and pattern of life.
We are fashioned to forge the future. It is time to shake off the limitations that humanity has set and dream with God. Write the vision and make it plain. The world needs more people who are willing to dream for the next generation. So when you receive that vision, write it, be clear, pray over it, speak to it, and wait on God’s appointed time.
This dream could be yours to do, or it could be yours to steward. Either way, you are forging the future. Be faithful to carry that vision and in the appointed time, you will see, it will come to pass.