Record the Vision

Did this past year leave you scarred and battered? A full revolution around the sun can leave us dizzied and confused.

But there is something exciting about sitting on the edge of one year, ready to leap into a fresh new one.  Many of us are ready to fill in our new 2023 planners with the fresh ink from our new  felt-tip pens.  We are filled with hope that this time, our trip around the sun will be better than the last.

There are also some verses in Habakkuk 2 that get me thinking about visions and goals. I get pretty obsessed with these verses at this time every year.

I know – who reads Habakkuk? But his little book gives us insight into a conversation he was having with God Himself! He was a prophet right around the time when the Babylonian invasions started occurring (621-609 BC).

God was revealing things to this prophet that were pretty disturbing about the imminent invasions. God even told him in chapter 1, “Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days – You would not believe if you were told.” (1:5). God was reminding Habakkuk He was working even though he couldn’t always see it himself.

Have you ever seen so many exclamation points in scripture? But the unbelievable thing God was doing was raising up Babylon to execute some judgment on His disobedient people.

It’s never fun to deliver bad news, but Habakkuk was called to faithfully transmit the messages God delivered to him. It is amazing to me how Habakkuk took personal action in response – he didn’t just push the message off to others…

I will stand on my guard post
And station myself on the rampart;
And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me,
And how I may reply when I am reproved. 2:1

Notice his verbs…stand, station, watch. We would do well in this new year to stand at our assigned stations and carefully wait to see what God will speak. And don’t miss that last line “and how I may reply when I am reproved”. A person’s response to correction reveals some deep things about their character.

Then the Lord answered me and said,
“Record the vision
And inscribe it on tablets,
That the one who reads it may run. 2:2

Since Habakkuk was a prophet, it was important his visions were properly recorded and easily read. God told him to write it so plainly that even a runner could read it as they pass by! This also may refer to a custom of posting things in the temple on tablets for all to see.

Has God impressed you with a vision for this year? If so, WRITE IT DOWN. There is something about taking your own sweet hand and writing down what God has impressed in your spirit. Refer to it often and post it where you will be reminded of it!

“For the vision is yet for the appointed time;
It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
For it will certainly come, it will not delay. 2:3

Now, this is the tough part. Sometimes we have to WAIT for the vision to become reality. Now that doesn’t mean we sit and twiddle our thumbs. We stay vigilant like Habakkuk. We stay at our post and take small steps toward it. God is seldom early, but He is never late. He will accomplish the goal at just the right time.

None of us knows what this revolution around the sun holds for us.  No matter what 2023 has in store – God is with us through all of it. “But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me…” 2 Timothy 4:17.

Please share what God is calling you to do this year. Remember, God said to record the vision for all to see!