The New Year With God-Inspired Vision

As the year draws to a close, many of us pause to reflect on the past and look ahead with hope. It’s common to create vision boards filled with dreams and goals for the new year. But have you ever stopped to ask whether these visions are simply your own desires or something deeper, something God-breathed?

For some of us this year has brought many ups and downs within the world, and sometimes it can be hard to see God through it all. However, God can still bring vision, joy, and peace in the midst of the chaos.

Understanding the Difference Between Dreams and God-Breathed Vision

Many people create vision boards as a way to visualize their hopes and ambitions. These boards often include career goals, travel plans, health objectives, or personal achievements. While these are valuable, they might only reflect what we want rather than what God has placed on our hearts.

A God-breathed, God-inspired vision is more than a wish list. It is a clear, purposeful direction inspired by God’s Spirit. This vision aligns with His will and serves a greater purpose beyond personal gain. It often involves serving others, growing in faith, or fulfilling a calling that impacts your community or the world.

Signs Your Vision Is God-Breathed

• Peace and clarity: Even if the path seems challenging, you feel a deep peace about the direction.

• Alignment with Scripture: Your vision reflects biblical principles and values.

• Confirmation through prayer, fasting, and counsel: Trusted spiritual mentors and prayer confirm the vision.

• Opportunities open doors: Unexpected opportunities or resources appear to support the vision.

• Persistent passion: You feel a sustained passion and commitment over time.

  
  

How to Seek and Receive Your God-Breathed Vision

Discovering a God-breathed vision requires intentional spiritual practices and openness to God’s guidance.

1. Spend Time in Prayer and Reflection

Prayer is the primary way to connect with God and hear His voice. Set aside quiet moments to ask God for clarity about your purpose for the new year. Reflect on your experiences, strengths, and desires through the lens of faith. If you are willing to stretch your faith, I dare you to fast and pray. There's something about putting away the things we would normally run to and spending time with God instead.

2. Study Scripture for Guidance

The Bible provides profound wisdom and illustrations of God's vision for His followers. Passages such as Proverbs 3:5-6 emphasize the importance of trusting God to guide one's journey. Scripturally, we are all commissioned to make disciples. However, this responsibility looks differently in various contexts, such as parenting, the workplace, and within the community. What does this calling look like for you in these areas?

3. Seek Wise Counsel

Talk with trusted spiritual leaders, mentors, or friends who can provide insight and encouragement. They can help discern whether your ideas align with God’s will and offer both practical and biblical advice.

4. Pay Attention to Your Heart and Circumstances

God often speaks through your passions and the situations around you. Notice what excites you deeply and where doors seem to open unexpectedly. God still speaks, but many times we can't see what is right in front of us.

Transforming Your Vision into Action

Once you identify a God-breathed vision, the next step is to bring it to life. Vision boards can be a helpful tool here, but they should reflect your God-given purpose, not just personal dreams.

Create a Vision Board with Purpose

• Include spiritual goals: Add elements that represent your faith journey, such as scripture verses or symbols.

• Set clear, actionable steps: Break down your vision into manageable goals.

• Use it as a prayer tool: Spend time praying over your vision board regularly.

Create a Vision Planner/Guide

• This document serves as a strategic plan or guide across various aspects of your

  life, designed to assist you in navigating the upcoming year. While your vision board provides a broad overview, this planner or guide will help you focus on specific areas and implement the vision through practical steps.

• In this planner you can set weekly, monthly, and quarterly goals

• Write practical steps that you can go back to

• Remain flexible, not everything will happen as we think.

  
  

  

  Example of a planner/goal sheet

Commit to Consistent Action

Vision without action remains a dream. Commit to daily or weekly steps that move you closer to your vision. This might include volunteering, learning new skills, or deepening your spiritual practices.

Stay Open to Adjustments

God’s vision can unfold in unexpected ways. Be willing to adapt and trust the process, even if it takes longer or looks different than you imagined.

The Power of a Word for the New Year

Many people choose a single word to focus on for the year ahead. This word can serve as a spiritual anchor that guides decisions and actions. When chosen through prayer and reflection, this word often connects deeply with your God-breathed vision.

For instance, my word for this past year was ABIDE. While this might appear to be a broad term to many, it was specifically tied to John 15, where it is stated, "he who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for apart from me, he can do nothing." The Lord provided me with specific guidance emphasizing the necessity of abiding in Him. From this single word, I experienced healing, gained clarity, and much more. Hello! I completed and published my first book https://a.co/d/g6y6AFm!

Encouragement to Embrace Your God-Inspired Vision

As you prepare for the new year, take time to seek God’s vision for your life. Don’t settle for dreams that only satisfy temporary desires. Instead, pursue a vision that brings meaning, purpose, and aligns with God’s heart.

Remember, a God-breathed vision will challenge you, stretch you, and require faith. But it will also bring peace, fulfillment, and impact far beyond what you could imagine.