The Road of Hope

This week I was reflecting on my struggle with what I call the “mountaintop experience”. This is the place and moments where I can have great vision for my life. Vision is a great thing. Vision will make the difference between success and failure on the path to change. Oswald Chambers says “Wherever there is vision there is also a life of honesty and integrity because the vision gives me the moral incentive.[1]”

I am vulnerable in the mountaintop experience when I’m living the vision I want because I cannot stay on the mountaintop forever. Next month I’ll be headed to Minneapolis where I have been asked to speak and train the next generation of facilitators. I’ll be in the middle of ministry, and in the lead role where people are seeking my wisdom—this is a place where it’s so easy to have purpose and vision. But I can’t stay in Minneapolis forever. After a few days, I’ll board the plane and come back home to Nashville, and dirty dishes and bills are waiting. Plain. Old. Scott. It’s easy to lose perspective, so in the valley of everyday life where it is most critical to have a vision for my purpose. Most of life is spent in the day-to-day grind of life. It is in the valley that I must not lose vision, or I will be distracted by all the voices around me.

It’s in the day to day that I must ask myself, “What are the things I want to live my life by instead of what others have told me I should live by?” I must make the intrinsic choice to live out the values I believe in. I can’t be about the approval of others and stay on the right path in difficult circumstances. My vision can’t be extrinsically driven.

Being alone in the dull-drums of daily life, I lose motivation because I lose sight of my vision. I don’t believe what I cannot see. On the mountain I see it all clearly, but down in the valley, the buildings and trees blind me. I need a vision in my day-to-day routines because Christ has purpose for me there.

The bible says in Proverbs 29:18, “Without a vision the people lose restraint[2].” What is restraint? It is self-discipline while standing in temptation to say, “No, I am not going down the wrong path”. Even in that very moment my choices steer my course. On the mountaintop I feel so close to God but when I come down in the daily I lose vision.

How do we keep a fresh vision alive and in front of us? We must share vision together and be willing for vulnerability, inviting God to lead. God gives a picture of the future, which will motivate all my actions in the present, and I will no longer be stuck in the failures of the past. Being a part of a healing community keeps me inspired as it keeps God’s vision in front of me. This is the great gift of community.

Without a God-inspired vision, we are extremely susceptible. A vision based on circumstances will create idols and distractions that ultimately leave us feeling deeply uninspired. If we put Christ first, he will give us abundant inspiration—a vision of what he wants for our life. This vision will ignite purpose, and there we will find freedom.

[1] From ‘My Utmost for His Highest’ by Oswald Chambers, May 9th