POSITIONED FOR PURPOSE: THE BLUEPRINT FOR MANIFESTING VISION IN THE NEW YEAR

BY JOYCE SIMS

In 2001, amidst the budding stage of my law career, I was stricken with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus, commonly called "Rhupus" At thirty-one years old, married with three children, I was determined not to let the diagnoses derail me Therefore, despite the pain, I continued to do everything a "normal" person would do

POSITIONED FOR PURPOSE: THE BLUEPRINT FOR MANIFESTING VISION IN THE NEW YEAR

Twelve years later, Rhupus led to an incurable illness called Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) When my physician delivered the diagnosis, I was in congestive heart failure with roughly a year to live

Devastated, all my husband and I could do when we made it to our car was hold each other and cry When we told our children, I said, "We're not crying about this anymore If we say we trust God, we will trust God "

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and social distancing was worse than all my illnesses combined. My husband was an essential worker, my grown children could not visit, and our church was shuttered indefinitely Thereafter, depression engulfed me, and I found myself drifting away from God

Thankfully, my husband encouraged me to write, and I began to find solace Isolation transformed into motivation, and by God’s grace, I published my first novel in September 2022 and my second in 2023

Now, reflecting upon my journey and the lessons found in Habakkuk, I am reminded that God is always at work and will often use difficult situations to usher us to our destiny. Habakkuk 2:1-2 provides the blueprint for manifesting vision in 2024.

Habakkuk states, "I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what He will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint Then the Lord replied: "Write down the vision and make it plain on tablets so that he may run who reads it "

Habakkuk directs us to:

1) Get in position. He understood the importance of purpose and wrote, "I will stand my watch and set myself on the tower " Just like a pilot must navigate a plane from the cockpit or a football player's purpose determines his position on the field, our purpose determines our position

2) Remain perceptive. Vision is divinely revealed at the appointed time, only for a while. Habakkuk declared that he would watch to see what God would say to him. His attentiveness yielded God’s response. We, too, must actively seek His guidance

3) Pen it. God told Habakkuk, "Write the vision and make it plain on tablets so that he who reads it may run " We must avoid seeking validation from others before “writing it in stone ” For it is not their vision At the appointed time, God will align us with allies who will help bring our vision to fruition Then, they will receive it and run

So, as we strive to manifest our God-given goals, we must understand that vision embodies three qualities. It is clear, enabling us to see and understand His plan vividly. It is collaborative, requiring the participation of passionate allies to help us. And finally, it is constant. When we trust in His unwavering power, others can take the vision and continuously bring it to pass even after we are gone