What You See Is What You Get
Proverbs 29:18 says that, “Where there is no revelation (or vision), the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law (or Word of God).” When a woman is pregnant, she expects to deliver a healthy baby, and this expectation will guide how she lives. She may love to run, but you won’t see her competing in a 100-metre race. Why? Because she has a vision of motherhood, she is putting restraints on herself, and is doing everything she can to protect that vision. Likewise, we must do the same when we receive a vision from the Word of God.
Another word the Bible uses for “vision” is “hope”. Your vision will create expectancy in you, and it will restrain you from doing certain things. Because you are expecting God to confirm His Word on your behalf, you will not be out in the world sinning and doing things that will get you out of fellowship with Him. That Word-based vision, which you see so clearly in the womb of your spirit, is restraining you from wrong living.
BEGIN WITH A VISION
In Genesis 13, God told Abraham that He would give him all the land that he could see. Abraham had to go ‘see’ the land, and had to walk over it, in order to possess it. You have to have a vision of what you want. Have it sculptured solid inside you, strong and clear. See it like you could almost taste it, then begin to declare it with your mouth.
Genesis chapter 11 provides a good illustration. The people had decided they were going to build a tower all the way to heaven. Even with our modern day technology we haven’t aspired to such a feat! These people however, had something going for them. In Genesis 11:6 God said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.”
“Propose” here, means “imagine”. When you imagine something you “see” it. Today when we build, we start with a blueprint. We don’t know if those folks had one like we use today, but we do know that they had a blueprint of whatever they were going to build engraved inside of them. Not only did they have one language, but also they were united in purpose. God Himself testified that nothing would stop these people from doing whatever they imagined to do, and so He had to intervene.
From this we can learn how important it is to first start with a vision, and then a way will be made to realize that vision. For example, during one of Michael Jordan’s basketball games he made over 15 three-pointer baskets! When asked at the end of the game how he thought he had been able to accomplish this, his response was that he had imagined the basket to be so big and wide, that there was just no way that he could miss!
In Genesis 11, God intervened by giving those tower builders different languages. Suddenly they couldn’t communicate with each other. More importantly, that image of the tower they had inside them could no longer be enhanced, and they had to abandon their efforts to build.
That’s exactly how doubt works. Contradictory words, feelings and circumstances, come to challenge the image of victory, healing, or blessing that you have inside your heart, and the image then begins to wane and die, ultimately leading to defeat.
DAVID SEES THINGS DIFFERENTLY
A case in point is the story of David in 1 Samuel 17. David was sent to take supplies to his older brothers at the warfront. He arrived there to hear Goliath the giant, challenging Israel’s army. 1 Samuel 17:4, 8-11, “And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span (about 9 feet 9 inches)… Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, ‘Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.’ And the Philistine said, ‘I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.’ When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.”
David arrived with the supplies, heard the same words, but his response was totally different. “And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. So the men of Israel said, ‘Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.’ Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying,… ‘For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?’ “ (Verses 24-26).
Why did Goliath’s word inspire fear in everyone else, but faith in David? What was the difference? Notice the way David addressed Goliath as an “uncircumcised Philistine”. What did he mean by that? In Genesis chapter 17 Abraham cut covenant with God by circumcision. By the same token, everyone in the natural lineage of Abraham, entered into that same covenant through circumcision. God had promised Abraham that anyone who blessed him, He would bless, and anyone who cursed him, He would curse. David realized that because he was a circumcised descendant of Abraham, he had all the benefits of Abraham’s covenant with God. All of Israel did too, but they just didn’t believe it or walk in the light of it. Goliath had not entered into any such covenant with God, and so he was defenseless against David and God!
It wasn’t a matter of having the wherewithal or the weaponry to face the opposing army. God was the One who would fight for them. David just measured the image and understanding he had of who God was against Goliath and the Philistine army. David looked at Goliath but did not see him as a giant – beside God nobody is a giant and nothing is gigantic! Alleluia! The rest of Israel compared Goliath to their limited selves. They saw themselves as little and Goliath as huge. But David took Goliath and compared him to God. He didn’t even put himself in the picture, he was putting Goliath against his God, and Goliath was no match for God.
THE GOLIATH IN YOUR LIFE
Goliath is a type for us today, representing anything that the devil is using to harass you. You may see your $100,000 debt as huge, especially when all you have coming in is $800 a month. When you are sitting at your table, looking at your bills, compare them to your Almighty God. Take those bills and compare them to the riches of God in Christ Jesus. All of a sudden, your bills will start shrinking! That’s why it is so important what you focus your eyes and attention on. Fear enters into our hearts when we begin to focus on physical evidence.
What if your doctor tells you that you have cancer? You break the news to your family and friends and they sink into despair as they start telling you of all the people they know who have died from cancer. Suddenly the cancer starts growing bigger in your mind, into a huge unstoppable monster. All the doctors in the world can’t stop it! What you need to do is put the cancer beside Jesus and His healing power. When you start to look at the situation in the proper perspective, the cancer won’t look so big anymore. Instead it will begin to shrink, and Jesus will ultimately dwarf it out of existence!
ACT IN FAITH: DON’T PRAY IN DOUBT
David had built a big, powerful, image of God in his heart. He didn’t just build that image the day he met Goliath. His image of God was developed over all those years he had spent taking care of sheep, singing psalms to the Lord and meditating on the Word of God. When the enemy’s attack came against that image, David did not give in to fear like the others did. He didn’t even stop to pray about what he should do. Often times when Christians are going through a crisis, they stop to pray and seek God’s will on what to do, but in some situations doing that can actually be an act of unbelief.
For example, if someone told you they wanted to get saved, would you first stop and pray to ask Jesus if He wants to save that person? No. You already know that the Word of God says that salvation is for “whosoever” (John 3:16). Likewise, if someone were to ask for prayer for healing, do we need to go pray and ask God if He wants to heal that person? No. We already know that the Bible says that “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil…” (Acts 10:38).
It was the same way with David. He didn’t need to pray and ask God what he should do about Goliath. He knew what the Word said about the benefits of his covenant with God through Abraham. All David needed to do was act on that covenant in faith. The saddest thing about the whole situation was that every person in Israel had as much right to that covenant as David did. But he was the only person who benefited from it. Thank God he was in Israel that day, otherwise the army of Israel would have been wiped out! How sad that they had more faith in Goliath’s words than in God’s.
Similarly, many Christians have more confidence in what the doctor has told them than what Jesus has said in His Word. The doctor might tell you that you have only two months to live. But Jesus will tell you to go ahead and live another 80 years if you want to! That doesn’t mean that doctors are wrong. You should acknowledge the physical facts, but use God’s word to overcome them. Take God’s report as a higher authority that can, and will change the doctor’s report! David knew that any Israelite could easily kill Goliath, and he couldn’t believe that nobody was accepting King Saul’s reward offer! And so he accepted Goliath’s challenge.
FAITH-FILLED WORDS
Immediately after declaring his bold words, David’s oldest brother, Eliab, opposed him (I Samuel 17:28). The same thing may happen to you. There are times when you may take a bold stand and speak faith-filled words from the Bible. People will come against you, especially fellow Christians, and say that you are proud. But actually it has nothing to do with you or pride; it’s all about your confidence in your covenant with God through Jesus.
“Then (David) turned from (Eliab) toward another and said the same thing;… Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul; and he sent for him.” (1 Samuel 17:30-31). There’s no point in trying to explain what you believe and what you are doing to people who are not going to receive it. Just leave them alone, turn from them like David did. You can’t afford to cast your pearls before swine!
When you were little, did you ever get together with other kids and tell scary stories? What effect did that have on your body – chills, goosebumps? Some people can hear bad news and immediately get diarrhea. If bad words can do that, think of what wholesome, faith-filled words can do! If bad news can cause people to collapse, then healing words from the Bible will build strength, and put life and energy back into your body. That’s why we need to constantly feed on God’s Word.
KEEP THE FIGHT ON GOD’S LEVEL
“Then David said to Saul, ‘Let no man’s heart fail because of (Goliath); your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.’ And Saul said to David, ‘You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth’.” (1 Samuel 17:32,33). Here Saul brings the situation down to the mere human level, into the natural realm. People will challenge your bold stand of faith again and again asking; “who do you think you are?” But remember, it is not you, or your background or where you come from that matters, but what God says.
David however puts the situation back on God’s level, into the supernatural realm, when he says in verse 37, “Moreover David said, ‘The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’ And Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you!’ “ As far as David was concerned, it didn’t depend on him or his ability. He was basing his victory on the supernatural ability of God.
And so with King Saul’s permission, David went to meet Goliath, dressed as a shepherd boy, with no armour or weapon other than a slingshot. The sight of David made Goliath so angry that he said to David, ” ‘Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?’ And (Goliath) the Philistine cursed David by his gods.” (Verse 43). You can’t stop the circumstances, the symptoms, the bills, or whatever, from talking to you. You can’t even stop Satan from talking to you. But as soon as he’s through talking, you better have something to say in return. Interrupt him if you like, but make sure you boldly declare what you know will happen, what God will do for you!
Talk back to your circumstances like David did in verse 45, “Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.’ “ Saul had given him his armour to use, but David had to put it down because he hadn’t proved or tested it. David came against Goliath in the name of the Lord, the name of the Lord was the weapon he had proved.
Psalm 20:1 says, “May the name of the God of Jacob defend you”. Thank God we have the name of Jesus to defend us today! All that the Father’s name represents has been put in the name of Jesus for us. Salvation, healing, protection, provision, all are in the name of Jesus. The Bible tells us that whatever we do in word or deed, we are to do it in the name of Jesus.
Jewish legend tells us that Goliath was completely covered in metal armour. When David ran towards him, Goliath laughed. As he laughed his head jerked back and his helmet slid up. Just then David released a stone from his sling and hit him right between the eyes. That was supernatural! God made a way for the victory David had conceived in his heart to take place (see 1 Samuel 17:46-49). “So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him…” (Verse 50).
THE ROAD TO GLORY
In 2 Corinthians 4:17 Paul refers to all the persecution he suffered as “light affliction” – the stonings, the beatings with rods, etc. His perception of his sufferings was obviously different from what most people would have had in the same situation. In the natural what was happening to him was very painful, but he said, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory…” Paul concluded that the light affliction, the persecution and turmoil, which Satan was trying to use to hinder his ministry and ultimately destroy him, was merely working the way gasoline works in your car to take you from one point to another. The light affliction was working to take him to a weighty place of glory! He refused to see his situation the way the enemy wanted him to.
Whatever you may be facing, remember that the enemy is trying to use it for your destruction, but God can use it as raw material to bring blessings and glory to you. But how does the affliction work to produce glory? The answer is in verse 18 of 2 Corinthians 4, “while we do not look at the things which are seen…” David refused to look at, or focus on Goliath’s intimidating physical attributes. He focused on God. In other words, when you start looking at your circumstances, the power of God cannot work for you. “While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (Verse 18). The things that cannot be seen, are the visions of victory that you have inside your heart. Focusing on them will bring you to the glorious outcome God desires for you.
CONCLUSION
Meditate on God’s word daily. We all meditate on something everyday. But if you don’t consciously choose to meditate on God’s word, the devil will be sure to supply you with plenty of food for thought! Meditation will produce a clear vision of God’s Word inside you. Let that vision fill your mind and your heart. Cut off anything that attempts to change or modify it. It may be friends, the news, the TV or whatever. If it’s giving you a bad report – stay away from it!
Don’t allow your vision from God to be tampered with. It doesn’t matter how you feel or don’t feel; what people say or don’t say. The only things the enemy can use against you are your thoughts and your words. If he can get you destabilized in your thinking, he can get you to change and abort your vision. Remember that what you see, is what you get!