2020 vision
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. -Ephesians 1:17-19 (NIV)
OK - I'll jump on the bandwagon of people taking advantage of the new year to make the application to optics. Our challenge, as it has been for God's people through the ages, is to see the unseen through the eyes of faith...
Abraham figured a God who could use a 100-year-old man to impregnate his 90-year-old wife could bring that son back to life to fulfill a promise. (Hebrews 11:17-19)
Moses didn't think a God who had just brought a powerhouse of a nation to its knees would turn around and abandon His children to be slaughtered on the shore of the Red Sea. (Exodus 14:10-14)
Caleb felt the same when he came back from a reconnaissance mission in Canaan. He and Joshua saw what the other ten spies missed. (Numbers 13:26-30)
David was so confident in what he believed God would do that he talked smack to a giant who should've squashed him like a bug. (1 Samuel 17:45-47)
And there are dozens, if not hundreds of others sprinkled throughout the pages of scripture. Interestingly, most of them stood in opposition not only to the enemies of God, but to their own people as well. It's a choice to see what others will not - you will be swimming against the current. So do not expect to be popular or to have a strong base of support. You'll be proven right (and righteous) when God shows up and fights for you. But even that vindication may come after you are gone from this life.
All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. -Hebrews 11:13-16 (NIV)
If you're feeling small or insignificant, look back at these visionaries. As a rule, they weren't special. They were far from perfect - most were deeply flawed. But they believed and obeyed at the crucial moments in their lives when it was time to take a stand. God is faithful. His track record is really impressive - He's undefeated. Now look ahead. Don't be afraid. One man can make a difference if he is standing with God. Heads up, eyes open, men!
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. -2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)