As we look out on a society deeply troubled by civil unrest, as we consider the appearance of and the after-effects of a global pandemic, as we ponder what it will mean as we emerge from our imposed cells of isolation, many are asking: “what does it all mean? Why is all of this happening? Are there cultural elites manipulating us for their own ends? How can a loving and all powerful God allow the catastrophic to occur? Is God speaking to us through all this turmoil?”
   Are you seeking the wisdom of God in these days? Are you reaching out to Him in prayer? The Lord speaks to us in manifold ways through the written Word, through His Holy Spirit, through the natural world, and often through the unbidden and unexpected. 
He calls us to listen and to use words that will edify, words that will build and challenge and comfort and minister to those around us. But it’s not always easy to locate those words when the people in our lives shun us, refuse to listen to us, misunderstand us, dismiss us, and treat us with disrespect. Walls are built—walls of anger and frustration and fear—walls that are hard to penetrate. In the midst of all the confusion, we may even build walls between ourselves and God. We can’t hear or we refuse to listen.
   We all say we want signs. But are we listening? Are we listening for what God is saying at the small crossroads as well as at the big junctures? Are we listening to the spoken and the unspoken words of those we encounter every day? Are we listening to the heart cries of the child, the stranger, the friend, even the one who seems bent on our destruction?

OR are you a visionary looking for an opportunity? If you are a visionary, don’t let anyone dampen your passion or size down your vision. Pray to be certain that what you think could be, God is telling you should be. Then step out in faith, follow the road map God provides and you’ll have a reason for getting up and showing up every day. Don’t go through your life with a hole in your soul because you’re just drifting along with no purpose, no meaning in your life. The God of the universe has designed you to fulfill a purpose unique to you. Granted, this world offers a truckload of options when it comes to possible visions to pursue. But you were carefully crafted, minutely detailed for a selected divine agenda. God’s visions for your life are the things that will give your life impact beyond this life. God’s visions always have an eternal element. His vision for your life is part of a plan He envisioned and put into motion long before you and I came on the scene. Ask for that divine glimpse of what could be and should be. Ask God to be your vision and to instill in you His vision for you. And then go after that vision with everything you’ve got.