Building People of Substance for Works of Power
August 20, 2025
I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint. And the LORD answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:1-4 ESV
During my first year of Bible school, I had a strange dream. I was preaching from a low platform in front of a blue wall. Beside me was a Black man, and it seemed that we were both preaching, like a team. I felt like we were in a pavilion or some kind of structure with open sides. When I woke up, the dream didn’t go away. I knew it was from God. Being the novice that I was, I began to look around to see if I could find a candidate to be my preaching partner. I was sure that the invitation to preach in this place would come soon. It didn’t.
Thirteen years later, I was teaching a Bible school class in Haiti. It was quite warm, and I was grateful for the breeze that the open sides of the building allowed. When I stepped up on the platform, a concrete slab raised about 8 inches from the ground, I noticed that the wall behind me was a dingy blue. Standing beside me was my new friend Jonas M’butu. It dawned on me that this was the fulfillment of the dream I had so many years before. What a great connection this turned out to be!
When God speaks to us, we usually believe that it will happen very soon. That’s a possibility, but it’s not the rule. We see from God’s advice to Habakkuk that once we have written the vision, published the vision, and formed our team to run with the vision, it may take a while. In fact, the phrase, “If it seems slow, wait for it,” implies that we may be tempted to give up. Don’t!
Whenever I start a new project, I warn my team members that they will not always be as excited as they were on the first day or the first week. With most things, there comes a point where the whole enterprise feels like walking through mud. It’s work! This is where many (most?) give up and say, “It must not have been God. Let’s try something else.” Habakkuk gives us some good advice on how to keep going to the finish line:
Learn to live in hope: “It will not delay.” Remember, God is in charge of timing. There may be many things that need to happen. People may need to be moved or trained. Resources may need to be prepared to appear at just the right moment on the timeline. God works when you can’t see it to do things you can’t do. You probably don’t even know they need to be done. Don’t rush and try to do it yourself or you may end up with an Ishmael of your very own.
The vision is a word from God, remember? It will provide the power for its own fulfillment. Our hope is not a whining, “I sure hope so.” It’s an eager anticipation of what we know God will do. The biblical kind of hope is the confidence that comes from knowing that God doesn’t lie. It’s coming, and I’m eagerly waiting! Paul said it this way, “But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” (Romans 8:25)
Humble yourself: God didn’t choose you because of your great gifts and intelligence. In fact, He gave you gifts in anticipation of giving you the mission. If you honestly think you can do it, you’re either deluded, or you don’t understand the assignment. Feeling overwhelmed is the first step to being qualified. If you can do it, then you deserve some glory for it. You can’t, and you don’t. When you start to feel driven to perform in order to fulfill the vision, humble yourself: you can’t do it. No pressure! You just need more grace:
But He gives more grace. That is why He says, “GOD RESISTS THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.” James 4:6
Use your faith: Remember, the vision came from God. He spoke it to you. Accept it for what it is, the Word of God. That means it brings faith (Romans 10:17) Keep repeating it. It will build up you and your team. Use your faith to believe for finances, for help, and for the gifts you need to do the work. Remember the rhythm of faith: Let faith arise from the Word, believe that you receive when you pray, then speak to the problem.
For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. Mark 11:23-24
Stay Steady: The Apostle James wrote, “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:4) The Greek word translated as “patience” is hupomone. Its literal meaning is “to stay under.” In other words, stay steady when the pressure is on. Other translations are perseverance, steadfastness, and endurance. When the pressure comes, do what you know to do: praise God, feed on the Word, pray in the Spirit, and love one another, and don’t quit!
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Galatians 6:9
Here’s the Point: God-given mission gives purpose to your life. It sanctifies the mundane. You don’t have to make it up; God will show it to you. When He does, write it down, share it with others, and be steadfast. Our natural, human life can be like a cup of water dipped out of the ocean. When the cup leaves the water, you can’t see where it was. The space immediately fills up as if nothing ever happened. However, if your life is planted as a seed by the hand of God in the soil of other lives, your life can echo through generations to come, whether they know it or not. You can be a drop in the bucket, or a seed that is the beginning of a great harvest. You can say with Paul, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” (Acts 26:19)
Pastor Virgil
3141 W. Ironwood Hill Dr.
Tucson, AZ 85741
pastorvirgil.com 