Live by Revelation

Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but happy is he who keeps the law (Proverbs 29:18). The world operates on vision. God's people live by revelation. The world seeks grand and noble purposes and goals to achieve. People dream up the greatest and most satisfying things in which they can invest their lives. Institutions establish goals and objectives and then organize themselves to achieve them. God's people function in a radically different way. Christians arrange their lives based on the revelation of God, regardless of whether it makes sense to them. God does not ask for our opinion about what is best for our future, our family, our church, or our country. He already knows! What God wants is to get the attention of His people and reveal to us what is on His heart and what is His will, for God's ways are not our ways! (Isa. 55: 8–9). Whenever people do not base their lives on God's revelation, they “cast off restraint.” That is, they do what is right in their own eyes. They set their goals, arrange their agendas, and then pray for God's blessings. Some Christians are living far outside the will of God, yet they have the audacity to pray and ask God to bless their efforts! The only way for you to know God's will is for Him to reveal it to you. You will never discover it on your own. When you hear from the Father, you have an immediate agenda for your life: obedience. As the writer of Proverbs observed: “Happy is he who keeps the law.” —Henry T. Blackaby, Richard Blackaby, Experiencing God Day by Day

Today’s devotional thought clarifies that while the general world functions based on what people can see and understand through their own perspective ("vision"), those who follow God base their lives on a deeper, spiritual understanding directly revealed by God, which is considered "revelation." Vision allows people to set their goals based on their own perception and understanding. Revelation, on the other hand, is direct insight or knowledge given by God, often received through the scriptures or personal experiences, which guide a believer's actions and decisions. By vision, you might decide to invest in a business venture based on trends that you see developing. By revelation, you might decide to give sacrificially to help the poor, because God has moved upon your heart to do so. As believers in Jesus—followers of Christ—we are called to press beyond what our eyes see to rely upon how the Holy Spirit leads us. Christianity is an intimate growing relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. Every child of God should therefore live by the revelation of the Word. —DH