RECOMPENSE: Returning stolen vision

Last week while in a strategic planning meeting I asked my leadership staff a simple question;

'What does a successful 2023 look like?'

The room was uncomfortably silent.

No one wanted to offer an answer or even a suggestion.

It was honestly what I expected.

We have unknowingly and subtley shifted to defence mode. Years of responding to the crises and traumas; the unknowns, the uncertainty, constant changes and adjustments. The 'new normal' is 'new functioning' not thriving.

Many are not expecting a successful year ahead. We lost too much. Many of us are grieving. In fact we are just taking these few moments as a breather and readying ourselves for the next possible hit, unsure from which direction a sniper is hiding.

This is a DANGEROUS mode to live in. It has lowered expectations to less than hope. Now we just hesitantly offer best wishes.

This is NOT kingdom thinking or alignment. We are actually rendered powerless.

"Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is one who keeps the Law.' Proverbs 29:18

Unrestrained: this word has a meaning of being exposed, naked, and uncovered.

Without vision we have no armour! We are vulnerable and easy targets. Some translations use the word 'perish, which means to suffer ruin, destruction and even death!

Protective Mode

I am a future oriented thinker. This is my natural wiring and perhaps why I thrive in the pioneering places yet I also notice that my dreams have gradually downsized. The big ones are written down but in my quiet, private notebook. Tentative scripts that I only dare to record in secret. I am not afraid of hardship or failure, I am just more reluctant to invest hope so quickly. Better to lock in and secure it. The risk is too high!

Unrehearsed Truths

Aa I tried to respond to the discomfort and reality of the staff silence I found myself saying these words....

'We were robbed! So much was stolen. Things that we don't even know or realise were also stolen. Right out from underneath us. Our hope, our vision, our joy. We are afraid to dream again because the disappointment and loss was so painful and the wounds are still open. We have spent the past months trying to just get back up on our feet again.

That is not where the story ends. We are in a dangerous position if we stay in this protective defence mode; always waiting and anticipating another painful problem. Trying to make sure we are ready and losing our trust. That is not healthy. We can't keep practicing and preparing for the next difficulty. Armies have defence plans but they work and practice their attack.

No joy means no strength. No vision means no direction. No hope means defeat...before we even start.

I will just share a little testimony with you. As we approached the last minutes of 2022 I was scrolling through a list of the 'Names of God' and asking what do you want to say Amahan? (A local word I use when I pray; meaning Father). I was not feeling the 'Happy New Year' moment; in fact my heart was saying 'here we go' but it wasn't excited or ready; more of a 'I have to ride this out' again approach...

As I was scrolling, 1 name popped out from my sceeen ;

'The God of Recompense'

952 Names of God

Screenshot 11.39pm

31st Dec 2022.

The last minutes of the year!

Recompense

That is who God is and what he does!

Recompense is not just a return of what was stolen. It is a multiplication.

I believe God wants to and intends to not just give back what was stolen from us; corporately and personally but to increase it. We can partner with fear and uncertainty or we can stand on truths of God's kingdom ways. The choice is ours but only one way moves us out of defence and paralysis and into advancing mode.

I don't want to bring the weights from the past 3 years with me. I can bring the learnings; the lessons I needed but we need to drop the weighta and leave them there."

Those words just rolled out unedited. I was a bit taken aback by what I was releasing; truths that we all needed to hear and arealign ourselves with.

The Stolen

Proverbs 4:31 speaks of a thief....

'When he is found he must return sevenfold what was stolen'

This is the word recompense. The return back is 7 times!

It is more than a repayment or settlement!

I don't want to get stuck in the stolen. I don't want to be paralysed expecting and waiting for another thief.

'The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" John 10:10

This is my verse for the year!

I want to expect, find, and live out fulness. I anticipate a fight for it but this is where vision, joy, and hope regrow.

The FULL Return

We can dream with confidence again when dreams and visions are founded in the truth of the WHOLE storyline!

The recompense is a FULL, COMPLETE and MULTIPLIED return!

That is more than enough hope to sow fresh vision in!

A 7 times recompense return of the stolen!