Seeing is vital to life. Without clear vision, it's easy to lose direction, stumble, bump into things, and be left unprotected.

I was so nearsighted as a child that the eye doctor recommended contact lenses for me when I was eight years old. Without "aided vision," my nearsightedness was 20/800. What I could see from 20 feet away a normal person could see from 800 feet away.

My wife, Shirley, still kids me about my poor vision. Even though there's a digital clock with four inch numbers on a nightstand just a foot-and-a-half from my face, I can't tell what time it is when I take out my lenses at bedtime. One night I got out of bed and walked right into a wall! Shirley swears that if a burglar ever breaks into our house, she'll have to defend us.

Clear vision is even more important in our spiritual lives. What happens when we lack vision?It's the pits.  Life is boring and disjointed.  There are many things to stumble over, numerous walls to bump into, and a sickening feeling of powerlessness and frustration. We also learn to compensate, but do it through resignation to circumstances, loneliness, lack of joy and excitement, or silent gnawing pain.

Your life is never greater than your vision. In a sense, what we see is what we are. Shakespeare might have more accurately mused, "To see or not to see; that is the question." If we "see" God's plan for us, then we can more easily walk the pathway that He brightens before us. Otherwise, we may become lost and an unprotected prey for the devil.

The thing that stands out most in the lives of godly people in the Bible and history is that they recognized their destiny. They "saw" what God wanted them to do and trusted him to lead them.

• Noah knew it was his destiny to build an ark, rescue his family, and begin a new world.
• Abraham saw a vision of a promised land, a nation, and all nations being blessed through him.
• Moses knew he would be the deliverer of the Hebrew nation.
• Jeremiah understood his call to be a prophet to the nations.
• John the Baptist knew that God gave him the job of being the forerunner of the Messiah.
• Peter understood his destiny as the pillar of the church and the apostle of the Jews.

These people were just as human as we are. But they became heroes in heaven's eyes because they saw God's purposes for their lives and were obedient to his plans.

The first American dictionary was compiled through the tireless efforts of Noah Webster in 1828. It was his desire to give a Christian interpretation to the English language. Webster gave us the following definitions of the words "vision" and "destiny":

• Vision--a revelation from God; something presented supernaturally to the mind; the object of sight.
• Destiny--the state or condition appointed or predetermined; invincible necessity; ultimate fate; to set, ordain, or appoint to use.

Webster believed that vision and destiny were crucial to life. Vision came from God and destiny was ordained by Him. Modern dictionaries have since changed the meanings. There is no reference to God in them. But to Webster, without God, there was no vision or destiny.

So why is vision so important?

First, when we fulfill the purpose of our creation, the highest honor goes to our Creator. A beautiful vase brings praise to a skilled potter when filled with flowers. The same vase used to store motor oil in a garage wastes the potter's talent. You and I are vessels made by God for a specific purpose.  Jesus revealed a perfect sense of His destiny when He proclaimed in John 17:4, "Having finished the work you gave me to do, I brought you glory on earth."

Second, when each of us does our assigned part, the largest possible harvest of salvation takes place. You may not have heard of Mordecai Ham. He was called by God to do evangelism in the southern United States during the 1930s. One night in 1934 when he was preaching the gospel in Charlotte, North Carolina, a teenage boy came forward and gave his life to Christ. That boy was Billy Graham.

Dr. Billy Graham has preached the gospel to hundreds of millions of people--more than any man in history. But his name would not be a household word if Mordecai Ham hadn't been faithful to God's call. Because he fulfilled his destiny, another link in God's chain of blessing was forged. Whenever one person is faithful to do God's will, others benefit. We're believers today because someone was faithful to do God's will yesterday.

And third, fulfilling our purpose brings the greatest amount of personal happiness. There is nothing more satisfying than being what you were created to be. Happiness, contentment, and a sense of self worth are by-products of doing God's will for your life.

Glory to God. Maximum impact. Personal happiness. They're the wonderful result of "seeing" your destiny and pursuing it with all your heart.

Are you seeing God's plan for your life through the eyes of faith today?