God has a purpose and a plan for your life. There is something bigger and greater than where you are today. Getting a vision is just the first step. Dreaming is not enough to get where God wants you to go. To turn vision to reality, you need a little something called diligence.
This blog will discuss diligence in the Bible and five practices you can implement to turn your wealth building vision to reality. They are:
1. Determine the Dream
2. Touch Your Dream
3. Create a Game Plan
4. Be Consistent
5. Walk Through Open Doors
What is Diligence?
Oxford Dictionary defines diligence as “careful and persistent work or effort.” The Hebrew word for diligence, chărûwts, is a bit richer. It is associated with being sharp, determined, and eager. The same word is also used to describe mining for gold, digging a trench, and using a threshing instrument.
Diligent people take action to maximize the resources in their environment. The gold is already there; you just have to mine for it. There is plenty of water, but you must dig a trench for it to flow. God has already provided the treasure; you just need a shovel!
Diligence in the Bible
There are a lot of Bible verses about diligence. Here are a few of my favorites:
- “Lazy people don’t even cook the game they catch, but the diligent make use of everything they find.” Proverbs 12:27 (NLT)
- “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” Proverbs 21:5 (NIV)
- “A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes one rich.” Proverbs 10:4 (ESV)
From the scriptures, we clearly see that wealth is directly associated with diligence. So, if we want to build wealth that advances the Kingdom of God, we best learn a thing or two about diligence!
5 Practices to Turn Your Vision to Reality
1. Determine the Dream (& Say Yes)
In order to turn your vision to reality, you need a vision! That may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many people stop dreaming. When you ask, God will show you a vision for your life.
It’s like when God gave the dream to Abram in Genesis 15. Abram was reclining in his tent, flipping through the channels on his flat screen T.V., complaining to God that he didn’t have an heir. God spoke to him supernaturally:
“No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” (Genesis 15:4-5).
God brought Abram outside. I don’t know how he did that– if he grabbed him by the neck and drug him out or what, but God himself brought him outside and showed him a picture. He used the countless stars and the night sky to show Abram something he didn’t have the insight to see before.
God called Abraham a righteous man because he believed the dream (Genesis 15:6). God will give you a vision too, but it is your job to say yes!
2. Touch Your Dream
Most of us don’t know what we don’t know. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge.” So, never let it be said that you didn’t find out!
To overcome your lack of knowledge, you have to go out and touch your dream. Leave your current environment and go into a new space. Take a step toward the dream, and let God show you something new!
I’ll use a material example to drive this point home. I have a pickup truck with massage seats, but there was a time when I didn’t realize they made trucks with features like that. One day, I got into my friend’s truck and the seat started buzzing. Before I knew it, I was touching my dream!
This isn’t about covetousness or hoarding more toys for yourself. It is, however, about expanding your paradigm of what’s possible and attaching your faith to something tangible. Touching your dream helps you:
- Figure out a little more about what you don’t know
- Start to know the right questions to ask
- Make sure your dream really is the dream
- Get motivated!
3. Create a Game Plan (Goals & Rhythms)
Once you have determined and touched your dream, the next step is to create a plan. Bring in wise counsel, and set manageable goals. Aim at a target!
After you set focused goals, create disciplines that bring those intentions to pass. The goal is to practice a discipline long enough for it to become a rhythm. Rhythms are productive patterns that are seamlessly integrated into your life.
When you begin to practice discipline, your efforts might feel like a series of scattered beats. There will be a temptation to get discouraged because your schedule does not flow in harmony yet. Take heart—in due time, through consistency, those beats will become rhythms. Then, you will be well on your way to turning your vision to reality.
4. Be Consistent
This is where diligence really comes into play. Sporadic effort rarely yields results, but consistent effort will produce growth every time! Sometimes we want to jump right into what God has for us, but you have to steward along the way.
Be consistent through challenges, and you will turn your vision to reality. Too many people quit when their goals become difficult, but you must be able to grow through difficulties.
The will of God in your life is progressive– Mark 4:28 (NKJV) says, “For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.” So, consistently sow your seed, tend to the soil, water the ground, and be patient through the process. You will yield a harvest!
5. Walk Through Open Doors
When I was younger, I tried to knock down every door in order to get where I wanted to go. Now that I’m older, I wait for God to open doors.
God adds the right things to your life at the right time. Your job is to couple your faith with diligence, and He does the rest. The next opportunity or level of wealth will be attracted to you once you develop the capacity to carry it.
When you are ready, God will promote you, show you the next open door, or pour the next blessing into your life. Your vision will become reality, and then you can continue to dream bigger with the Lord!
Want to learn more about how to turn your vision to reality? Check out the following episode of The WealthBuilders Podcast to learn about how to create a compelling vision for your life, ministry, or business!
Can you pls help me with helpful business ideas I am trying but not catching my dreams maybe I am not meeting the right people or not doing what I suppose to do. I’m hardworking patient single mom with too much responsibilities. I pray everyday God to give me the ideas of creating money.
Hello Mauritius! Here is an article to help with side hustles to earn extra money. https://www.wealthbuilders.org/?s=side+hustle&et_pb_searchform_submit=et_search_proccess&et_pb_search_cat=1&et_pb_include_posts=yes&et_pb_include_pages=yes
We also have this podcast that will help lead you in the right direction as you are led by the Holy Spirit that He has prepared for you. https://www.wealthbuilders.org/vision-to-reality-crafting-a-compelling-vision-story/
Please lean on Jesus as your source and not on yourself, because we can do nothing apart from Him and it will cause you a lot of unnecessary stress by “TRYING”. He will bring the right people, at the right time, to do the right thing and help you. It’s one step at a time. I hope this helps you. Keep your peace, joy and look to Him at all times as you rejoice in thanksgiving, because it’s already done! Praise God!
I’m grateful for the valuable lessons from this article Dreaming and Diligence. The key take aways have helped me refocus on turning my vision to reality and building the habits that drive progress, develop compelling vision that aligns with my values.
I’ve gained confidence to pursue my dreams with clarity and purpose. Thank you for sharing.
Thank-you Karen & Ray for generously sharing needful & helpful strategies for us to find & fulfill all that God put in us to do.
I also thank-you Billy & Becky for diligently following through with one little decision I made to download the free booklet from your Run Your Race Series on the new Truth Network.
Grateful, Terry Janovick.
Thank you! Great reminder of wisdom to apply to our “Dreams.”
Great teaching Sir.
Thanks a lot!