Be Thou My Vision
Sally Richardson
And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia,
and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. Acts 16:9
Where there is no vision, the people perish. Proverbs 29:18
On March 17th of every year, the world celebrates Saint Patrick’s Day. Patrick was a missionary in Ireland who had originally come from Scotland. However, he received a vision from the Lord which was similar to that of the Apostle Paul in our text for today from Acts 16:9. Patrick obeyed the Lord, went to Ireland, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Many years later an unknown poet wrote the words to the old hymn, "Be Thou My Vision":
Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art;
Thou my best thought, by day and by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
It is possible that we can lose our sight, but the worst thing of all is to lose our vision. The Bible says in Proverbs 29:18, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." Without vision, people cast off restraint; without vision, we would not have direction and we will lose our focus.
My dear friend, never lose your vision, never lose your focus, never take your eyes off Jesus. May the cry of your heart always be, as in the words of the old hymn, "Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart", for one day, God may speak to you in a vision directing you to go and help with spreading the Gospel as a missionary - perhaps to your next-door neighbour, your colleague, or school friend. Or, He may even send you to another town or city, or even to another country! What, then, will your response be? What vision do you have from the Lord to do? Does your heart stir within you to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the lost? Whatever He is calling you to do, wherever it may be, be sure of this - He who is calling you will equip you for the task ahead.
Be Thou my battle-shield, sword for the fight,
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