Philip Adhikary, Bangladesh
Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint;
but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.
Proverbs 29:18
When a person sees God, their life will always be transformed. We know of great people in the Bible who had seen God, and their lives were transformed. For example, Moses was tending the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. The angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire (Exodus 3:1–2), and there he was called to redeem his people from the bondage of slavery in Egypt.
Jacob, though he had deceived his brother Esau, wrestled with God at Peniel, and his name was changed to Israel (Genesis 32:28–30). When Gideon saw a vision of God, he was transformed from a coward into a courageous soldier (Judges 6:11–24). And Thomas, after seeing Christ, was changed from a doubting follower into a loyal, devoted disciple (John 20:24–29).
Saul, a persecutor of Christians, met Jesus on the road to Damascus and “suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him” (Acts 9:3). His name was changed from Saul to Paul, and he became the great Apostle of Jesus.
We can also find wonderful testimonies in the history of missions. Many people since biblical times have had visions of God. William Carey, an eighteenth-century English missionary considered to be the father of modern missions, saw God and left his shoemaker’s bench to go to India.
In the nineteenth century, David Livingstone saw God and left everything behind in Britain to become a missionary and explorer, following the Lord’s leading through the thickest jungles in Africa. There are thousands more who have had visions of God and today are serving Him in the uttermost parts of the earth, seeking the timely evangelization of the lost.
How can we be a part of this mission to evangelize people who are lost? We need to wait upon God, which is vital in order to see Him and receive a vision from Him. The amount of time spent before Him is also critical, for our hearts are like a photographer’s film—the longer the exposure, the deeper the impression. For God’s vision to be impressed on our hearts, we must sit in stillness at His feet for quite a long time. We must remember that the troubled surface of a lake will not reflect an image.
Therefore, our lives must be quiet and peaceful if we expect to see God. And the vision we will see from Him will have the power to affect our lives more than a lovely sunset brings peace to our troubled hearts. Seeing God always equals a transformed life.