Many believers have trouble understanding the difference between receiving vision and direction from God. For years, I didn't have a clear definition between the two, but just recently, the Holy Spirit clarified it. In my year 2000 Christmas Eve message (in two different churches; in two different languages) the Holy Spirit had me ministering on the life of Joseph (Jesus' natural father), and obedience. In this message, the Holy Spirit gave me clear revelation on the difference.

The Bible doesn't talk much about Joseph, and he isn't ministered on much, we seem to pay much more attention to Mary, the mother of Jesus. However, the things that the Bible does say about him are very revealing about his character. Let's take a look at his actions as they are recorded in the book of Matthew:

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. ²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins"… ²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Matthew 1:18-21, 24-25 NIV

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." ¹⁴ So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, ¹⁵ where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."

Matthew 2:13-15 NIV

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt ²⁰ and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead." ²¹ So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, ²³ and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."

Matthew 2:19-23 NIV

These few verses are basically all the Bible says about Joseph. Another version of the same story is repeated in Luke, without as much detail, and in Luke two it has the story about Jesus being left behind in Jerusalem. The only other thing is that his genealogy is mentioned. Yet, God the Father chose this man to be the earthly father of His only Son, to raise Him, train Him, and be an example of righteous behavior to Him.

Righteous? The Bible says that there are none who are righteous (Rom 3:10). But the Bible also calls Joseph a righteous man in verse 19. There must have been something special about him for God to choose him for this special task.

Because of Joseph's righteousness, he was going to divorce Mary before their marriage. According to the Jewish custom of the day, since they were betrothed, he had to divorce her in order to break off their relationship. Even though he had made his decision, he wasn't so set in it that he refused to hear from God. When God had the angel speak to him, he was willing to obey.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins"…

Matthew 1:20-21 NIV

Notice that God sent an angel to speak to Joseph in a dream. We have a tendency to think that God spoke to people differently in the Old Testament than He does today. (Although this was written in the New Testament, it happened under the grace of the Old Testament, we didn't have the grace of the New Testament in operation until after the resurrection of Jesus.) We have a Hollywood image of God's voice booming out of a cloud catching the attention of whoever He's trying to talk to, and giving them direction so clear that only a fool would disobey.

However, God didn't speak to His people any more clearly in the Old Testament than He does today. In this case, He sent an angel to speak to Joseph in a dream. A dream… the life of Jesus Christ was hanging on a man understanding that a dream came from God? Yes, God spoke to Joseph in a dream.

In the first book of Kings, God desired to give direction to the great prophet Elijah. Now remember, Elijah was so close to God that God took him up to heaven in bodily form, one of only two people recorded in the Bible that God did this with. He must have heard God's voice clearly. The Lord said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

1 Kings 19:11-13 NIV

Here's Elijah, hiding in a cave in the mountains. Along comes a series of what could be seen as very obvious "signs;" a wind so strong that it tore mountains and shattered rocks; an earthquake; a fire. Yet God wasn't in any of them. After all this, God brings a gently whisper of a breeze, and Elijah recognizes the voice of the Lord in it.

The world screams at us to pay attention to it, but God speaks to us with a "still, soft voice." Just as the prophets of old, we need to learn to attune our ears to the voice of the Lord. (Why do you think that they had a "school" of the prophets?) He isn't going to scream at us, He is God, and He has a right to our attention.

When Elijah heard the voice of the Lord, he obeyed; so did Joseph. Elijah was directed to anoint the next king and the next prophet. Joseph was directed to take Mary to be his wife.

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.

Matthew 1:24 NIV

Notice when Joseph obeyed. It says, "when Joseph woke up." It doesn't say he waited until the appointed day for the wedding. It doesn't say that he went to get counsel on what he thought he heard from the Lord. The Bible says that he obeyed "when he woke up." I have a feeling this means that he woke up in the middle of the night, immediately after this dream, and did what the angel told him.

Joseph was instant in his obedience; we must also be instant in ours. Late obedience is still disobedience.

Not only was Joseph instant in his obedience, but he also broke culturally acceptable practice to be obedient. In that day, the Jewish custom was for the couple to prepare themselves for the wedding, and wait for the groom's father to say that "all is ready, you may get married."

Joseph didn't wait for his earthly father's permission, he had his Heavenly Father's direction. I'm quite sure he caught some flack for his decision, yet he still obeyed God. His parents probably were upset at him, and the leaders in his synagogue shunned him, but he still obeyed God. He and his new wife may have even been social outcasts, especially since most people would think that he got her pregnant before their wedding day, yet he still obeyed God. The only direction he received was in a dream, yet he still obeyed God.

This wasn't the only time that Joseph obeyed the direction of the Lord that came through a dream. After the wise men left, he had another visitation of an angel in a dream.

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." ¹⁴ So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, ¹⁵ where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."

Matthew 2:13-15 NIV

Once again, Joseph receives direction in a dream, and once again he obeys INSTANTLY! In fact, he obeyed so instantly that his neighbors went to bed not knowing anything about him moving, and woke the next morning to wonder where he'd went. He didn't wait for the morning, he "got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt." Instant, unconditional obedience to a message he received in a DREAM.

Once again, Joseph went against his culture to obey his God. Although we don't think much of packing up and moving a thousand miles in search of a better job, up until the last hundred years or so, that was something left for only a few brave, adventurous souls.

Leaving your home and city was leaving behind your family, your work and your financial security. When Joseph chose to obey God, he was (in the natural) taking a great chance with his family. Even the journey was dangerous, then if they arrived in this strange new land, what would he do? Where would he live? Could he even talk to the people? All this risk, for a voice he heard in a dream.

We know from the Bible, and from historical record, that Joseph made the right decision. But, he couldn't possibly have known any of this. As he stood there in his house, in the middle of the night, he had to act on faith, believing that God had truly spoken to him.

We talk about Abraham as being the father of faith, and we boast of the "hall of faith" found in Hebrews chapter eleven. But, here's a man, who's faith allowed the Messiah to come and live amongst us. Yet he hardly even gets honorable mention.

Three times Joseph obeyed direction he received from God in a dream. I imaging by the third time, it was probably getting a little easier for him. But, each of these decisions, made from what we would call rather sketchy information, was a world changing decision. Each one allowed prophecy to be fulfilled, and the ministry of Jesus, as the Christ to be accomplished.

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt ²⁰ and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead." ²¹ So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel… ²³ and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."

Matthew 2:20-21, 23 NIV

Not only was Joseph obedient, but he also understood the difference between vision and direction. The first time the angel spoke to him in a dream, he clearly understood what his part was, and what God's part was.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

Matthew 1:20-21 NIV

In this simple statement, God gives His vision and some direction to Joseph. Vision is when God says, "I'll do this through you." So, in these verses, the vision part is "what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit," and "he will save his people." Joseph heard God out on the vision, and knew that was God's part. Nowhere does scripture record Joseph trying to make Jesus into the savior.

Direction is when God says, "you do this for Me." The direction part is "take Mary home as your wife," and "give him the name Jesus." Joseph recognized the direction that God was giving him and leaped to obey. He knew what his part was, and he knew that he had to do his part for God to do His part.

It's amazing how many people mix up the two. Somehow, we are much quicker to jump into a vision from God than we are to obey what He has told us to do. However, the only way the vision can get accomplished is when we obey the direction.

Let me say that again. The only way the vision can get accomplished is when we obey the direction.

We don't need to accomplish the vision; we need to follow the direction. As we are obedient to God, we make it possible for God to accomplish His vision through us. Step by step, each act of obedience brings us a little closer to the fulfillment of God's ultimate plan and vision in our lives.

More ministries fail because of people going ahead of God's timing than any other reason. Instead of obeying the direction that God gives them, people run out and try and accomplish the vision. That isn't their part though; that's God's part.

When God gives us a vision, He doesn't give us everything; what He gives us is the final result. Vision is always about the future, and what God is planning to do.

Vision is kind of like looking at a tree. We are standing on the ground at the base of the tree. All we can see is what's in front of us, and what's at the very highest point of the tree. Everything in between is obscured from our sight.

You see… that highest point is the last thing that grew, it's the end of the life of that tree. When you look at the tree from God's viewpoint, the part you see is that very top little branchlet, and the leaves that are sticking up the highest. Since that's the part that God sees, through His faith, that's the part He shows us.

As we obey, and take the next step God shows us, He is able to show us another. Step by step He shows us what He wants to accomplish through our lives. Each step fills out the tree more, spreading the branches wider, until, at the end of a life of obedience, we reach that part that God is seeing. It is through our obedience that God accomplishes the vision. But, each and every step requires our obedience, and our faith.

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Prov 29:18 KJV

We need to receive a vision from the Lord, so that we will know what it is that He wants to accomplish through us. That vision will give purpose to our direction, and motivate us through the process of accomplishing that which God desires.

If we don't have a vision, then everything God does in us seems like a random series of events. We don't have direction, so we have a struggle every time God gives us new direction. It doesn't seem as much like God is working towards a goal in us, it seems more like He's just pushing us through a sieve.

And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.

Hab 2:2 KJV

We receive a vision from the Lord when we ask Him for it. God the Father has a vision for the life of every person on the face of the earth. However, most of us haven't received it from Him.

When God gives us a vision, it's bigger than we are. Otherwise He doesn't get any glory. If God gives us a vision we can accomplish, then when we do, people look up to us. But, when He gives us a vision we can't do, then when it is accomplished, we point the way for the glory to go to Him.

Once we have a vision, we need to right it down. Actually, we should probably frame it and put it on the wall someplace; preferably someplace private, where we can see it, but others can't. That way, when we're in the midst of the fire of the trials, we can look at the vision, and know what it is that God's trying to do through us.

So, how about it? Do you have a vision from God? Or, are you, like many believers, just stumbling along from direction to direction, wondering where you're going?

More that that, are you willing to obey the direction that God gives you? Jesus said that we demonstrate our love to Him through our obedience.

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

John 14:21 KJV