When Is It Vision and When Is It Just Trying To Fix People?

One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. - Luke 5:17-19

The paralyzed man’s friends had vision for his life. They wanted something more for him. They were willing to put in the work to see it realized.

But there is a downside of having vision for someone else. Sometimes we try to fix them. Sometimes we try to do for them what they should do for themselves. Sometimes we come off (because we are!) controlling or judgmental or pushy.

So how do you know the difference? When is it living into God’s call on your life as a friend to have vision and put in the work with your friend to see it realized, and when is it trying to fix them? Ask the Spirit to show you your motives in some of your key relationships right now, and seek to follow the Lord’s leading.