VL-Issue 44- July 22

STEPPING FORWARD
GOD’S VISION HAS AN
APPOINTED TIME
BY KORY GORDON
FROM GENESIS TO REVELATION, the
Bible repeatedly speaks of dreams and
visions as communication between God
and man. When I read these verses, one
of my encounters comes to mind.
It happened when I was 19 years old, in
a small county jail in South Georgia. While
there, I had a powerful dream. I saw myself
in that exact jail cell, wearing the same
orange jumpsuit. Except in my dream, I
was dead on the floor.
Suddenly, the cell door swung open, and
a bright light shone in. I was lifted off the
floor and carried out into the bright hallway.
When I looked down, I wasn’t wearing
a jumpsuit anymore.
was showing me how and where He would
intervene in my life long before it would
come to pass.
Twelve years later, on March 7, 2014,
this vision began to unfold in the Pinellas
County jail. At the time, I was a dead man,
walking in trespasses and sins (Ephesians
2:1–2). But then, God’s glorious light flooded
my dark world, and His love lifted me
out of the place where I had fallen. He removed
my graveclothes and dressed me in
His robes of righteousness. And some day,
I will receive rewards in heaven.
It’s been 8 years since the Lord drew
me into His love. Today, I am a free man.
I was, running with the vision that God had
shown me. As they filed into our service,
I knew that God had carried out His will
for my life.
I can’t help but relate to Joseph. (See
Genesis 37–50.) God gave him a vision
revealing his future, yet for many years,
his circumstances looked bleak, just like
mine. But that didn’t mean God’s dream
was void. His visions for our lives are for
an appointed time.
Habakkuk 2:3 says, “For the revelation
awaits an appointed time; it speaks of
the end and will not prove false. Though
it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come
and will not delay” (NIV).
Instead, I wore a military STAND FIRM IN YOUR FAITH AND WAIT PATIENTLY Sometimes, it takes many
uniform, and medals of
years for His vision to
FOR HIM. GOD’S THOUGHTS AND WAYS ARE HIGHER
honor covered my chest.
come to pass.
I could feel the tangible
presence of God nudging
THAN OURS. HE IS ALWAYS RIGHT ON TIME.
Friend, if you have received
a spiritual dream,
me, compelling me to walk forward down
the jail hallway. As I did, every cell door
swung open and dead men stepped out
of their cells. God transformed each one
into beams of light.
When I got to the end of the hall, I heard
a voice from heaven that said, “I have given
you the ministry of John the Baptist.” It is
a ministry of leading people to repentance
in the Lord Jesus Christ.
I had this dream in 2002. At the time, my
life was very dark. OxyContin and Xanax
had buried me in addiction. Yet even then,
I knew that God was behind the vision. He
Earlier this year, while touring prisons
with Victorious Living, I saw more of God’s
vision unfold. There I was, standing before
other inmates, telling them of the goodness
of God. Men rushed to the altar to repent of
their sin, all of them desperate for Jesus.
There were those dead men, coming to life
as the Light of the World overcame their
darkness.
While on tour, I was given the opportunity
to enter a dorm and invite men to our
service. I had served 11 years in Florida’s
DOC, and not once did I ever see a former
inmate gain access to the dorms. Yet there
vision, or promise from God, trust Him to
bring it to fruition. In our eyes, He might
seem to procrastinate, but His timing and
understanding of the situation are perfect.
Stand firm in your faith and wait patiently
for Him. God’s thoughts and ways are higher
than ours. He is always right on time.
KORY GORDON spent 11 years in incarceration,
where he gave his life to Christ. He’s now
an evangel ist, sharing the Good News that set
him free. In 2021, he founded Damascus Road, a
nonprofit residential discipleship program battling
addiction, recidivism, and homelessness. Email
damascusroad2021@gmail.com for more info.
32 Issue 03 / 2022 VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM