There is an excellent illustration of visualizing your goals, verbalizing them, and never giving up until they come to pass, and it is right in your Bible. It is the story of Joseph—one of my favorite Bible heroes—you may have heard of it. The story starts with Joseph in Genesis Chapter 37. God gave Joseph dreams, not just ordinary dreams, but dreams that he would become a prince. It started with Joseph sharing his dreams with his brothers that they would bow down before him. Joseph did not hide it from them; he told his eleven brothers the exact details of each dream of how they were going to submit to him. Couple that with Joseph’s father who favored him more than any of his other sons, so much so that he made Joseph a special coat of many colors. Picture Joseph walking around with a princely like garment (visualization), telling everyone about the dreams of his future (verbalization). It is a fact that if you know who you are, where you are going, and present a confidence and sureness about yourself in a Godly manner, the first people that will get jealous of you are your family members or those who are close to you, right? This certainly became the case for young Joseph.

Joseph had a dream his entire family would bow down before him. (It meant his whole clan, and during that time families were rather large). Joseph’s brothers were already upset with him and his dreams, but after this last dream, his father became irritated with Joseph because of the wild dreams he was having. At this point, his brothers became so angry at him that they conspired to get rid of him.

Joseph had some attacks and battles along the way, but he had a clear picture of who he was and where he was headed. I like Joseph because he did not care what anybody said about his dreams. No matter who conspired against him, Joseph kept his integrity and he remained faithful to God. In addition, as you read in Genesis Chapter 42, Joseph’s dream became a reality. Not only did his family bow down to him, he was second in command to that of the pharaoh, which meant the whole country of Egypt bowed down before him during that time.

This what I call a visualization and verbalization exercise. I want you to understand that as you seek God your goals start to become more defined and will change to a degree over time. From single status to married status, from no kids to kids leaving the nest, or from midlife to senior citizen, whatever your state your underlying identity and purpose will not change. Focus on where you are today, and let your life be likened to a lump of clay that God will shape and mold as you move closer to his will for your life. God will craft you into an exquisite piece of pottery.

First of all, find a place where you can relax with no distractions and then begin this exercise by seeing what you are aiming for in your mind, and secondly begin to say it aloud. Here is an example: begin to see yourself in a future tense and when you say these things, you must say them in a future tense as well. It will go along the lines of “I am free of doubt;” “I forgave family members;” “I no longer blame the company for financial problems;” “I am now financially secure;” “I lost 15 lbs,” and “I look great;” “I am happily married;” “I tithe faithfully” and “I am committed to volunteering at church.”  Verbalize it in your own words according to your situation (we will cover writing them down shortly), but you have to be specific as if you have already arrived at that place. Get that picture in your mind, what type of clothes you are wearing, how people now respond to the new you, how those old strongholds do not have any foothold on you anymore and how great you feel; this is the visualization you need to get in your mind. After you have performed this initial exercise, a great way to maintain this thought process is to perform it throughout the day, for example, when you are taking a shower in the morning, or in the car on your way to work or any private time you have between work, school, or running errands.

Start visualizing and verbalizing your dreams today!