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My 2020 Epistle: The 8 V's of Vision

Updated: Mar 27, 2020






2020 Letter: The Year of Vision and Victory


HAPPY NEW YEAR AND HAPPY NEW DECADE!!!

If you are reading this right now, I want to congratulate you on making it through another year and another decade. I don’t know about you, but there were a lot of people in my life and the lives of my loved ones who did not make it this far even in the final moments of 2019, so I am simply grateful for the fact that God kept you and I to see this brand new season. Whether you are a close friend or someone who heard about this devotional from word of mouth, I start off by saying I love you with the love of Christ and I was praying for people just like you who would need this devotional. Every prayer, word, and declaration was made in prayerful consideration with you and yours in mind. I truly pray everything you read in this devotional will cause God’s presence to continue to surround you, that His healing power move in your mind, body, and soul, and that you will experience supernatural breakthroughs and miracles during and after you finished this book. The Bible says, He sent His word and healed them, and I truly believe that will be your testimony.


Defining Decade


There is a mighty work for you to do in the name of the Lord, and if you have not yet realized or walked into it before, I pray and believe a sudden and sharp awareness will come to you know as you read these words and continue to seek the Lord in prayer and worship. Think it not strange if you have been going through a lot of turmoil in the last few years, because not only God and heaven knows your name, but the enemy knows your name too. It actually makes me wonder, do you know your name? I do not just mean the meaning or definition of your natural name, but your purpose, assignment, mandate, and identity from the Lord? Remember this, you have a deeper and stronger DNA that cannot be examined or studied with human eyes. Before you were the son or daughter to your natural parents, you were and still are a son and daughter of God, and you can wear that revelation well. With that being said, the first word that the Lord will have me release to you that this is your DEFINING DECADE!


There will be several events and encounters that take place in the next ten years that will truly bring your full identity in God to the surface. It is time for you to walk into the knowledge of your name, the name that God adores and the enemy loathes! Nothing about your life and walk with the Lord is ordinary, and you have so much more impact, inspiration, and influence than you can currently perceive. It is time for the reality of your name and identity to be fully manifested on the Earth, so that God may be glorified, and many lives will be changed and healed. Even with that, if you happen to not know God or once had a relationship with Him and fell off, it is not too late to come back to Him. Jesus is not just the name we say at Church or a religion. Jesus is literally a friend and brother who will walk with you, talk to you, and give you wisdom and instruction to maximize your living on Earth and to prepare you for eternity. Even if you happen to not be a Christian or have another religion, I honestly encourage you to still say aloud or even write on a piece of paper, “Jesus, will you be my friend?” Let me know what happens afterwards in the days to come, because when He comes, your life will never be the same! The fullness of your purpose can never be accessed outside of the Lord, so whether you know Him already or not, I pray this devotional will draw you deeper to Him in ways you could never imagine. The more you know Him, the better you are going to know yourself.


Reaping and Leaping


I mentioned earlier that you have probably witnessed and endured some harsh storms and setbacks in your life. Even for those who truly believe in the principle of sowing and reaping, yet it feels like the more you give, the harder life gets. You try your best deep in your heart not to get envious or bitter at the harvest and success of your peers, but you feel like you are doing something wrong or that you are cursed. The enemy has tried long enough to frustrate you and discourage you with famine and drought in your life, but I pray that you will begin to see the buds of your breakthrough! Be prepared to go from SOWING AND SUFFERING to REAPING AND LEAPING! There are a lot of financial seeds you have sown to churches, preachers, and people in need, yet you felt like it was not appreciated or that they took you for granted and did not even say thank you. Every seed you sow into others, God Himself will pay you back twice and thrice over! Your harvest will be so big and so tall, that you will be able to leap over the fence of your future! Even though 2020 is a leap year in the natural, the Lord is causing you to defy the gravity of your circumstances and you will leap and skip steps spiritually! It does not take God long to mature you and accelerate your growth when you are fully seeking Him! When you give Him a true surrender and empty yourself of your fears, insecurities, and desires, His glory will flood your soul and cause you to defy nature and physics, because you are now carrying a piece of Heaven inside of you!


Faith-full-ness


FAVOR and FRUIT is hunting down the FAITHFUL! One key word for this moment in your life is to continue to walk in faithfulness, or how I like to spell it, FAITH-FULL-NESS! All of your love, work, prayer, worship, sowing, and service must be fueled with faith! Ask the Lord to heal your heart and purify your attitude, especially if you are doing things now out of obligation instead of appreciation and anticipation. I have an analogy for F.U.L.L. for my phrase FAITH-FULL-NESS so I pray this will reignite your faith and cause you trust God like never before!


F: Fervent Faith - Persistence and consistency is a major key to maturing from faith to faith and glory to glory. You have to push and press into God’s presence even when it hurts, even when people come against you, even when you are tired and sick in your body. There is a fragrance released when your worship continues to go before God, to the point that when you are finished, the scent still remains and every time you come back into His presence, He is familiar with your aroma!


F: Favorable Faith - You should no longer try to hide and talk down on yourself. Begin to be bold and ask God for His favor to follow you and find you! Expect favor everywhere you go, and be unapologetic in your pursuit for favor. Since you put in the work through prayer, worship, sowing, and fasting, you have developed enough “street credit” in Heaven to ask for the impossible!


U: Unusual Faith - You have been limiting God for too long in your prayers. Ask Him for big! Ask Him for extraordinary! Ask Him for something you and others have never seen before that will even make fellow believers think you are crazy! You know the God of salvation, so now it is time for you to meet the God of the supernatural!


U: Unyielding Faith - Close your eyes to the facts that surround you! Close your ears to the doubters and your own negative words that you speak to yourself! There may be a few things you have been waiting on God to do for years or even decades, but stand secure and flat-footed and know that the Lord will release His promises to you! Keep building in the midst of the scorn and slander, because the rain is coming!


L: Little Faith - When I say little faith, I do not mean have small faith. I am referring to trusting God for the small intricate details of your life and day to day routines. God will disguise supernatural surprises in small packages, so trust Him for His guidance even in the small things and know that God can be found all in the details!


L: Loving Faith - Do everything with love even when it hurts, especially for those who have not been the kindest or most courteous towards you. No one likes to feel like their love and affection is wasted on people who do not reciprocate any form of honor or affection in even the slightest, but God is going to reward you for walking in the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. Every ounce of love you pour out shall be returned to you by the people God is sending into your life!


The Season of the Swallower


Read Exodus 4 and 7 when you get a chance. The Lord led me here after a powerful conversation with a friend about Moses and his staff. When Moses encounters God for the first time ever, God tells him to put his staff on the ground. The Lord then turns that staff into a living snake and challenges Moses to grab it from the tail, causing it to return to a staff. He was preparing Moses to walk in miracles and supernatural occurrences and to not be afraid of when enemies should rise up against him. The Lord tells Moses and his brother Aaron to confront the Pharaoh and demand that the Israelites be freed from slavery. Pharaoh asks for evidence that there is some sort of divine power with Moses so then Aaron throws the staff and it turns into a snake like earlier. Pharaoh's sorcerers do the same and their sticks become snakes as well. It clearly was multiple snakes against one, but Aaron’s snake (the LORD’s Staff) SWALLOWED all the other snakes!


Then the Lord placed this word heavy on my heart: this is THE SEASON OF THE SWALLOWER! The Lord is giving you boldness the grab the tails of your trials and tribulations and cause them to submit to His glory and authority! Every snake and snare in your life shall become a staff and scepter of royalty and what was meant to poison you will promote you! The Lord comes with righteous love for you and righteous anger towards the enemy, and His consuming fire shall swallow everything standing between you and your promise! Sin, fear, doubt, poverty, sickness, word curses, and witchcraft stand now chance against the power of God, and they shall all be swallowed and never seen again! Just like later on when Pharaoh's armies chase Moses and the Israelites as they walk through the Red Sea, the Lord closed the sea on the Egyptians and the Red Sea swallowed the entire army! Your past cannot have you anymore! Your guilt, shame, and fears have lost its authority over you! You will never see these snakes again, and now you are free to walk into your promised place!


Vision and Victory


Whenever the Lord speaks to me and ministers to me, He gives me analogies and profound words that usually begin with the same letter. I am sure many of you have heard your churches and favorite ministry gifts refer to this year as a year of vision, which I truly do agree with. However, let’s take it further and explore several areas that I feel the Lord is highlighting in this season, for He is getting ready to shift and transform how you see yourself!


Vision - The Lord is not just giving you vision for your future. He is giving you vision for how you see yourself now so you can navigate your present. He is changing how you view your circumstances. He wants you to see yourself the way He sees you, which will bring much healing, confidence, and security. He wants you to focus on heavenly things, not easily moved or persuaded by the distractions around you. He entrusts you with secrets and revelations that only come from spending time with Him. If you thought you knew yourself and knew God as much as you possibly could, time to look again because you have seen nothing yet!


Valor - For this next moment of your life, I want you to forget everything seemingly wrong about you. Your personal dysfunction, family dysfunction, failures, mistakes, and moments of backsliding and iniquity are irrelevant to where God is taking you! The blood of Jesus cleanses you of your past, and it shifts your DNA! Like I said earlier, you were God’s child before you were your parent’s child, so rise up and embrace your royal identity! Valor is another word for courage and confidence, so trust that the Lord is taking you from being a coward to becoming a conqueror!


Virtue - I hope you know just how much power, glory, and authority the Lord has placed in every fiber of your being! Humbly and confidently own the virtue that comes from walking closely with God! You carry precious unseen oil and fragrance, and it will show as you continue to grow in Him. Every gift, talent, and impartation has no choice but to be stirred up and released in everything you do, even the smallest of daily tasks. There is such an elegance and class about you that makes you stand out from the rest. Your worship and relationship with God literally increases your countenance, and it will cause everyone who comes across to ask where the source of your suave and swagger come from.


Vindication - The Lord is your great Judge and He takes His mallet and declares order over your life! He has the final verdict over everything concerning you, and He is fighting battles on your behalf that you do not even see. Be bold enough to confront your mountains, walls, and strongholds, knowing that when you show up, you bring the Lord with you! Cases are being settled, natural and spiritual inheritances shall be released, and every crooked area in your life is being aligned for the glory of the Lord!


Voice - You are the shofar of the Lord, His trumpet and horn of both celebration and war! God is helping you find, embrace, and utilize your voice in this season! You cannot hide behind what you may lack. God has given you more than enough to step out on faith and begin to create a space for His glory in whatever path He is calling you to follow! Like Ezekiel, the Lord is waiting for you to open your mouth and speak to dry and dead places and people, and watch them come to life, for the breathe and wind of the Lord shall fill your lungs and your mouth! When you speak in the name of the Lord, walls will fall, chains will break, and revival shall rush forth like a river in the hearts of everyone who hears you!


Visibility - You have been praying for an open door for your voice to be heard, your work to be seen, and for God’s glory to be made manifest in your life. You have been faithful to prayer, service, and sowing in secret, even when no one knows the history you have with God. Just like David who killed bears and lions in secret when no one cared that he existed, your divine opportunity is coming where you are not even trying to find Goliath, but you will be doing your normal due diligence only to find out a problem rises that only you have the solution to! God is preparing a platform for you and preparing you for the platform. Do not despise the things and works you have been faithful over that seem small, for they are training you for the responsibilities that God and man are about to place in your hands!


Vitality - A lot of things may have happened to your health in the last decade due to diseases, depression, and despair. Some illnesses may be genetic and others were birthed by all the negative emotions you experienced in response to your trials and tribulations. I am praying for God to heal everyone who reads this in some form or fashion, whether it be a deadly disease, a troubled mind, or a broken heart. I am grateful you survived the trauma and now I believe it is time for you to experience a refreshing and renewal in your body. As a child of God, may the precious and perfect blood of Jesus run through your veins and bring healing that cannot even come from medicine. By His stripes, you are healed!


Visitation - I truly believe the Lord desires to visit His people in the same manner He did in the Old and New Testament. Yes, I am talking angels, supernatural dreams, vocal dialogue, and for some even face to face encounters with the Lord! He is looking for people that will be bold enough to ask and desperate enough to seek Him until He shows up. Personally, I have never seen His face but I have heard His voice and felt Him and His angels watching over me in my sleep! And He always does the same for you even when you cannot see it and feel it. Prepare yourself for some beautiful encounters as you dive deeper in Him!


Victory - With the Father watching over you, Jesus praying with you and beside you, and the Holy Spirit dwelling and moving inside you, you are a force to be reckoned with through Christ! Jesus won the ultimate battle when He shed His blood for your sins and your soul, so everything less than that is already a guaranteed win! The Lord’s angels are already destroying and ambushing the problems to come! The areas of your greatest losses in the last decade and season shall now become where your greatest testimonies occur! With all of these words and statements in mind, and the devotional entries and prayers in the following pages, you will not be the same man or woman you were after you finish this book! You literally cannot lose when you are in the Lord, and the power that He is entrusting you with will not only break yourself free, but you shall become a deliver for many! In whatever career path or ministry assignment you find yourself in, people will see the Lord and see themselves better because they came into contact with you! Now let’s go forth in this journey from Vision to Victory!


- Joshua A. De Sousa

Devotional Writer of De Sousa Declares Devotionals

Author of Scribe Guide and the Vision and Victory 2020 Devotional



This letter is the first chapter of my new e-book, the Vision and Victory 2020 Devotional! It is available now and will be sent to you within a day of purchasing! Shoot me an email at joshdministries19@gmail.com and follow the payment options on the flyer below! 60 Devotional Entries, 40 Scriptures and Declarations, and 20 Prayers for only $20! There is a half version available as well for $10 with 30 Devotional Entries, 20 Scriptures and Devotionals, and 10 Prayers, and you can upgrade to the full version on a later date if requested! I need you to do me a huge favor and send this letter of hope and encouragement to at least 30-50 friends and family members through email! Payment options are:

Cash and Check can be mailed

CashApp: $JoshuaAD

Venmo: @DeSousaDeclares




In addition, I am hosting a writing conference in a private Facebook Group for the month of April 2020! The same payment info applies. Both of my e-books (Scribe Guide and 2020 Devotional) are included in the class materials all for a total of only $30! I am praying for 50 registrants so I pray to see you there!







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