“The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.”  
John 5:7

What an answer! Jesus asked the man at the pool of Bethesda:
“…wilt thou be made whole?” John 5:5
He had been lame for thirty eight years and had probably been at the pool for many years, enough for him to give up and never return! The sickness and the time he had spent hoping something would happen to him, was enough to make him lose hope, but he didn’t, he thought all he needed was to step in the pool first and he would begin to walk again!
Even if he didn’t notice that Jesus- ably bodied- could help him into the pool, he definitely never lost hope that he could walk again one day, he didn’t think his situation was irredeemable; his hope was alive!
Such hope, that immediately Jesus told him:
“…Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.”  John 5:8
He didn’t argue, he was not upset, for years he had seen himself walking on his own if only he entered the pool first, but now, a man HE HAD NEVER HEARD OF (“Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? And he that was healed wist not who it was…” John 5:12-13) offers him another means for his mobility and he took it- because all along, the picture of him walking, never left him.
“…hope maketh not ashamed…” Romans 5:5
Never lose hope or discard your visions! You might not be where you want to be right now, but one way to ensure you never get there is to discard that glorious picture you have of you being there. Keep hope alive!