What Is a Vision?

Proverbs 29:18—"Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy are he who keeps the law."

When you take the word "vision," drain it of all of the world's self-interest, cleanse it from its overdose of emotion and rhetoric, all you are left with is the naked fact that vision means revelation.

What kind and Whose revelation?

Solomon uses the Hebrew word "vision" in Proverbs 29 to speak of the revelation of God's purpose for our lives.

Purpose is the first and biggest issue of vision. The question of vision is: what does God want to do?

A biblical vision is not a goal or dream we can imagine for our future or ourselves; rather, it is God's divine instruction as it relates to eternal redemption in Christ. Put another way, vision is a picture of what God desires to do in His church and how you can join Him in accomplishing it.

When the revelation of His plan is absent, blurred, or ignored, the result is that people are left to their own unrestrained passions. There is no restraint morally, no direction spiritually, and no joy inwardly. Therefore, no greater calamity can befall a man than the absence or removal of God's vision for his life.

Why Is Vision Important?

God's vision is important because people need to be a part of something bigger than themselves. People want to give their lives to a mission, a cause, or a purpose. People want something to give their lives to, someone to share it with, and a practical way to achieve it.

This is what a vision does. It clearly and passionately explains how your ministry helps to fulfill God's purpose and brings glory to Him.

Your purpose or vision should be characterized by four clear marks:

1) It is biblical

2) It is practical

3) It is transferable

4) It is short

How Do You Discover God's Vision?

Discovering God's vision is not just a matter of reading the Bible. This is essential, however, because God does not speak outside or in addition to His revelation in Scripture. Nevertheless, there is a moral and spiritual component to discovering God's purpose. God's vision or revelation is given to those who know Him, seek Him, hear Him, and trust Him.

1. Vision involves knowing God's will in His Word. (Prov.29:18)

2. Vision involves seeking God's strength in prayer. (Jer.29:11-12)

God's will must be known and His strength sought in prayer before a picture of His purpose becomes clear. Why? Because God's purposes can only be fulfilled in dependence on Him for power (Ps.138:8). What are you depending on God to do? The answer is easy to discover. The things you are praying for are the things you are depending on God to do. The things you are not praying for, you are doing on your own.

How Do I Get Started?

• Prepare the vision.

• Define the vision.

• Plant the vision.

• Share the vision.

• Implement the vision.

• Deal with opposition to the vision.

• Make corrections to the vision.

• Evaluate the results of the vision.

• Give God the glory for the vision.

How Do I Communicate Vision to My Team?

Own it for yourself.

Live it in your life.

Share it from your heart.

Implement it with others' help.

Keep working at it.

Expect opposition.

Make it a part of the journey.

Make corrections as you go along.

Trust that God provides for His plans.

 
"The two prerequisites to successful Christian living are vision and passion, both of which are born in and maintained by prayer. Vision without a task makes a visionary. A task without a vision leads to drudgery. A vision and a task make a missionary."