God’s Purpose and My Vision
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Proverbs 29:18
Creating a personal vision statement is vital if a person wants to arrive at a preferred destination in life. For Christians, it’s important that this life vision be informed by an answer to the much larger question, “Why did God put me here in the first place?” Without considering this foundational truth, a person’s myopic vision for their “own life” could end up running afoul of God, himself.
What is God’s purpose for my life?
Scripture says that, “He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace” (2 Timothy 1:9) So, we are here by his grace, for his purpose. When the verse says “us”, it infers that “we” – all believers, share in his grace and purpose.
- Every Christian has seven purposes in common with every other believer. Our purpose is to:
- Believe in God as the Creator and have no other gods before him
- Believe in God’s Word as the ultimate truth and the truest guide for our lives
- Believe in Jesus, God’s Son, for eternal salvation and for daily sanctification
- Love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and love others as ourselves
- Follow Jesus’ commandments and so prove that we love him
- Make disciples
- Bear fruit for his kingdom
- Every Christian was chosen to be used for God’s purpose:
- We were purposefully chosen, before creation, to be in Christ
- God wrote down every day of our lives before we lived one of them
- We have been equipped for good works that God established beforehand
- God is always working in us to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (Proverbs 19:21)
What is My Vision for the Life God Gave Me?
“Therefore, my dear friends… continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” (Philippians 2:12-13) We are in an amazing partnership with God. We continue to do work on our part while realizing that he is always working in us to fulfill his good purpose.
- From the beginning, God partnered with the people he created to accomplish his will. He told Adam and Eve to “rule” over all creation. That’s a lot of freedom of choice! Even today, our vision for our own lives should be to “rule” in such a way that we honor God and serve his purpose and his people. “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.” (2 Corinthians 5:20) What a privilege! So, our vision statement must start with:
- “I envision myself as an ambassador for Christ.”
- In God’s continuing creation, he makes each person special, with unique qualities:
- Personality
- Gifts, talents, and strengths
- Interests, desires, and passions
- Formative life experiences
- Opportunities and limitations
“Each of you has received a gift to use to serve others. Be good servants of God’s various gifts of grace.” (1 Peter 4:10) So, as we develop a godly vision for our lives, we commit to focus on serving others:
- “My vision includes using my gifts to serve others as a servant of God’s gift of grace.”
- And lastly, God is good, he’s generous, and he wants us to have an “abundant life”, to do:
- What we’re good at
- What we love to do
“There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?”
(Ecclesiastes 2:24-25) So, our wonderful “lot in life” is to 1) do what fits with our unique qualities and 2) do what we love to do and are good at doing. How absolutely incredible is that! We remind ourselves each day that:
- “My vision enables me to enjoy doing what God designed me to do, and this is from the hand of God.”
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28).
How Do I Develop a Vision for My Life?
- Start with taking an inventory. Ask yourself, “What are the things that make me unique?”
- What is my personality type?
- What are my spiritual gifts and my strengths? (for spiritual gifts – search “Lifeway Spiritual Assessment Tool”; for strengths in life – search “StrengthsFinder 2.0”)
- What are my skills, talents, and abilities?
- What do I like to learn about?
- What is most important to me in life?
- What would give me great fulfillment?
- What is my dream job?
- What do I feel called to do?
- What am I good at?
- What do I like to do?
- What are my core values? (contact Russ for a list of values that will help you with this)
- What brings me joy?
- What are the issues and causes I care deeply about?
- What do I want to stop doing so I can invest my attention elsewhere?
- What motivates me most?
- What do other people say I’m good at?
- What would I like to be doing 5 years from now? Where and with whom?
- What do I invest time, talent, and treasure in now?
- Who could mentor me based on what I want to do?
- What would make both me and God smile?
- How would my life be different if I followed my vision?
- What would I like to do that no one has ever done?
- What is it that makes me so unique?
- Who am I anyway?
- What is my passion?
- What mind-blowing thing would I like God to do through me?
- Write a one-page essay that blends A-Z together into one mosaic. Write it and then rewrite it. Look for patterns in your answers – the “dominate colors” in the mosaic of your life.
- Write the essay over a period of one month – give your heart time to sort through your feelings.
- Daily ask the Holy Spirit to reveal God’s own unique image being manifested in and through you.
- If possible, take a long weekend away from others to focus on your “vision quest”. It’s a good time to journal and play around with different versions of a potential vision.
- Work with someone who understands vision quest, someone who can help you process your calling, your deepest desires, and the thoughts and feelings that lead you to create this vision for your life.
- When you’re finished, realize that God, himself, will put the finishing touches on the vision, so allow him to keep working in you and with you.
- And last, know that with time your vision will morph into something even better than you can imagine – something that is squarely in line with his purpose for you, and it will bring him glory.
