Vision: Theory or Destination?

The only thing that is worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.

-Helen Keller

Have you ever been asked one of these questions?

• What do you want to do or to be when you grow up?

• Where is God leading you right now?

• What is it that God is calling you to do?

• What is the vision for your life?

There are countless other questions like these, but I suspect you get the point. We often bombard others, as well as ourselves, with these futuristic questions about vision. And what follows is the pressure to produce some type of “vision for the future” and to do so in a certain time frame. 

Some years ago, I accepted the call to serve a church family as their pastor, and after “call Sunday,”  one of the leaders in the church declared to me, “You will be expected to state a vision for the church in 18 months.” I was a bit taken off-guard by the comment, and wondered how a pastor can be expected to take a church entrenched in its traditions to a new vision in such a short time period.

The concept of vision can be mysterious. We often think of vision in terms of dreams. For example, three times in Matthew 1 and 2 we find that Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, had a dream. The first dream was “to take Mary as his wife.” In Matthew 1:20, an angel appeared to him in a dream. Then in Matthew 2:13 and 2:19, we see that Joseph has two more dreams, one to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt to flee Herod and then another to return to Israel after Herod’s death. Clearly these were dreams that caused Joseph to follow a certain direction. 

I don’t know about you, but I can honestly say that vision has never come to me in a dream. I confess that, at times in my life, I have wanted that to happen. But it just never has occurred that way.

So, what is vision?

How can you go about getting a vision for life?

How can you distinguish between a vision and an idea?

How can you know God’s vision, His plan and will, for your life?

You may be a business person wondering where your business is going. You may be a parent wondering where your family is headed and how to get there. You may be a pastor considering where God wants to take His church. Regardless of your title or role, each of us needs a vision, and as leaders, we must hold that vision convictionally, and plan for that vision intentionally. 

Consider this working definition of vision. 

Vision is an objective destination formed by inspiration, imagination, investigation and intentionality. 

Vision is resourced through the Word of God, the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, and the mind of Christ, along with God’s wisdom, guidance and provision. 

Vision becomes clearer as we walk in the Spirit to discern His will. 

Therefore vision involves seeking, learning, waiting, watching, moving, advancing, and evolving until it reaches actuality and renewal.

Each one of these phrases and words are critically important, and in the weeks ahead we will follow the journey and the roadmap to attain and accomplish vision. Today, let’s begin with

Vision is an objective destination with a defined target.

Simply put, a vision is something concrete. It is something actionable, it is something real and it is something purposeful.

The Old Testament book of Nehemiah is an excellent book that teaches us about vision. And I encourage you to take some time to read both how the vision came to Nehemiah and also how Nehemiah accomplished the vision. For now however, consider Nehemiah 2:17. “Then I said to them, ‘you see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.’” For Nehemiah the vision had an objective destination, a rebuilt wall to protect the people. It was actionable, it required the people to do something, and it had a purpose, to protect the people of God. 

So many times when people talk about vision, they are talking about a vague idea or a theory of how they want something to be. Much of what is called vision is simply adopting someone else’s idea without applying it in context. Vision is far more than a theory; it is something tangible, something real, and something that has an objective destination for you and the people you are called to lead. 

Would you begin considering how to define your life, business, church, family and future in terms of something that has an objective destination? Don’t be discouraged as you think about it. Discouragement will try and rob you of the vision God has for your life. So be patient as we walk together as leaders on the journey toward vision. 

When we get back together in a few weeks, we will discuss the principles of how a leader forms vision. We will pick up with the next part of the definition: vision is  formed by inspiration, imagination, investigation and intentionality.

I would love to hear your thoughts and discuss ideas about your vision. Feel free to reach out to me at david@davidsmithministry.com.