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Developing a Vision Statement |
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Developing a Vision Statement
I believe it’s imperative that we, as Christians, have vision statements for our lives. I don’t mean simply charting goals for yourself; I mean understanding God’s ultimate purpose for your life. How many of us stay-at-home moms feel inadequate, ineffective, or unqualified to serve the Lord? How many of us feel we could be of greater value to His Kingdom if only we could do more for Him? My friends, this is the lie of Satan – he purposely makes us feel inadequate, ineffective, unqualified, and of little value. This is his most effective strategy towards hindering the proclamation of the Word of God. And who benefits more from our believing his lie than Satan himself? When I was a new Christian, I had an incredible zeal for the Lord. I wanted to absorb His Word like a sponge in the ocean. I wanted my ideas, my thoughts, my beliefs, my efforts to be used for God’s glory. I wanted to serve Him. I wanted to proclaim the Good News of His saving grace. I wanted to pack my bags and head for the mission fields of Uganda. As this newfound excitement gave way to practicality, I began to believe I was inhibited most by my role as a mother. My heart broke, as I feared the Lord would never use me within my home. How can God use me if I can’t even complete two courses towards my degree each semester? How can God use my testimony if my waking moments are spent wiping messy faces and folding the same laundry over and over again? Dear God, what is Your will? What do You desire for my life? I had struggled to understand my own desires for my life: should I study elementary education, law, or biology? How would I ever understand what God desired for me? I had spent little real time with my children before my salvation. I reacted to spilled juices and arguments between the children rather than deliberately getting to know them. One day, the Lord nudged me to just sit with my children…read to them…talk with them…ask them questions. Our time together became teaching moments. They taught me about themselves; I taught them about their Creator. This continued for days, then weeks, then months, and I came to truly love our moments of togetherness. It wasn’t just time well spent, though. I hadn’t simply found enjoyment while teaching my children – I had found fulfillment. The Lord was unveiling His plan for my life: He had called me to teach. His will revealed, I resolved to remain focused and deliberate towards teaching my children; I have enjoyed the awesome pleasure and responsibility of home schooling my children since, and I can’t think of anything more important than raising up a child in the Lord. Whether you’re a man or a woman, married or single, with or without children, take comfort in God as Qualifier. This side of heaven, none of us are truly qualified to minister; we must rely on Him, as an apprentice would rely on those who have mastered their fields, for the qualifications we need to do His work. However, we must understand God’s ultimate purpose for our lives. This isn’t a secret destiny, which God withholds from us. Why would God withhold such vital knowledge from the one person He created to fulfill that purpose? If you wholeheartedly seek His purpose for you, He will be faithful to reveal it. Oftentimes our purposes and our passions are directly related. Do you have a passion for writing? Perhaps God intends to use that towards advancing His work, towards reaching others for Him, towards healing the hearts of those who are hurting. Develop a vision statement, which summarizes God’s purpose for your life. “God has called me to love, serve, and submit to my husband, to love and teach my children, and to work within my home,” is an example of a vision statement. Keep in mind that some seasons are passing, though; we mothers of young children may find ourselves disillusioned and questioning our identities as our children grow if our vision statement is centered on their youth. So, study your vision statement for an enduring purpose – not just your purpose now, but for the duration of your lifetime. For example, the woman in the above vision statement has been called as a wife, as a mother, as a teacher, and as a homemaker. Even after her children have established homes of their own, she will still be a wife and a teacher. She may decide to teach a Bible class part-time for a small ministry; she may teach by writing ladies’ Bible studies from her home; she may teach by staying home full-time and ministering through friendship to young women in her neighborhood. Teaching takes many forms, as do other callings, so explore your calling as you feel God’s leadership to do so. Perhaps you already know what God’s purpose is for you, but you’re not quite sure how to live out your calling. Living a focused, deliberate life is essential to living out one’s calling. Recently, I read some reviews for a Christian book. The author said that she woke up on her 30th birthday, wondering how time had passed so quickly. She was startled by how little she had done with nearly half her life now behind her, and she vowed to use the next half more productively for the Lord. She realized that although she had given her life to the Lord years ago, she had failed to commit her time to Him. And isn’t life just a series of moments, minutes that are either used productively or wasted? We must remain focused on God’s purpose for our lives, and we must remain deliberate with each given minute of our time to fulfill that purpose. Commit your time to the Lord, each moment of each day. Do you have a long commute to work? Many Christian radio stations have wonderful sermons by pastors and teachers such as Billy Graham, David Jeremiah, and James Dobson. We can learn so much from these godly men as we drive to and from work. An otherwise ordinary period of one’s day becomes an extraordinary opportunity for learning and growth when we simply seek God and His Word. This single-minded pursuit of the Lord is the true mark of spiritual maturity. Write the following Scripture passage on a Post-It note, and stick it to your refrigerator, your mirror, or your desk at work: “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Throughout the New Testament, the lives of believers are likened to a race (see also Hebrews 12:1-2, 1 Corinthians 9:24, and 2 Timothy 4:7). The race requires focus and deliberate living, determination and endurance. It requires that we not be deterred by our own limitations, but that we look heavenward to Almighty God for strength. Will you forget the lie of Satan, who wants only to bruise and batter you, and stand to your feet to run the race of spiritual endurance, arms outstretched, reaching for the prize of glory and eternal life with our precious Savior? Commit not only your hearts to the Lord, but also your life – your time – that He may be glorified. He stands at the finish line, lovingly waiting – “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21). |
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