Stuck in the DAILY GRIND?

Me too – sometimes. 

If you’re like me, it fluctuates. I swing like a pendulum from disengaged and bored with life to feeling like I have a battle to fight and a victory to win. I’ve spent a lot of time recently trying to discern what the pendulum hangs on. I think it has something to do with whether I’m adjusting my life to live into my personal vision statement.

Personal Vision

Over the years, I have noticed that there are broad categories that personal visions fit into. The type of personal vision may determine the next steps in aligning to the BLUEPRINTS embedded in your ORIGINAL DESIGN.

Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 2:10 blows my mind every time I re-read it.

For we are His (God’s) WORKMANSHIP, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which He PREPARED BEFOREHAND so that we would walk in them – Paul in Ephesians 2:10

It is totally beyond my ability to imagine that GOD considered my life before time began. He chose the time in history and location on the planet I would exist. And He actually knit me together in my mother’s womb. He perfectly designed me to accomplish GOOD WORKS that he planned for me to accomplish.

SERIOUSLY! It’s crazy to think about.

And God expects us to embrace that reality and direct our lives in ways that would facilitate those good works!

General Christian Vision vs. Personal Life Vision

For those who follow Jesus, there is a general vision for their life that is common to all other followers of Christ. There are several places that teach us about that common vision. One place we find common vision is in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) to make disciples by baptizing and teaching others to obey the command of Christ. Another common vision is in the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:36-40.) We are instructed to love the Lord God with all our hearts, souls, and minds and love our neighbor as yourself. Those are given for believers and should be embraced by all followers of Christ.

In addition to these common visions, there are specific plans He has for each of us individually. There are several places in scripture that indicate this as well, but none more clear than Ephesians 2:10, which teaches

 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
– The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:10

Unique Personal Vision

Other passages teach us that we were uniquely designed for purposes that will advance God’s strategy on Earth. We are characters in his story (his-story) with specific tasks assigned to us to advance his plan for creation. He chose the time in history, place on the planet, and people in our lives in order to fulfill His purposes.

“From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.  God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ²⁸ ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.'”
– The Apostle Paul in Acts 17:26-28

Types of Personal Vision

Here are 6 types of personal visions, a common example, and a Biblical example of each. Potential next steps for pursuing each type of personal vision follow. A personal vision is written as if a person is looking back on what his/her life accomplished.

The true vision for our lives comes from God’s heart and our original design. It will be the place where our desires and God’s heart align to a preferred future.

“Visions are born in the soul of a man or woman who is consumed with tension between what is and what could be.“-Andy Stanley in “Visioneering” (Buy It Here)

6 Types of Personal Vision and Vision Statement Examples

Mission Vision

A vision mission is a vision to make an impact on a specific people group and/or related to a specific need. It is marked by an emotional connection for that specific people group or a deep compassion to meet a need or see a change for the better.

Example: I invested my life into impacting the people of Nicaragua by helping provide nutritional education and healthy food to the children of the country. I saw thousands of children become healthy adults as a result of our work and many of those developed a personal relationship with God.

Biblical Example of Moses

Moses was sympathetic for and passionate about his people of origin. God spoke to him in a burning bush (of all things) to catalyze that passion and give him a vision to deliver his people from oppression and slavery.

Genesis 3:9-10:  “Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. ¹⁰ “Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.”

Steps forward for a Mission Vision:

• Learn as much as you can about the people group your have compassion for.
• Take a short-term mission trip to serve among the people.
• Find organizations who invest in the issue your are passionate about.
• Search out programs and organizations committed to your people group or issue.

Professional Vision

A professional vision is a vision to excel in a particular practice or skill in order to solve a problem for others or impact the future in a positive way. A professional vision is marked by a deep desire to be one’s absolute best at their chosen profession.

Example: I lived my best life in my legal profession in order to advocate for those who couldn’t defend themselves. I had the honor of helping hundreds of people who didn’t have the ability to help themselves. As a result, people more fully understand Jesus care for matters of their lives.

Biblical Example of Joseph

Joseph overcame the difficult experiences of his childhood, including rejection by his family. He caught a vision to be the best leader he could be and rose to the level of highest leadership in Egypt.

Genesis 39:2-4: “The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. ³ Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. ⁴ So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge.”

Steps Forward for a Professional Vision

• Get the appropriate education to excel at your profession.
• Never lose a love for learning about your profession or skill.
• Find one or more mentors to help you excel in your profession or skill.
• Determine how to position yourself to learn as much as you can about your profession.

Entrepreneurial Vision

An entrepreneurial vision is a vision to start something from nothing and see it through to self-sustainability. You find these visions in founders of both companies, churches and para-church ministries. Often, the same indicators and skills are evident in a persons whether they are business entrepreneurs, church planters or ministry founders. The difference is the context or call God gives them to function in.

Example: As a result of trusting God, taking risks and gathering like-minded people, I started and developed an organization to help deliver you girls from the sex trade. That organization will continue to change lives for generations as we developed it into a self-sustaining multi-generational community..

Biblical Example of Solomon

Solomon inherited his vision from his father to build a “house for the LORD” (the first temple in Jerusalem.) He had tremendous skills to cast vision to his leaders, identify what support he needed from supporters, pull together the needed resources to accomplish the vision and see it through to sustainability.

1 Chronicles 29:1: Then King David said to the entire assembly, “My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is still young and inexperienced and the work is great; for the temple is not for man, but for the Lord God.

Steps Forward for an Entrepreneurial Vision

• Look into the future and “see” the finished product (visualization)
• Start writing down details and document what you “see”
• Research the “market” to find discover who you will serve and what you can develop to serve them contextually
• Seek out other entrepreneurially gifted leaders and see what makes them tick

Values Vision

Some people wrap the vision of their lives around a set of values. There is a commitment to trust that they will be rewarded for their commitment. And if not rewarded, the payoff is in the values themselves. The Bible even teaches that we are rewarded in eternity after this world passes away.

Example: Although I wasn’t perfect in my attempt, I lived my life with integrity. I left an example to my children and grand-children. I modeled that it is better to be honest rather than rich, humble rather than powerful, and vulnerable rather than having a haughty reputation.

Biblical Example of Daniel

There were several commitments Daniel made to God that put him at risk of losing his life under the hand of the King of Babylon when he was captured and taken as a slave. The fact that he may face persecution and even execution didn’t deter him from living out his values vision. And in the end God greatly rewarded him for staying faithful.

Daniel 1:8: But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank.

Steps Forward for a Values Vision

• Spend some time studying about the values you want to live out.
• Resolve that you will be willing to sacrifice for the sake of your values.
• Pray for God to solidify that commitment in your heart.
• Post reminders in places where you regularly see them to remind you to stay faithful to your values.

Resource Vision

A resource vision is a vision to make a huge impact by obtaining a specific resource to give to the accomplishment of that goal. People with a resource vision prioritize and strategize making or raising specific amounts of money or recruiting the right team of people to accomplish a goal.

Example: Throughout my life, I was able to invest my energy into making money to support the advancement of God’s plan. I gave away 80% of my income to serve people in ways that brought them into the Kingdom of God. My greatest accomplishment was giving 1 million dollars to help foster kids have a better life.

Biblical Example of Nehemiah

Nehemiah was taken into exile into a foreign country and lost touch with what was happening in his homeland. The news of the crumbled walls in Jerusalem wrecked him. The likelihood that he could return to his homeland and amass the resources and recruit the people required to rebuild the walls was almost nil. But he committed to doing what he could. And as he began to get the favor of the king and the people. The vision became closer and closer to reality until the project was completed in an unreasonably short period of time.

Nehemiah 2:7-8: “If it please the king, let letters be given me for the governors of the provinces beyond the River, that they may allow me to pass through until I come to Judah, ⁸ and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress which is by the temple, for the wall of the city and for the house to which I will go.” 

Steps Forward for a Resource Vision

• Engage in compassion for others and needs they are facing.
• Take your compassion to God in prayer and ask for creativity and resourcefulness to meet a need.
• Pray for the favor of God in business and relationships.
• Prepare yourself to make changes in your life to facilitate your resource vision.

Legacy Vision

Folks with a legacy vision have a heightened passion to invest in future generations. This can involve family legacies, business legacies or ministry legacies. These people orient their lives around working for a better future. They will invest deeply in the up-and-coming generation.

Example of Legacy Vision: I worked hard to invest in the younger generations so that the generations to come will have a better foundation to build upon as they do their part to make the world a better place. My children have what they need to be a blessing to their children. My company has a more stable platform to continue to build upon. And my church is a little farther along in their mission to represent God in our community.

Biblical Example of Abraham

God chose Abraham to leave behind the legacy of leading a chosen people. This people would represent the work of God on Earth. Abraham’s promise from God was that he’d provide LAND, so that his PEOPLE would be a BLESSING to future generations. Abraham left his homeland to do the hard work of providing a new domain for his people.

Genesis 17:6-8: I will make you very fertile. I will produce nations from you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will set up my covenant with you and your descendants after you in every generation as an enduring covenant. I will be your God and your descendants’ God after you. 8 I will give you and your descendants the land in which you are immigrants, the whole land of Canaan, as an enduring possession. And I will be their God. – Genesis 17:6-8

Steps Forward in a Legacy Vision

• Seek out someone in a younger generation who had leadership potential.
• Invest in the growth of your younger and disciplable leaders.
• Consider what you can do to lay a path for those coming after you to succeed.
• Communicate your confidence in the your young leaders.

What TYPE of personal vision has God deeply embedded into your ORIGINAL DESIGN?

If you have a clue, share it with me in an email by CLICKING HERE.

If you want to dig deeper into your personal vision statement, I have a full online course. It will help you identify your unique personality, personal core values, and document you life’s vision and mission statements.

Click below to find out more.