A few weeks ago I spent a little time praying about the direction God is taking my wife and me regarding our ministry and another health-related business we are building.  I have been feeling a bit lost of late, not sure how to proceed in any direction, in spite of having a list of items I could accomplish, all of which would “get something done.”  Somehow, this hasn’t felt like what I needed, so I took a short walk and began to talk to God about it.  As I walked past a bush on a path, the Holy Spirit highlighted it to me, and he said to me, “Define Your Vision.”

As I looked at this bush, Holy Spirit spoke to me—not just in clear words, but through an inner knowing in my heart what the message was, and the message was this:
“That bush has tiny little buds all over it, that will grow into branches, with their own buds and branches and so on.  The seed doesn’t know exactly what is going to happen every step of the way, but that doesn’t matter.  The seed contains within itself the blueprint for the entire bush and its growth process, regardless of what happens.  I want you to define your vision, your mission, to be like the seed.  Define the DNA of what you are doing and where you are going.  Define your vision, your end-product, from the beginning—as you grow the vision will guide you on your path.”

Interestingly, this word the Lord spoke to me is similar to something He shared with the prophet Habakkuk in Habakkuk 2:2-3, saying:
“Then the Lord replied:
“Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that he who reads it may run with it.  For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false.  Though it lingers, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.”

There is something that happens when you define your vision—it creates a clear path.  This may be part of why I have felt a little unclear of late as to where we are headed and where we are growing to.  I do see God growing The Kings of Eden, and I am excited with where I see us going to this point, but how long can a visionless, planless thing sustain itself?  Not far.  I used to think company mission statements were stupid.  Typically they are incredibly broad and vague, not offering specific ideas or concepts.  Over the past few years, I have realized that a mission statement is often broad and vague for a reason—it is the outline, the outermost parameters of an organization, not the individual goals that define the path.  Certainly goals are important, and planning is what moves you from one phase to the next, but if goals are a single step each, then the mission is the journey of a thousand miles.

A mission statement helps define the vision in valuable ways, but the main one is actually pretty simple, and very straightforward.  When any new idea comes forth, you simply have to ask one question “How does this forward the mission?”  There are trillions of great ideas in the world, but if a great idea doesn’t forward the mission, then it is not the right idea—or at least not the right idea for that group.  For example, consider that a business is about the pursuit of health.  While someone might have a great idea about how the business can help people enhance personal prosperity, unless it is somehow tied into health, it doesn’t match the mission.  Mind you, it might be a great idea for another company, and that individual may even go on to form a new company with that idea in mind, but then he or she will design a mission and vision that match with that idea.

I personally believe this idea is applicable in far more areas of life than it might seem at first glance.  You don’t have to have a mission statement for everything you do, but at least define your vision—get clear about those things that are important to you and those that aren’t.  Figure out the things you want to focus most on in life, and purpose to make time for them.  Identify those things that really are somewhat extraneous, and see how you can reduce or even eliminate them entirely.  This even works when spring-cleaning, clearing out clutter to get ready to move, or with any other project.  What belongings do you own that don’t fit with where you are headed?  Define your vision, then dump the extra baggage!  You will be glad you did.

There is something about putting definition to something, framing it and making it real in your mind, that gives it life and energy and helps it to spring forth into reality.  If you have been feeling unclear about where you are headed in any area of life, take time to define your vision.  We are in the process of doing that now, and I believe it will only help us as we move forward.  I’m excited, actually, because I believe this is the beginning of many new things to come!

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