Vision
Leadership in Context with Keith Tucci
Episode 049
Vision is a subject that we cannot talk about enough. The more you understand vision, the more you want to hear about vision because it is so critical.
Proverbs 29:18
Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law.
The King James version says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish…”
1. Vision is not necessarily a sign that you have it all together. People with great vision understand the reason they need great vision is because they can’t see things.
· Vision is needed when natural sight is not enough.We need to look at the calling on our lives/church/business/family and settle in our hearts that natural vision is not enough and we need to see beyond what we can see.
· Vision is required when natural sight is obstructed.We need vision when we cannot see because legitimate things are happening—circumstantial, spiritual, environmental, personal. When these things are blocking our vision, we need to get to a higher place so we can see over and around those things (and maybe even see through them as we walk in the Spirit).
2. Having an orderly life is critical to retaining vision. We need to not just get vision, but retain vision. A lot of people get vision, but not a lot of people hold that vision in their container. The horizontal surfaces in our life can get piled up with stuff which can block the vertical horizons in our life.When people are struggling with vertical vision (Where do I go, what do I do, where is God taking me?), often there is a lack of order in their lives. There are things that are being neglected, things that are undone, procrastination, lack of excellence in executing something, and that falls into the order category. That’s why in 1 Timothy 3, we see that a Christian leader needs to have order in his life. Not just so he will be an example, but so he will be unencumbered and be able to get past the weights of horizonal life. Our horizontal surfaces need to be cleared up.
3. Vision must be maintained with focus. It’s not just enough to get vision, but you have to keep vision. Vision is maintained by keeping your eye on the prize. Lot’s wife looked back, and it wasn’t good. If you have both hands on the plow and you are looking back, you are going to plow crocked. There is a discipline of maintaining vision. You can have great vision and see a lot of things, but then you have to focus in on where you are going.
4. Vision must be clarified. Before we share vision, we should clarify the vision. How? Ask someone if they see what you see. Once I thought I saw a bear in the distance. I grabbed the binoculars and looked more closely and saw that it wasn’t a bear; it was a brown piece of paper. From a distance it looked exactly like a bear, my family believed it was a bear, and it wasn’t until I clarified my vision (with the binoculars) that I saw that it was something different. You need to be in a place where your vision can be examined and tested. Ask someone else to put their eyes on it and see if it rings true. I think a lot of people have lost credibility with their vision because they shared it before it was clarified.
What happens when we don’t have vision?If we go back to Proverbs 29:18, it says the people with no vision were unrestrained, the people perished. This is a word picture of training an animal for domestic use. If that animal thinks you are trying to hurt it, rather than trying to bless it, if it doesn’t understand that, it will work against you. That animal will become unrestrained. A lack of vision will not allow you to go through a process that requires sacrifice, that requires you being in a submissive position, that requires you to use faith and trust. We don’t want to be those people who are perishing, that are unrestrained, that are acting rebellious because we have not bought into a vision process in our life.
Verse 18 finishes with, “…happy are they who keep the law.” This is referencing the law of God which is absolute. Vision and absolutes go hand-in-hand. Godly vision is built on absolute principles.Great visionaries have very clear principles in their lives, and that causes vision to flourish, enables them to hang onto vision, and to clarify that vision.
Let’s be intentional. It takes effort and focus to keep your vision fresh and alive. Let the wind of the Holy Spirit blow on you today to stir up any vision that has settled down and is not alive and active today. Get some clarity on it. Get around godly people who can take a look at it. Focus in on it and take that next step.
Join us next week as Keith Tucci continues to put leadership truth in the context of the local church. And as always, please like, share, rate/review, and invite others to listen. See you next week!
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