Day 21: Where there is no vision....

Proverbs 29:18
Where there is no vision, the people perish....
Another translation says 
"Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained..."


When there is no vision - no forward-looking-goal-seeking-attitude - in a persons life, there are no boundaries and/or borders. You might say there are no restraints. You might go so far as to say that if you have no vision you are unrestrained.... oh wait... that's already been said. In Proverbs 29:18! 


So  - let's put wheels on that verse and see how it drives around, kick the tires a bit and check out the ride.


I had a meeting with a pastor/mentor about 7 years ago and he asked me two very simple questions:
1. Why are you on this planet?
2. What are you gonna do about it?

This was his way of saying I needed to develop a "Vision" statement for my life and a "Mission" statement for my life. His reasoning for walking me down this road was to give me boundaries, a framework (if you will) within which I can make decisions. You see, I had come to Rodney and told him how crazy my life was. I am a self employed musician, and I was taking advantage of every opportunity that came along to make a dollar. On the surface, that makes sense. But in reality, before long you can become like a hamster on one of those spinning wheel-thingies. Going real fast, but getting nowhere. I had become that hamster. Ergo - those magical two questions - "Why am I here" and "What are you gonna do about it". Their scientific names are "Vision Statement" and "Mission Statement".  
Rodney told me that once I answered those two magic questions, then the framework was in place to help me say yes or no to "opportunities" that presented themselves. He went on to remind me that the enemy of   excellence was not "bad", but "just good enough". And if I spread myself too much, I would accomplish alot of "good enough", but sacrifice excellence in the process.
Without a vision for my life, I would be unrestrained... running this way and that, accomplishing nothing but keeping myself really busy. That was a pretty good description of my life back then.
If I could nail down why God has me here, then I could (with God's help) lay out a plan to work His plans for me. That was the challenge.
 Nailing down God's vision for my life took some time, alot of counsel and some tests. I will cover that on my next blog-post. But suffice it to say that "God knows the plans He has for us - they're good plans - not evil.." (Jeremiah 29:11); and wouldn't it make sense for US to know the plans He has for us? I'm not talking about knowing the future - I prefer NOT to know much about that, to be honest. But I can tell you that knowing the task He has for us to do NOW is a very advantageous thing. That knowledge (or vision, if you will permit) gives you boundaries - it restrains you. And that is NOT a bad thing. 
There are boundaries in my life due to the fact that I am married. There are certain activities that are easy to say "no" to because of the boundaries and restraints on me due to my being married. I like those boundaries and restraints. They keep me out of trouble. Anything that helps me make a wise decision is a good thing for me.
So the next blog will deal with how I arrived at my personal "vision statement". It changed my life. It focused my life. It focused my future. It guides my present. It brings peace into what may appear to be a difficult decision. It set up boundaries for me to run between. And I am off that stupid hamster wheel-thingie.




Mr G out.