As an organization we spent 3 days of this past week planning for the future. We created a mission to guide our work and a vision of where we wanted to be in the next ten years. We then divided our organization into 6 areas and decided what each area should look like in 10 years in order to be in line with our vision. We then came up with strategies for each area to get to that place and we are currently working on the smaller tactics of these strategies.
Going through this type of process is very important for an organization to stay focused and true to the purpose it was created to accomplish. Organizations which don’t do this may succeed, but most will eventually reach their peak, decline, and eventually fail. And even those who do focus on a vision and strategize may do the same thing if they do not have the right focus to begin with or do not change to make sure they are still striving towards their original goal.
So that is great for organizations, but what about us as individuals? I have been thinking about this and come to the conclusion that it is just as important for us to have plan for the future and know which direction we are headed. I believe all of us have it within to think about the future because we tend to ask questions about why we are here and what will happen to us when we die and so on. However, it seems that very few of us sit down, fix our eyes on a direction for our lives, and then push forward to accomplish the goals we set.
How does this look practically? For myself, I believe I was created to use my life to glorify Jesus and this is my purpose and vision for my life. Not only does he provide us with an example of His own life but he promises to provide the wisdom, strength, perseverance, love, grace, mercy, encouragement, and clear communication we need to follow His lead. Plus, He never changes. He is true to His promises and never fails to be the point we can fix our eyes on even through the terrain around us changes. Once Jesus is the focus, I am then able to set goals for my life which have strategies and tactics I can work toward. For example, one of the goals I have is to have a marriage that displays the love of Jesus. I am working towards loving Lauren the way Jesus loves me. Of course there are setbacks and times when this seems like an insurmountable goal yet Jesus promises he will help me move in that direction by constantly changing my heart to love Him and Lauren more. Other similar goals are in the areas of being a father, interactions with others, caring for God’s creation and so on.
So through this process even though the situations of life change and at times these goals seem overwhelming, my relationship with Jesus and my passion to glorify Him only deepens and I realize this journey I am on brings fulfillment that no other focus in my life on earth could provide. So I would encourage anyone to give some time to really consider what is your focus in life and what are you doing to accomplish it. Your answer may be nothing or you may realize that you are a little uneasy about the direction you are working towards. If that is the case or even if it isn’t , give some deep consideration to what is the true reason you were created, fix your eye on the right direction for your life, and pursue it wholeheartedly.
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