To have vision for your life is to be able to imagine something different than currently is. You can have vision for your family, your relationships, faith, education, and financial situation. To have vision is simply to dream beyond your current situation. Often times, it is the starting place for you to be able to move forward.

Vision is powerful and God desires you to have vision for your life.

A few years ago, I felt aimless and restless and was searching for a deeper sense of God’s purpose for my life.

I came across Andy Stanley’s book, Visioneering, and I read these simple life-changing words: “You don’t know what God is up to behind the scenes of your life. You don’t know how close you are to a breakthrough. It is no accident you are where you are … God is using your circumstances to prepare you to accomplish his vision for your life. Your present circumstances are part of the vision. You are not wasting your time. You are not spinning your wheels. You are not wandering in the wilderness.”

Although I had a great job, a fabulous family, supportive friends and my faith – I felt like I was wandering in the wilderness. As I sat at my desk that day in the high school classroom, marking papers, I peered out the window and the thought came to me: What if I truly am supposed to be right where I am? What if I am not lagging behind, slightly misinformed, living in the shadows or living a second-rate life? What if God’s presence, in this present moment, really does illuminate my life with hope, peace, comfort and assurance that eradicates fear? Shortly after, a woman walked in with a stunning bouquet of white roses that had been dropped off at the school for me by a woman who later informed me, “God had put it on my heart to bring you these today”.

That day, I was flooded with a new desire to know Him and to hear His voice
– I wanted to know, what did He have to say to me personally?

To believe that your present circumstance has purpose in God’s great economy is the foundation for His vision to grow for your life. It begins with your complete faith in His faithfulness, in the current moment. Your faith in Christ is not a whimsy, wishful belief, it is firmly planted on this good news: In this moment, God makes up for everything that you lack because of Jesus’ life, death and rising that makes you new in Him. That is why you can rest, right now, and trust Him.

It is so important to begin realizing vision for your life, by first having vision for your relationship with God Himself. All else will flow from this focus. There is a key difference between realizing God’s vision for you, and setting out to change the world with your own ideas and vision. (The latter is a dangerous venture! You will likely end up disappointed). God’s plans for your days will be revealed to you through your individual relationship with Him, as you follow Him. Ultimately, God wants to pinpoint your focus and offer you clarity as He helps you unearth and unleash His vision for your life. I believe with all my heart, you will discover nothing greater on earth.

Shortly after my classroom revelation, I penned three pillars of vision for my relationship with God.

1. I want to know God. I want an authentic relationship with God to be the number one priority in my life, always. This will be the most fulfilling and life that leads to inner freedom no matter what my circumstances are.

2. I want to obey God. As a response to God’s love, I want to do the things He is leading me to do. God has created me with hopes, gifts and purpose. When I use these gifts in the ways He directs, I am worshipping God. Timothy Keller says, “transformation is less about changing thinking or behavior, and more about changing what you worship.”

3. I want to live just for today. I don’t want to do things for the sake of doing them. I don’t want to do things to accomplish something in order to feel valuable or important. I want to do just what God is asking of me, in that day, and for that to be my joy.

As I let God’s individual love for me seep deeper in my heart, I became more and more convinced that the Gospel really is true, it’s THAT good! I never, never need to work for worth, and neither do you. This is Great Grace, and it means you can make a Great Trade.

Great Grace
A Great Trade 

Worship for Work
Enough for Insecurity
Authenticity for People Pleasing
Self-Compassion for Perfectionism
Resilient Spirit for Victim Mentality
Gratitude and Joy for Scarcity and Fear
Intuition and Trusting Faith for Certainty
Periods of Rest for Constant Productivity
Calm and Stillness for Anxiety and Frenzy
Meaningful Work for “I should”
Laughter for Control
Grace for Striving
Proactive for Reactive

What trades could you make in your life, so you can better experience God’s grace and realize His vision for you?