Vision: The Picture of Purpose

Building a Routine & Understanding the Vision Behind It.

Introduction

Firstly I want to thank everyone who contributed to the conversation around the last letter I sent out. It has been refreshing to see how these thoughts and experiences resonate with so many of you. This letter is a continuation of “A Routine that is Built to Last” so please read it if you haven’t done so already. Here’s a brief recap…

One thing that so many people want to know is how to build a routine and stick to it consistently. From my experience, I have come to understand that there is only one way to build a routine that truly lasts even though the world offers thousands of ideas and strategies. It is the acknowledgement of the spiritual foundation of a routine that really keeps it all together. We have all been taught not to do things “half heartedly” which is something that I agree with. But the more I grew to understand the nature of the human heart, the more I began to understand this… In order to do something wholeheartedly, your heart must first be made whole. This is why the heart is the foundation that God wants to build upon and what will ultimately serve at the sustenance behind your daily routine. A heart posture birthed from transformation will keep your routine together; but in this letter I will be explaining to you what inspires a routine - your God given vision.

Throughout my childhood I was always considered to be a dreamer. I remember getting told off in school for constantly daydreaming during class because I found it difficult to be present. I was constantly in my head thinking and imagining. I began to think this was a weakness especially as I grew older. The notion was that “serious people are present and unserious people dream.” Therefore I suppressed my child-like imagination by believing that success and maturity lies in thinking inside the box. Unfortunately, this is what many of us have been taught to believe culturally and through the education system. What is also unfortunate is that many people adopt the false idea that God is an enforcer of confined thinking. Before I go on I will quickly set the record straight:

God is limitless in his goodness. The only thing he will draw a boundary around is sin. That line has already been drawn around Satan. Therefore the devil can only present a false picture of freedom that is ironically confined within the realm that God opposes. Many people are deceived into believing that freedom only exists within the boundary lines that have been drawn for the enemy. Many people believe that they must leave their dreams and creativity behind when they come to God. The same God that gave you a mind to see beyond what your eyes can see will not take it away from you.

With that being said, your God given vision is a painted picture and your daily routine is what brings it to life. The vision is the picture of purpose. Before we get there, it is important for you to understand what the picture is and what it is not.

Understanding What The Picture Is Not

An extremely limiting belief system that I am going to tackle is the idea that God hasn’t given you a vision. How many times have you said - “I don’t know what I am meant to do in life” or “I don’t have a purpose”. These thoughts are not true and my mission through this letter is to destroy the lies keeping you from knowing God and applying his vision to your everyday life.

 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 NLT

Now juxtapose those thoughts with every gift you possess, with every one of your childhood dreams and with everything you have ever imagined. No matter how crazy it may seem, you have pictured yourself outside of your current paradigm. This is a God-given ability defined as your imagination.

Imagination (noun): the act or power of forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before wholly perceived in reality

Mariam Webster Dictionary

One important thing to understand is that your imagination is a God given tool; it is not your vision. Your imagination is a tool that helps you to understand your vision. But in the true human fashion of ignorance we have been sold these two lies about the imagination.

1. Your imagination equates to your destiny, therefore you can create a vision and make it your purpose.

2. Your imagination is completely useless and you must bring yourself back into “the real world” and rely solely on your 5 senses to get the most out of life!

Both of these lies are attacks to the tool for this simple reason: they stop you from acknowledging your vision! The vision itself cannot be attacked, which is why the devil fights so hard to keep you away from it. He does this by coming for your tools which are your dreams, your gifts and your ability to imagine. The enemy cannot fight your destiny, he can only talk you out of accepting it or talk you into creating a counterfeit version of it. These attacks are rooted in thought because that is where your power lies.

Understanding What The Picture Is

A very simple way to understand your God given vision is to measure the vision alongside how much you need to rely on God in order to get there. If your dreams and visions seem impossible to attain without the help of an omnipotent God, then it more than likely came from God (Philippians 4:13). A God given vision will always require you to rely on him!

Secondly, your vision is connected to your purpose and your destiny. Therefore it is not something that is created during your life. It is something that is revealed during your life. Everything that is meaningful in life has already been created by God; which means that God is the one who brings about the revelation of his creation. It now becomes your joy to live a life searching out the matter of what has been concealed. The mysteries of heaven were designed to be unravelled, they were not designed to be created. This is the perspective you need to have around the idea of building a routine that lasts. It is the daily practice of unravelling your purpose.

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings. Proverbs 25:2

The Bible calls us kings, not robots. How will you ever experience glory if you never get the opportunity to unravel the mysteries that have been concealed by God? This happens by remaining in his presence. Jesus’s life on earth set the tone for what that should look like. No matter what he did, he always brought himself into a place of prayer. This is where God’s will is sought out and where the pictures he paints are revealed.

To conclude, here are some important points to remember when trying to understand your vision.

• Your vision is not a fantasy. A fantasy is what you create but your vision is what God reveals from what has already been created.

• Reality is not the absence of a vision. Reality is how you present yourself to the vision.

• Your present life was designed for glory through the revelation of purpose. It was not designed for you to enjoy the false reality of believing that you don’t have one.

Bringing the Picture to Life

Your God given vision is a painted picture and your daily routine is what brings it to life. Now it is important to know that God paints pictures in parts. So you will never see the full scope of where you are headed to but you will know of the direction. Now you know that there are many ways to get a glimpse of this picture: such as tapping into your natural gifts, using your imagination and not disregarding your childlike dreams as fantasy. If you are currently in a routine that is sucking the life out of you, it’s time to build a new one. A routine inspired by God brings the vision to life.

Here is something that really got me thinking…

This quote perfectly illustrates the relationship between vision and routine. The Apple commercial started in the mind. Changing the world was a crazy thought. However, the daily practice surrounding that idea (vision) is the reason why you are probably reading this letter from a product that was only a crazy thought in 1997.

What are the crazy thoughts you have today? The kind of crazy thoughts that require crazy faith. If the vision cannot outlive you then the vision is not from God. A vision from God is designed to outlive you because God is eternal, his kingdom lasts forever (Daniel 4:3) Therefore you can start by doing things on a day to day basis that will not die when you do. For example, living a healthy lifestyle will not only prolong your life, but it will enrich the livelihood of your blood line. Learning wisdom by reading the word daily will illuminate your eyes to divine knowledge and truth. This means that to be an everlasting teacher your routine must be a reflection of a daily learner. If you write, somebody will get a hold of it. If you paint, your artwork will not follow you to the grave. All in all, discovering your purpose is a never ending process, but these are just a few things that will help you in getting the journey started.

Final Thoughts - Start Small

Here’s a personal story of mine that is relevant to this topic. Writing was a habit that I tried to fit into my daily routine three years ago. I had a vision that one day I will be able to articulate my thoughts through writing. This seemed like a far fetched dream at the time because I hated writing. All I knew was that I imagined myself doing it; which meant the idea possibly came from God. Therefore, when I decided to create an intentional routine for the first time three years ago, I put writing down as a daily task. I would set out a time to write for about an hour everyday but nothing came of it. I would constantly get distracted and I eventually lost all motivation to write. For several months the daily habit of writing was never ticked off of my list.

As time went by I started making notes on my phone every time a thought or an idea would come to my mind. This usually happens on my daily walks. I would do this every single day without even thinking. However, I never gave myself any credit towards writing because I undermined the value of writing a sentence daily with so much ease as opposed to struggling to write out a whole page inconsistently. Little did I know that the subconscious action of jotting down my thoughts onto my phone everyday was empowerment from God in order to get me to enjoy a practice that I often regarded as boring and tedious. Two years down the line, those short sentences developed into episodes and talking points on the Back To Square One Podcast. Three years down the line I am writing weekly articles through these letters to you. All of a sudden, the vision I had 3 years ago doesn’t seem so impossible even though I am still so far away from the original picture that I saw. All I know is that I am moving in the right direction.

My prayer is that you decide to make a stride today towards the pictures that God has shown you. No matter how small or insignificant the steps may seem; do not disregard them. If you are living to seek to the will of God, he will continuously empower every daily stride you make; no matter how small it seems!