An Excerpt from the book “Servant Leadership”​

Components of a vision continued…​

Hindsight​

George Banner defined vision as, “Foresight based on insight with the benefit of hindsight.” As we get older, there is often a gap between our perception of where we ought to be and where we actually ought to be in reality. When I was a child, the first thing I wanted to be was a Veterinary Doctor – a rancher. I wanted to own cows, goats, poultry and I wanted to study Veterinary Medicine. What inspired this thinking were two things. The first was that I started life as a young child with my father working at the Ahmadu Bello University Agricultural Research Station at Mokwa in Niger State. Part of the research station was at a ranch where they carried out different kinds of experiments breeding animals and so on. I grew up in the midst of that. My dad also had a friend who was a Veterinary Doctor by training and he was in charge of the ranch. While my dad drove a Beetle, this man drove a Volvo and while we lived in a two-bedroom apartment, he lived in a four-bedroom apartment. I liked the comfortable life he lived and that was my inspiration.​

I did not want to live in the condition that I was raised in. I preferred the life that my friend had and so I wanted to become a Veterinary Doctor. However, in secondary school, I failed the science subjects but I passed the art subjects. There was definitely a gap between my reality and my vision. Life is often that way. Some people start out with a picture in their mind of wanting to become something but a gap exists between the perception of their future and the reality on ground. Unfortunately, there are people who do not see this as a sign that they are on the wrong path. No matter how much they keep failing, they continue to struggle to do the wrong thing. There is no point struggling in the wrong direction. Use your energy to find the right direction. That is why it is important for you to locate your gift. Your vision should connect with your gift. You should live your life in line with the gift that God has given you.

​If you are born again and you have the Holy Spirit, you have some natural gifts you were born with. Apart from that, you also have spiritual gifts. You should combine both gifts in order to locate God’s purpose and vision for your life. A particular Scripture that I love in the Bible is Romans 11:29, which says, “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance or they are irrevocable.” In other words, God never changes His mind. Purpose never changes but plans do. God’s purpose for your life will never change. Notice that the verse in Romans mentions the gifts and then the calling. The calling is singular but ‘gift’ is pluralised. This is because the combinations of your gifts are pointers to your calling. Where there are no gifts, there is no calling.​

Whomever God calls, He equips. Your gifts are therefore the equipment God has provided for you to fulfil your calling. There is no point settling for a calling for which you have no gift for. If you have a calling to be an evangelist but you cannot preach or heal the sick then you are not an evangelist. Your calling will be tied to the gifts that you have. Whenever you want to know the purpose of a thing, you must look at the design of that thing. The design will give you clues about what it is. The purpose of microphones will never be to transport people because that is not what it is designed for. A microphone is designed to amplify a voice. That is its purpose. You were genetically configured from your mother’s womb in a particular way. When you were baptised in the Holy Spirit, some spiritual gifts were added to those natural abilities. Your spiritual gifts and natural abilities are pointers to your purpose and your vision should line up with that. Do not stress yourself trying to be what you are not. It might be wonderful to be a base guitarist but if you are not wired to be one, then you must accept that fact.​

This is where hindsight pays a crucial role. It is a reflection of past antecedents pointing to the future. If you look at your antecedent there will be pointers that will show you how you ought to be and what God intends for you.

​Insight

​In addition to hindsight, you also need insight. This is the sixth component of a vision. Insight is the revelation of God which confirms the vision. As a child of God, you ought to get revelation from God. The best way to know the function of a product is to ask the manufacturer of the product. Nobody knows you like the Almighty God. Your birth parents do not know you like God does. God knows you to the very fibre that makes you who you are. He has the most indepth knowledge about you.​

You need a revelation from God. Habakkuk 2:1 says; “I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected.” What Habakkuk is essentially saying in this verse is that he will climb up to a place spiritually from where he can see clearly. You cannot receive revelation in the flesh; you can only receive it in the Spirit. You may be wondering how you can climb up in the Spirit. It is through prayers and meditation on the word of God. When you are baptised in the Holy Spirit, you have the opportunity to pray in tongues. The more you pray in tongues the more spiritually conscious and aware you will become. You will also become more sensitive in the Spirit when you pray in tongues. To birth your vision, you therefore need to spend time in prayer.​

Passion

​Passion is a strong drive to accomplish the vision. Where you find a real vision, you will find passion there also. A man of vision does not need to be driven to work; a man of vision drives himself. He is self-driven. The Bible says, “Where there is no vision the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18) Another translation says, “Where there is no vision the people are undisciplined.” Vision makes you disciplined. It will cause you to pray and study the word of God. Vision will drive you and make you work.​

A person with a vision does not get tired easily. People of vision are driven from the inside. They feel very strongly about what they have envisioned and they are passionate about it. They believe and care very deeply about their vision. A leader needs to have a vision and all the components of a vision need to be present for that leader to be able to accomplish the vision and inspire followership. Once you have a compelling vision you will discover that there will be people who will want to follow you and become a part of your vision because they can connect with it. Such people will be ready to move in the same direction with you.​

Victor Adeyemi