By Pastor William Boachie-Ansah
Texts: Habakkuk 2:2-3, Jeremiah 1:11-12
“Then the LORD answered me and said: "Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”
“Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Jeremiah, what do you see?" And I said, "I see a branch of an almond tree." Then the LORD said to me, "You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word." (NKJV)
The prophet Habakkuk was asked by God to write down what he sees. What you see today has a bearing on what you will be in the future.
Jeremiah too was asked to describe what he sees. He was commended by God for being able to aptly describe what he sees. When Jeremiah was able to tell what he saw, God revealed what He was going to do. If you don’t know where you are today, how can you tell where you will be tomorrow? In this life, God does not do everything for us. He calls us to do his work, but requires us to devise our personal strategy for executing his will. This is the reason why we should have personal mission statements, to direct our steps in life, and to be able to measure the fulfillment of our life aspirations.
As somebody who God has foreordained you to be His child and fellow worker, your goal for life is your ministry to God through service of men. In the business world for instance, a retailer does not know the first customer who will walk into his shop tomorrow, but he knows that he intended to trade for profit. Let everybody who come in contact with you know what you are prepared to live or die for.
PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT
The Encarta Dictionary defines a mission statement as “formal business statement of aims: a formal document that states the objectives of a company or organization”. It is not only organizations which need mission statement. If you want to develop your personality as a leader in God’s business, there is the need for you to have one. It’s a kind of personal constitution that sets out broad principles of how we wish to conduct our lives. Each of us should set out a personal mission statement, a description encompassing our own personal objectives, long-term goals, and guiding philosophy. It is a guideline that allows us to adapt our behavior to changes in our lives without straying from our overall direction and purpose.
A personal mission statement also helps us to move from our abstract values and motivational needs to something concrete by providing the foundation for developing specific goals to guide our behavior. By making our values explicit, we are better able to formulate short- and long-term goals that reflect what is important to us.
For example, consider the following mission statement created by one student:
My mission is to use my personal abilities fully to become an engineer who will work on projects that will help others improve the quality of their lives. In addition, I hope to form meaningful relationships with others and to marry and raise children who will make their own contributions to society. Finally, I wish to participate in bettering the world by volunteering in organizations that will enhance the quality of my own community.
This mission statement reflects several underlying values and needs: the desire to use work to improve others’ lives, the wish to form relationships with others, and the desire to make the world a better place. In some respects it is fairly specific (such as the desire to become an engineer and to marry and have children).
HOW TO WRITE A PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT
Before you sit down to write your personal mission statement, there are a lot of reflections you have to make. You might, for example, consider how you plan to achieve your motivational needs and realize your values through your chosen career. Next you might describe the sort of person you want to be and the “product” you plan to contribute to the world. Finally, you might describe your intended lifestyle, including the type of community you would like to live in and the nature of your ideal family. In addition, the following can be put into consideration:
• What are your most important values (e.g., comfort, environmental awareness, kindness to others, inner harmony, challenge, etc.)?
• What are your motivational needs (e.g., love and belonging, esteem, self-actualization)?
• In what general area or career do you wish to work?
• What will be your most important “product,” for which you want to be known and remembered (e.g., good deeds, wealth, power, prestige, artistic creations, business acumen, etc.)?
• What kind of person do you want to be (helpful, kind, solitary, powerful, wealthy, etc.)?
• In what sort of community do you want to live (large city, small city, small town, suburbs, country, woods, farm, etc.)?
• With whom do you want to live (e.g., spouse, friends, children, etc.)?
• What words describe your ideal life style (e.g., sophisticated, woodsy, agricultural, down- home, laid back, ambitious, etc.)?
If you are able to put down your answers to these questions systematically, you will be able to have a fair view of what you exist for. The next thing to do is to polish it by using concise clear cut statements to summarize it. With determination to live it, your life will be clearly guided. Take it to the Lord in prayer and see to it that you consult it whenever you are about to take any major decision of life. God be with you.
PASTOR WILLIAM BOACHIE-ANSAH
THE CHURCH OF PENTECOST
P.O. BOX 10
NSAWKAW-B/A, GHANA
copnsawkaw@yahoo.co.uk
boachieansah@gmail.com
http://boachieansah.webs.com
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