Steve Lyston, Contributor

Vision is inspired by God, and when a nation suffers - crime, violence, poverty, high debt or hopelessness - Proverbs 29:18 reveals that when a society lacks any revelation from God or divine insight, such a society is headed in the direction of anarchy.

The vision of a nation, company or organisation (spiritual or secular) is given to the leader of the organisation and this person is the visionary.

The person is the visionary who will outline the vision to the organisation or to the people of the nation, who will clearly and accurately communicate to each individual the vision of the nation and how they will fit in it.

The problem we have in the society has come about because the 'neck', 'hands' and 'feet' has a different vision from the 'head'/visionary. This is what brings about division, rebellion, undermining and even conspiracy within and outside the organisation/nation.

Here is the problem - everybody wants to lead, but in reality everybody can't lead. What many don't realise is that they have to be faithful to another man's vision before God entrusts them with a vision of their own.

There can be no growth unless everyone works towards realising the vision of which they are a part.

The vision must be documented on paper (Habakkuk 2).

The vision must be inspired by God.

The vision must be birthed with prayer and with the knowledge that there is a time and season for it to be birthed.

The vision must be one that deals with the demands of the people. It cannot be short term, it must be long term.

The vision must have core values.

The vision must be built on the solid rock, not on sand.

Most of the problems that the local and global leaders or organisations have been experiencing is as a result of the fact that they will come up with a manifesto and then abandon it when they get into the seats of power. Or, they will attempt to build on the vision of our forefathers, but sadly they don't realise that the visions of the forefathers are dead and they must have a God-given vision of their own.

For example, Moses' vision was to deliver the nation of Israel out of oppression, but Joshua's vision was to carry them into the Promised Land. Although Joshua succeeded Moses, the visions were different because the paradigm shifted and the circumstances changed.

Furthermore, we are not helping the vision of an organisation or nation when we employ or take on someone just to give them a job. We must look to determine if they are the right fit for and can contribute to the vision.

In the era of Moses, God fed the people with manna, but in the era of Joshua they had to fight, because what they had to overcome had changed. There was a time the people would be given the fish, but there comes a time when you have to teach the people how to fish.

The majority of the people within the nation don't know the vision of the nation. Each time an election comes around many don't even know why they are voting. They vote for a leader and then they turn around and curse the leader.

Everyone must ask the question, Why does my organisation exist? What is my organisation to accomplish? Is my organisation relevant to this era? Am I in reverse, neutral or drive? Can the infrastructure of my organisation deal with the vision? Is the visionary or the organisation flexible for a paradigm shift?

No vision can be successful unless you have the right people to build, and they can't be political. The vision must capture the things that are affecting us. We cannot rid a nation of crime by purchasing more bullets.

We can't fix the economy by reducing the debt unless they decide to deal with the real issues from the root.

As it stands today, the vision of our forefathers have become irrelevant and obsolete in light of the current issues that are affecting business and the economy.

Saying so is not an expression of disrespect to the things our forefathers achieved within and for the nation. On the contrary, it is recognition that what they did was successful for the era to which it applied, and that we too need to look for what applies to this era.

God, give us vision!

Steve Lyston is a biblical economics consultant and Author of several books, including 'End Time Finance' and 'The New Millionaire'.