To live a life that matters you must have purpose or vision. God declares, in Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (KJV). You must have a driving passion for your life.

Hannah, the wife of Elkanah (1 Samuel, Chapter 1), was a woman in Old Testament times. In those days a woman was defined by child bearing, but Hannah was childless (1 Samuel 1:2). Hannah was not content to live as she was, even though her husband was very good to her (1 Samuel 1:8). Hannah’s vision was to be a mother.

To live a life that matters, you must couple a sense of mission to vision. Mission is taking steps to fulfill your vision. Hannah knew her vision of having a child was impossible apart from God’s intervention. She had a husband who cared for her and spent time with her, but no child was produced. Hannah’s mission was to get God involved in her life.

On one of the family’s annual pilgrimages to Shiloh to worship God, Hannah put herself in God’s hands. She approached the temple and stood there praying. Her prayer was, “O Lord almighty, if you will only look upon your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life.”

As Hannah stood and prayed silently, the priest thought she had been drinking and was just acting out. The priest rebuked her, but Hannah once again pleaded her case first with God and then with the priest.

Hannah’s mission fueled by her vision would not allow her to be deterred. The priest realized Hannah’s earnest purpose and pronounced a blessing on her (1 Samuel 1:17).

Hannah returned home with her husband, and in due time, the Lord did remember her and she became pregnant. Her son was born and she named him Samuel, which means, “Because I asked the Lord for him” (1 Samuel 1:20).

Living a life that matters requires a vision. Mission must be added to vision or it merely remains a dream. Once you couple vision and mission, you must add values. Values dictate how you go about fulfilling your mission.

Hannah had the value of integrity. She had made a promise to God. She promised that if God gave her a son, she would give that son back to God for his entire life.

Hannah prepared her son to go and live at the temple with the priest, and there to be in God’s service. As soon as Samuel was weaned, Hannah took him to Shiloh and there gave him over to God to live his life and serve the Lord (1 Samuel 1:24-28).

Do you have a vision for your life? Have you formulated a mission to fulfill your vision?

Are you committed to live a life based on good core values? All of these ingredients produce a life that matters.

The Rev. Dan Puckett is a minister with Life Action Ministries.