DREAM KILLERS

You are on your knees praying when all of a sudden you feel that God is speaking to you and giving you an idea for a business, a ministry or a prophetic word concerning your future. Excitement fills your heart so you get up and devise a plan as to how you will approach this idea or prepare for it. For a few weeks or months, the idea is like fire burning in your heart. You have the zeal and determination to go through with it until you face an obstacle that seems to stand in the way of you and your dream.
The excitement dies down and you are back right where you started- discouraged, depressed and, once again, earnestly seeking God for the next big Idea. You begin to doubt whether you heard God at first or it was just your emotions speaking.
This has happened to me in the past. Several times God has given me these “AHA” moments and I’ve run with them for some time until I hit a snag in my path toward destiny. I call these moments “Dry Spells of Passion.”
Have you ever wondered how you lose passion for God’s revealed ideas, plans or purpose for your life? How you could sustain your passionate pursuit of vision only for a time?
Realizing how we fall prey to dry spells is important because we cannot afford to lose sight of God’s direction for our lives, not even for a few moments. That sounds extreme but that’s the harsh truth- for life lived without purpose and vision is suicidal, even if it’s just for a moment.
These spells, however, are detractors from God’s purpose, vision and Kingdom agenda for your life; and I call them VISION KILLERS.
I recently taught on this subject of Vision Killers based on Joseph’s life. And as I shared in my last article, “Unlocking Your Destiny”, by examining Joseph’s life, not only do we find the keys to discovering our purpose and destiny. Most importantly, we find the key to success, which is protecting yourself from Vision Killers.
What then are these Vision Killers?

Vision Killer #1: Disconnection from the Source

God is the author of all things including vision and purpose. Therefore, it is imperative that you make sure you are pursuing a God- given vision, because God will only support vision as it relates to his eternal kingdom purposes. Remember that for every God- given vision there is always God- given Pro-vision.
Since God is the source of every vision it follows then that only he can sustain and bring the vision to reality. Joseph knew this fact, and that’s why he learnt to walk close with God. The bible tells us that the “Lord was with Joseph and he prospered (Genesis. 39:2-6)”.
Joseph’s progress and prosperity were directly dependent on his continued connection to the source of his vision. Therefore, Vision Killer number 1 is Disconnecting from the Source of your vision.
Jesus illustrated this point when he talked about the principles of a productive life in John Chapter 15. He says that He is the vine and we are the branches, and that for the branches to produce fruit they must be connected to the vine. Why? Because the vine distributes the nutrients that the branches need to produce fruit.
In other words, for you to be productive, you must remain connected to God, your Source of all the re-sources you need to accomplish his assignment for your life.
My favorite verse is verse 5, which says, “I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing (Amplified version).”
After our initial connection with the vision giver, we must always remain connected to him for the vision to come to pass. Remaining connected is the key, because cut off from vital union with him we can do NOTHING. The devil will do anything and everything to keep you away from God, because he knows that to be much for God, you must be much with him.
Therefore, spend some time in honest conversation with God every day and at every chance you get. We call this prayer. Remember that it’s a dialogue, not a monologue.
Secondly, spend some time reading and meditating on his word, because the secret wisdom of God is revealed to those that diligently seek it. God told Joshua that if he remained in the word he would find Good Success (Josh 1:8) and its there for you too.

Vision Killer #2: Laziness

Most people want the best things in life but are not willing to pay the price to have them. There is no such thing as something for nothing under the sun. Everything comes at a price. This mentality of wanting something for nothing is called Laziness, and it is the second major Vision Killer.
Laziness has two main results: Firstly, if you are lazy you will be poor. Poverty is a choice. Let this fact be established in your mind. You have to decide which one you will be- rich or poor, the choice is yours. Proverbs 10:4 says, “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.”
Choice is the most powerful thing we have and we can choose our destiny today (More on the subject of choice in another article).
Secondly, laziness will make you a slave to someone else. My mentor says if you don’t deploy yourself someone will employ you. In fact Proverbs 12:24 says it the best, “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor.”
I hear some of you hard workers screaming at me, “I’ve been working for a long time but am still poor!” My question to you is, “Do you have a vision for your life; and is that what you working hard for? Or are you simply working to make ends meet?” Why you are working is important. I know that most people simply work to survive, which in most cases is unavoidable. However, let me encourage you to work because your vision demands it and not because the pressures of life demand it.
Joseph understood the principle of work. His willingness and ability to work hard opened doors for him. No matter where he was he found favor with the authorities, because God was with him and he was a dependable, hard worker. God made Joseph a success partly because he was a diligent worker (Read Genesis 39).
The bottom line is this. If you want to fulfill your purpose and realize your vision, you must work hard and work smart; you cannot fulfill your purpose or assignment without work.
The truth of the matter is that God created us to work. In fact he didn’t let anything grow on the earth until he created man. Why? Genesis 2:4b-7 says because there was no one to work and care for the Garden.
Affirm this in your spirit and say it loud so the devil can hear you. Say “God created me to Work.”
Work existed before sin, but sin changed the conditions i.e. struggle, sweat and pain. That’s why work can sometimes be uncomfortable, but its not a curse or an evil to be avoided.
In fact, work is a blessing and has tremendous benefits. Financial return is perhaps the most common and preferred benefit of work.
Secondly, work reveals and unleashes your potential. You will never know what God has put in you until you apply yourself to work. Through work God teaches you how to use your talents and abilities. “Through work God stretches you because work requires you to take on new challenges and dares you to risk failure to show your capacity for success (Myles Munroe- Releasing your potential).” Work is your friend. Therefore, embrace it.

Vision Killer # 3: Lack of Planning

Perhaps one of the hallmarks of Joseph’s life is that he was a strategic planner. When God revealed the meaning of Pharaoh’s dreams and put him in charge of making sure Egypt had enough food for the famine, Joseph went to the drawing board and formulated an elaborate 14-year strategic plan for the survival of a nation (See Genesis 41:46-57). God interpreted the dreams but trusted Joseph to make a workable plan, and ultimately chart the course of a nation. Joseph’s life teaches us that God expects us to plan for our lives. Therefore, a lack of strategic planning will kill your vision.
Many people think that if God gives them a vision, they should just fold their hands, pray and “wait” on the Lord to work it out. This is not true because the bible tells us that “to man belong the plans of the heart, but from God comes the reply of the tongue” (Pro 16:1); furthermore, the bible says, “commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed” (Pro 16:3). But perhaps the verse that expresses what I am trying to communicate is verse 9 of chapter 16, which says, “In his heart man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” God directs us according to the plans we’ve made in agreement with the vision he’s placed in our hearts, which is motivated by our purpose for existence. In other words, when you have a vision, you need to chart a course to fulfill that vision, BUT God navigates you through the plan.
Planning gives your life direction and precision. If you know what you want to achieve everyday, you will make less mistakes. Your plan will will help you set goals and objectives which act as progress markers and help you determine your priorities; the things that are important to the fulfillment of vision. Not everything you do is important to your vision and most people go through life doing everything and anything. If you don’t know where you are going, any road will lead you there.
To live life pursuing your purpose and destiny, you must have a vision and you must protect your self from the things that might kill your vision. Certainly there are some other vision killers but I feel that these are the major ones.
Therefore, always remain connected to God your source, be a hard and smart worker, and always move and make decisions according to your plan.
My friend, I promise you that if you follow these steps and commit wholeheartedly to your vision, you will succeed. You will wake up everyday knowing exactly what you want and what you need to do in order to get what you want in relation to your vision. I practice these principles and am still working to refine them, but ever since my Leadership Mentor taught them to me, my life has never been the same. Its not magic, but try them, reap the benefits, maximize your moment and fulfill your destiny.

Campbell Lumbila