Vision Killers, Haters and Promoters
God can reveal His plans and purpose for your life and show you the picture of your future. However, the fact that you have seen the picture of your future does not really mean that you will automatically feature in that future that you have "pictured". You have to run with the vision. On your journey to your lofty dreams, you will meet some categories of people. They are vision killers, vision haters and vision promoters, so you need to be watchful and prayerful.
Who are vision haters?
Vision haters are negative or critical people who greatly dislike you because of your dream. They use negative and critical comments and behavior to bring another person down by making them look or feel bad. They are ill-wishers, despisers, or antagonists who will not find anything good in your dream or vision and will always look for ways to bring you down.
Joseph’s brothers were examples of vision haters. They hated Joseph because of his dreams. They hated their family star so much that they sold him into slavery. What they never realized was that a star in Israel is still a star in Egypt, it is only the location that is different. A star is a star irrespective of the location. Take a star from the sky in Africa and plant him or her in America, it will still be a star. They hated Joseph so much that they plotted to kill him. They later sold Joseph to Egypt and he became a superstar in Egypt while Egypt became a superpower just because of the presence of a resident star there in the person of Joseph
Genesis 37:5-8 (NIV)
“Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”
His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.
Genesis 37:9-11 (NIV)
Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers, “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you? His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind”
Don’t let anyone stop your dream
One thing I respect from the account of Joseph was that he did not allow the hatred of his brother stop him from dreaming. In the first dream, it was only the brothers that were bowing down to him. Despite his brother’s hatred, he had another dream and this time around it was a bigger dream, his brothers, his father and mother were bowing down to him.
Whenever you experience hatred as a result of your dream, please go back and dream big. Don’t allow vision haters to stifle your dream. Dream again and again and again. Don’t let anyone stop you from dreaming. Even before Joseph started dreaming, his father loved him and the brothers hated him as a result of that. Vision haters really don’t want anything good to happen to you. Your progress is always their headache. Your accomplishment is always disgusting to them. In the midst of their hatred, Joseph was dreaming.
Don’t sell your stars
Vision haters hate other people’s visions simply because they have no dream. Meanwhile, the sky is wide enough for every star to shine. Vision haters fail to realize that if a star is in a family, sooner or later, that family would also become a star. Accommodate, celebrate and groom that star in your church. He or she could be another Joseph. Don’t sell your stars, instead celebrate them. If you read the subsequent verses in Genesis 37, you will see what Joseph suffered in the hands of his brothers who were bent on destroying his vision. Egypt became a world power simply because they embraced and celebrated a star. I pray that God will deliver us from vision haters in Jesus’ name. Let us consider what the scriptures says:
Isaiah 60:15
“Although you have been forsaken and hated, with no one traveling through, I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations.”
Who are vision killers?
You will most likely meet vision killers on your journey to self discovery. Who are the vision killers? Vision killers are a set of people whose main goal is to destroy or terminate your dreams. Vision killers can go as far as terminating the life of the dreamer if they realize that they can not destroy him just to ensure that the dream is not materialized.
The moment king Herod heard that the star of Jesus had appeared, he planned to kill him. He later killed many children who are two years and below just to get rid of Jesus. Herod’s plan was however aborted because God had already instructed Jesus’ parents to take the child to Egypt. God has the power to deliver us from vision killers provided we learn to listen to His directives. Herod had to die before Jesus could come back to Nazareth.
The Magi Visit the Messiah: Matthew 2:1-12 (ESV)
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: “And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”
Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
The Escape To Egypt: Genesis 2:13-16
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod.
This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. “
Avoid Vision Killers
Some have the ability to see others stars right from their birth. They have the capacity to discern the future of the star right at a tender age. I pray that the wrong people will not see your stars in Jesus’ name. The wise men had good intentions about the star. Their plan was to celebrate Him and give him some gifts. However, they shared the information with a wrong person. They thought that the kind of star that they saw could only be born at the palace. Meanwhile the star was born in a manger.
This is another lesson for all of us. The fact that you were born in a lowly and humble manner does not mean that you are not a star. In the same vein, the fact that you were born in a palace does not mean that you are automatically a star. The wise men were looking for the star at the wrong location and they mistakenly shared the information with a vision killer.
King Herod pretended to be a nice person who also intended to celebrate the star. This is to show us that you might not easily discern who a vision killer is except by the Spirit of God. They may look like friends but they are enemies in disguise. They may look like angels but they are devil incarnates. It is only God who can deliver you and I from such people. God outsmarted Herod by giving a prior instruction to Joseph and Mary before Herod could carry out his dastardly act.
Similarly, Pharaoh ordered that male children in Egypt should be killed at birth because the devil knew that Moses, a great prophet was about to be born. Many male children were killed in Egypt but God spared Moses’ life. As a matter of fact, King Pharaoh was the one who raised the same man the devil wanted him to kill. So if you are a child of God, here is the good news, God has the power to deliver you and He will indeed deliver you from vision killers in Jesus name.
Exodus 1:15-22 (NIV)
“The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live.
Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?” The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”
So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own. Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”
Exodus 2:1-10
“Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.
Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said. Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”
“Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”
God can protect your vision
No matter how hard the devil tries to kill your vision, I pray that the Lord will make a way for you. Your vision will thrive in the midst of thorns in Jesus’ name. Pharaoh did not know that the man he was raising in his palace will later be used mightily by God. Moses caused a lot havoc to Pharaoh’s kingdom with all the ten plagues. King Pharaoh would not have raised him if he had known. Moses’ mother was being paid to raise Moses before she handed him over to Pharaoh’s daughter. She was rewarded monetarily by Pharaoh’s daughter even when she was only raising her son. You can see how God works. I pray that the enemy who wants to destroy or terminate your vision will be the one to promote you.
The vision promoters
The three wise men were vision promoters. They saw Jesus’ star afar and they went ahead to celebrate him and gave him some precious gifts. I pray that God will connect us with vision promoters in Jesus’ name.
In all these scenarios, God outsmarted both Herod and Pharaoh. In any case, be focused. Jesus also encountered all these three categories of people. Despite the fact that He went all about doing good, he was hated for His vision. Some however celebrated Him but vision killers eventually killed Him. They thought they killed His vision, but they never knew they just succeeded in assisting Him to fulfil His mission. You can also candidly ask yourself which category you are. Are you a vision killer, a vision hater or a vision promoter?
Do you have a vision? Be focused, be prayerful and be vigilant. You will fulfil your dreams in Jesus’ name.
Prayer Points:
God, please deliver me from vision killers and vision haters but connect be with vision promoters in Jesus’ name. Father, please give me the grace to accomplish your plans and purpose for my life in Jesus’ name. Lord, please keep me the same way you kept Joseph and Moses and you gave them the grace to fulfil their purpose . Wherever I have been hated and despised because of my dreams in the past, let me be celebrated in Jesus’ name. I pray that I will accomplish my goals and fulfil my purpose in Jesus’ name. I will complete my assignment here on earth and even thrive in the midst of thorns. In Jesus’ name I have prayed (amen!)
If you have not given your life to Jesus and you want to do so, say this prayer: “Lord Jesus, thank you for saving me by dying on the cross for me. I acknowledge that I am a sinner because all have sinned and come short of your glory. I believe that your blood has the power to cleanse me from my sins. Today, I accept you as my personal Lord and Savior. I repent of my sins and as from now on I will no longer be a slave to sin. Instead, I embrace your righteousness,. and I will begin to walk in the consciousness of the new light that I have found in you. In Jesus’ name I have prayed (amen!). If you have just said this prayer, please send an email to: [email protected]
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