This week we received a phone call from a couple who asked a profound question of us. Knowing of the vision we received from the Lord 33 years ago, they called to ask, “How do you die to your vision?” They were struggling to understand how that might happen.
I will lay some foundation for our new readers. When the Lord called us to leave our secular jobs and step into a faith ministry for Him, He gave Roger the vision of the entrance to a place with cabins nestled in the trees surrounded by high mountains. With the vision Rog heard His audible voice say, “Son, you can have your heart’s desire (40 acres and some cows) and serve Me too in a Christian Retreat Ministry.” Accompanied by the gift of faith, the vision has burned in our hearts since the day it came…February 10, 1980.
Over the years many well-meaning people have crossed our paths with their ideas of just how this vision should happen. In the beginning, we jumped through many hoops trying to make something happen so that we could see the vision come to pass. Father, on the other hand, has had a very different opinion of just how He wants this vision to come to pass. In the process of all the passing years, we have had many negative things spoken to us or about us. We have felt like Noah must have felt when God called him to build the ark, yet no matter how many times Father has told us like He told Joseph, ‘go tend the sheep’, despite the mocking, doubt or unbelief even from members of our own family, we have had to ‘go tend the sheep’ in obedience to His directives. There have been times when, like Joseph, we were thrown into the pit and restrained in prisons of life’s circumstances, but never has the vision left our hearts.
In the beginning of our journey we desperately needed the vision to validate our calling and our reputation. Somewhere along the way, we began realize that our focus was totally wrong. When we met Father and embraced His love for us, our legitimacy became fully enmeshed with His and the need for the fulfillment of the vision disappeared. Today we no longer need the vision for any validation or legitimacy. At the same time, the vision continues to burn brightly within our hearts as our focus remains stayed on Him. We want to continue to shout to the world of the many miracles He has done in keeping us all these years while we have continued the ministry of ‘waiting.’
Many years ago a prophet spoke to Roger that he was a type and shadow of Joseph. At the time that word came, Rog didn’t know whether to thank the prophet or not! Depending on what time of Joseph’s life you were looking at, the prophecy could be glorious or not so glorious! The Word does tell us that Joseph did reach his destiny, but it wasn’t the way he thought it would be. We can attest to that! Our journey surely hasn’t been the way we thought it would be either! God actually took Joseph to a new geographical location, with new people, new surroundings, and folks he didn’t even particularly want to be with. Hey! THAT IS US! When God asked us to move from our beloved Colorado where the vision of the retreat is located to South Carolina, we thought He’d totally lost His mind! But Friend, when God says, “Go,” we must obey whether it seems crazy or not. Our time in South Carolina has in many ways been like Joseph’s prison to us and we long for the day of our return to Colorado. But just as God showed off His splendor and wonder in Joseph’s life, He is about to do the same in our lives too! The vision He has given us will come to pass because the God of Abraham, Isaac and Joseph has spoken it.
So what is your dream or vision Friend? Are you willing to die to that God-given dream or vision so that He can bring it to pass? You see the answer to the original question, “How do you die to your vision” is really pretty simple. You die to yourself, to your own thoughts, your own will and the way you think it should all come to pass and you live for Him. You make your will conform to His will. You make His thoughts your thoughts and then you just let Him enlarge the vision within you day by day. There will be times when you feel like everything you have been believing for and praying into – the things that matter most to you, the promises you have been given – have been delayed or even derailed. During these times when you cannot see exactly where you’re going, you must come to know and trust that the Lord is with you, giving you favor and blessing you wherever you go. You must come to the place that you understand that all that has been happening in your life is a part of God’s plan to get you to the place where your destiny is fulfilled. This is known as the ministry of ‘waiting’ and ‘process.’ It is the time of transformation where you die to the vision He has placed within you and it leads to the time of fulfillment. Ezekiel 12 says it this way: “The time has come for every prophecy to be fulfilled…For I am the Lord. I speak and it will come to pass. It will no more be postponed…None of My words shall be delayed any more, but the word which I speak will be done,” says the Lord God.
So how do you die to your vision? It’s simple. You die to you!
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Keep The Dream Alive Elaine Tavolacci
In the book of Genesis there is a story about Joseph. Joseph was a dreamer. His father favored him and gave him a coat of many colors. Because of this, his brothers threw him in a ditch and sold him as a slave. He was beaten, falsely accused and thrown into prison. Joseph never gave up on the dream but pursued the promises of God through it all. Because of his faith and tenacity, Pharaoh made him the Vizier which is the highest official in Ancient Egypt to serve the king. Pharaoh also placed a gold chain on his neck and put his signet ring on his finger which meant that Joseph now owned and had authority over everything that was Pharaohs. He then gave him a new name which was Zaphnath-Paaneah which means “Revealer of mysteries”. Some of you have been like Joseph. You once had a dream but your life seems to be going in the opposite direction. This is the word of the Lord for you. The Lord says, do not allow anything to steal the dream that I have placed in your heart. Never give up on what I have promised to you. I am the restorer of dreams, and My word will come to pass. Just as Josephs father, I have given you a coat of many colors. For those of you who have been betrayed by your brothers and sisters, I am the restorer of the breach. That which has been broken in your lives shall be mended. Those relationships that have been severed and disarrayed will be restored. Your families will come into alignment with My plans as they continue to observe your dedication to Me. Just as Potiphar’s wife falsely accused Joseph, those of you who have been falsely accused and lied about will be recompensed and rewarded for your integrity. As you continue to walk in holiness and not compromise or submit when others try to lead you astray, you will discover the greater plan. There is nothing hidden, that will not be revealed; nor anything secret, that will not be known and come to light. To those of you who have been imprisoned with fear and torment, I have the keys to hell and death. Trust Me to be your deliverer and set you free. I will release you and bring you into all that I have called you to do. Don’t look at things that are happening in the natural because My plans for you are beyond natural reasoning. Never settle for less than what I have for you. Just as Joseph was raised from the pit to this high calling, I will bring you out of your despair and raise you up in My kingdom. Never let go of your dream but hold on with the same tenacity as Joseph had. I Am the revealer of mysteries and I will also reveal My mysteries to you. You will then have My favor and you will be ruler over adverse situations rather than having them control you says the Lord. |
| Psalm 37:4 |
Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 105: 17
He sent a man before them – Joseph, sold as a slave. They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons, till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the Lord proved him true.
Psalm 105: 20 – 25
The king sent and released him, the ruler of peoples set him free. He made him master of his household, ruler over all he possessed, to instruct his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom. Then Israel entered Egypt; Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham. The Lord made his people very fruitful; he made them too numerous for their foes, whose hearts he turned to hate his people, to conspire against his servants.
Ephesians 3: 20
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.