Hey, guys! I’m back, duh. I missed writing and through life confirmations and getting dragged on Twitter, your girl is back in action and reporting for duty.

So let’s get into it!

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One morning, I got on Instagram and had a rude awakening. My best friend Gabe (former designer for the blog) shared this post in his IG stories.

Protect your new ideas. . There's a lot of creative people who are not imaginative. . That pisses imaginative people off, which is why you don't bring an unimaginative person into a process where a lot of work is still a theory. . They will choke the life out of every new idea because they can't see the potential. . You have to guard the ideation phase of your creative process. If you don't, ideas with potential will be killed because someone couldn't see it. . #CRTVCHURCH x @nikgoodner . . . . . #Creativity #church #christiancreative #churchcreative #successtip #inspiration #digitalart #churchtips #creativityeveryday #creativityquotes #worshipandcreative #prochurchmedia #faith #teamchurch #creatives #dailybible #churchdesign #localchurch #churchmedia #goodnewsfeed #calledtocreate #soulscripts #gritandvirtue #dailyencouragement #leaders #leadershiplessons #pastor #designer #creative

And your girl was triggered!

If I could count all the times I would share an idea with a friend, I’ve lost count. I would get so excited that I would go running to tell a friend, only for the idea to be shot to death by their lack of vision. And truth be told, I don’t blame them. I blame myself.

I believe many of the visions, ideas, and dreams that the Lord has birthed inside of us, that were destined to be million-dollar businesses or the breakthroughs that we have been desperately crying out to the Lord for, have been aborted by people who God did not share the vision with and/or lack the ability to catch vision when the idea was shared.

I mean that’s sad. Like if you can’t share the vision with your friends, then who the heck can you share it with!?

Uh, no one. One reason that Instagram post triggered me was that I had to learn the hard way to not invite everyone into the beginning of what God has laid on my heart to do because 1) some people lack understanding of the vision and 2) not everyone is your supporter.

This is something we must all learn from as believers. Let’s examine the script to learn from people who have experience in this so we can learn from their errors.

“One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. ‘Listen to this dream,’ he said. ‘We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!’
His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them.”

Genesis 37:5-8 NLT

So your boy Joseph was a fool. Can I say that? Because the only word I can think of to describe him. He fumbled the bag. He shared a dream he had, that he lacked interpretation of, to people who didn’t even like him, who ended up tearing the dream apart with their lack of revelation. This was literally a receipt for disaster. And we all know how the story goes (& if you don’t, read Genesis 37-45 to be blown away). His brothers attempted to get rid of him. Joseph was destined to preserve his family before the famine hit the country, which would ultimately secure the lineage of Jesus Christ. The guy who eventually died for our sins, so we would not live a life of separation from God. Do you see where I am going? Joseph was eager to share the dreams he had, but his family failed to see the dream from the perspective of God. His brothers’ attempt at killing him was an evil plan that tried to abort the calling of God’s plan for his life. But what the enemy intended for evil, God made work for our good!

Even Jesus experienced this.

“From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead. But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. ‘Heaven forbid, Lord,’ he said. ‘This will never happen to you!’ Jesus turned to Peter and said, ‘Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.’”

Matthew 16:21-23 NLT

Now, do you see why you can’t share your dream with everyone? Good. So then, what should we do when God gives us a vision? What are the practical steps?

What to do when God gives you a vision?

Write it down and seek God

Sometimes we can get carried away from the excitement and run to man and forget to go to the One who gave us the vision in the first place. Write it down in a journal. Pray on it. Pray and ask God for more wisdom and revelation on what He is calling you to do. It is only Him that can sustain it and we want to make sure it is done with pure intentions.

“Then the Lord said to me, “Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.”
Habakkuk 2:2 NLT

Seek wise counsel

And wise counsel is not always synonymous with friends. Ask the Lord to highlight key people that will be great stewards of what God has entrusted you with. These people will keep you accountable and encourage you in the process when you need it the most.

Without counsel, plans go awry,

But in the multitude of counselors, they are established.
Psalm 15:22 NKJV

Take the first step

And lastly, just do it. When it comes to the activation phase, we gotta take the first step and let God breathe on it. Unless we manifest the idea into reality, it’s just a dream. You have to add works to your faith. When you take the first step, God will add, and before you know it the vision has manifestation beyond what you could ever imagine.

“After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’ The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’”

Matthew 25:19-21

So what if you are on the other side of this situation? What if a friend is sharing something with you that the Lord has laid on their heart?

How can you be a supportive friend when someone shares their vision?

Listen to them

“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak…”
James 1:19

Our generation has this weird tendency to listen to respond and not listen to understand. As a friend is sharing what God is calling them to do, please hear them out with a pure and sincere heart. Don’t think about the questions you are going to respond back with. Though you may have questions for more intel and understanding, the questions can be taken as a way to question the validity of what they shared.

“How are you going to ….?”

“Why not do …? That’s easier to do.”

“I don’t understand.”

What you say next can be used by the enemy as a way to increase doubt in the possibility of the vision coming to fruition.

Encourage them

“Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.”

Ephesians 4:29

It’s already hard enough that your friend may already be dealing with internal turmoil and fighting an internal war with self-doubt and insecurities. Please do not join in on the fight.

I am not saying encourage them to do something stupid. If my friend was trying to text an ex, I will not be the one to egg her on nor will I check her text for grammatical errors. She can embarrass herself without my help. But what I am saying is…….

Which brings me to my last point.

**Support them (Optional)**

This step is kind of sensitive because not everyone wants to support and support looks different for everyone.

In my personal opinion, I’ve learned to not expect friends and loved ones to support me in what I am doing. It might not be something they are particularly interested in or want to be affiliated with it. Support can look different for everyone. One person might be behind closed doors praying and encouraging you while another constantly subscribes, likes, comments, and shares everything on social media. Which is cool. Who do we invite to the Church? The saved or the lost? Bingo.

If you do see the potential in what they are sharing, be an ally, and see how you can contribute to the vision in your own way. Whether it is keeping them accountable, providing resources, or connecting them to like-minded people. Play a part.

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The Lord wants to do so many wonderful things with our generation, but a lot of us are killing His works with our ways. Many people are waiting for us to raise up to our rightful places and to be ambassadors for the Kingdom. However, the enemy is at work against the plans of the Lord. We must remain consistent in the plans of the Lord for our life. Can’t wait to see what is birth through this generation!

Olamide Iyanda

aka

Urban Disciple