Leaders are very unique people with distinctive thinking; they are Visionaries. And vision has varieties of definitions, all of which include a future orientation, mental picture and aspects of direction. It is a picture of the future for which people are willing to work and die for. However, it is more than just an image of the future because it has a compelling aspect that serves to inspire, motivate and engage people. It provides guidance to individuals and organizations by articulating what they must attain.
A man without vision lacks direction. He is tossed here and there by every wind of doctrine and constantly in state of LIMBO.
Every great leader has a vision. For Nelson Mandela, it was a South African without Apartheid. For John Knox, it was for the salvation of Scotland and he is popularly known for his prayer “Give me Scotland or I die”. Vision is what you live and die for. Great leaders turn visions into reality.
And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. [Habakkuk 2:2]
Habakkuk was an Old Testament Prophet who sought the Lord for answers in the midst of chaos and iniquities in his days and God’s response was Habakkuk 2:2. There is something supernatural about writing down visions and breaking them down so that anyone who reads them can be inspired, motivated and run with them. Although in the days of Abraham, God’s promise of making him Father of many nations was still at the early stage but Abraham simplified the vision for his generations. He passed the vision down to Isaac, and Isaac passed it down to Jacob. The following generations understood this vision, so none of them took a vow of celibacy. Imagine what would have happened if Isaac took a vow of celibacy!
Vision is more than a mental picture of the future, it must inspire, motivate and engage those who read so they can run with it regardless of the oppositions and challenges they encounter.
On October 1, 1971, five years after the great Walt Disney passed away; Disney World had its grand opening. During the dedication ceremony, someone turned to Mrs. Walt Disney and said, “Isn’t it a shame that Walt didn’t live to see this?” Mrs. Disney replied, “He did see it, that’s why it’s here.”. Disney world exists today because Mr Disney was able to write down his vision and he made it plain so that others could run with that vision. Vision can be likened to a baton passed from one athlete to another; immediately the next athlete receives it, it should engage, motivate and inspire him to run.
If a man’s vision dies with him, he is considered a failure.
Proverbs 18:16 states “A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.”As much as I love quoting and hearing people talk about this passage, a fundamental principle is often overlooked and we make it seems as if all that matters is gift. I believe that we’re all on different journeys to discover ourselves and that involves discovering our gifts, callings, passion, strengths and purpose. I believe in gifts, but it is not enough to launch man into his destiny. There are other factors that must be at work for man to walk entirely in his purpose and one of which is vision.
Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. [Proverbs 29:18]
Where there is no vision, the people perish, and that includes gifted people. The world is filled with billions of gifted men, but only a fraction are men of vision. One of the entities that separates a leader from followers is vision. The gift of a man can be likened to a car that is meant to take him to his destiny in life. However, vision is the GPS required to direct his path to destiny without which such man will become distracted, get lost, be tossed here and there by every supposed person that thinks they know his destination.
Your gift can only take you as far as your vision can go in life.
Have you ever imagined what happened to a man who was treated like a King when he was employed by a company but few years down the line treated like a slave? The man might still have his gifts, might have even acquired more skills but if he had lost sight of the vision he had from beginning, his gifts will not be appreciated. This was the case of a man in the bible called Joseph; he went from being a prisoner to being a Prime minister. But decades down the line, the people that were once treated like Kings became slaves.
Great gift is not synonymous to great result in life; a visionary with small gift will command more results than a highly gifted man with little or no vision.
In Genesis, Pharaoh had two dreams and Joseph was called upon to interpret the King’s dreams. The first thing Joseph did was to acknowledge God as the one who would give Pharaoh the answer he desired. Great leaders do not always know all the answers, but they know who has the answers they need. God came through for Joseph, and he was able to interpret Pharaoh’s dream as seven years of abundance and another seven years of famine. By all standards, it would have been fair for Pharaoh to release Joseph from prison and greatly rewarded him with wealth for using his gift. I believe a lot of us would have dropped our mic at this point. But Joseph looked further into the realm of the Spirit and caught a vision of God’s solution to the chaos. He knew that gift is not enough to place him in a position of influence. So, he ended up revealing the mystery of the dream, and provided a God solution. Joseph did not only have Spiritual gifts, he also has administrative skills. Pharaoh was amazed not just by Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams [gift] but the solution he proposed as a result of the vision he caught in the realm of the Spirit.
In every chaos, God always has a solution. You just have to be patient enough and see beyond the giants that lie in the promise land.
So, Pharaoh thought it wise that the only person qualified to execute this vision is the visionary. There are the words of Pharaoh: And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?”Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command.Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” There was no Prime minister position in Egypt before this time, it was the proposed solution that created this position. Joseph was not made Prime minister because he had gift or was able to only interpret dreams. I believe the King had several wise men and counsellors that could have filled this position. Joseph was made Prime minister because Pharaoh invested in his vision. People do not invest in people, they rather invest in visions. This is one of biblical records where entrepreneur and investors met to decide the future of a vision. You are wrong if you think that the concept of investors and entrepreneurs meeting emerged decades ago; it’s ancient.
The gifts of a man will bring him wealth, but it is the vision of a man that brings him influence.
Many people go about looking for people that will invest in their lives or helpers of destinies that will pop out of nowhere to help them. The truth is, helpers of destinies invest in visions not people. Your gift might bring you before Kings and even grant you wealth, but it is your vision Kings invest in and that brings you to a place of influence. Daniel also followed this principle and he was promoted each time he interpreted the King’s dreams and also proposed solutions. Martin Luther King Jr’s cry was this “I have a dream”; he had a vision and thousands of people believed in his dream. I believe most people vote politicians into office because of their visions not because of the gifts; ability to speak fluently.
Joseph was not made prime minister because he was able to only interpret the King’s dreams. He was because he had a vision and Pharaoh’s way of investing in his vision in order to save Egypt was to make Joseph the prime minister. Pharaoh did not invest in Joseph, he rather invested in Joseph’s vision.
In every chaos, God always has a solution. Never let men tell you otherwise because any vision, dream or prophecy that only states the problem without God’s solution is incomplete. The first post on this series focussed on Adam’s ability to see how God sees and in so doing, he crowned Lion as King of the Jungle. He also crowned the Eagle the King of the Air. The four first gospels in the new testament painted the picture of Jesus as a Lion, Eagle, Ox and Man.
A great leader should have the heart of a Lion, the eyes of an Eagle, the strength of an Ox as burden bearer and the nature of man to sympathize with the weaknesses of others.
In Exodus 1:8, a new Pharaoh came into power who did not know Joseph and discovered that Israelites had become too numerous for Egypt. This happened decades after the famine was over, Joseph was dead and his vision already expired. So, the people that were once treated like Kings became slaves because they had no vision to run with and God purposed to actually take them to their promise land.
Your gift is only as valid as your vision in any establishment. Instead of running away from problems, discern and provide solutions that will continually sustain your vision wherever your find yourself. Your gift will always be dormant or underused if you have no vision. Being gifted is not enough, you should be a man/woman of vision because many are gifted but only few have visions. Break down your vision, make it simple and compelling so that those who read or hear might be able to run with it.
Vision is that which fuels a man’s gift.