Beware of the Dream Killers That Can Kill Your Christian Based Business
To make it into the small field of successful Christian based business proprietors, you must be aware that there are certain people and certain elements in your life and around you that have the tendency and potential to reduce your desire to be all you can be in the business world.
These factors, if not properly monitored, and dealt with, can turn into dream killers.
Dream Killer #1: Some of us are unfortunate to be born into a family where people just shoot down your brilliant ideas and dreams.
This often happens if you happened to be a junior member of the family.
There are countless stories of people who buried their God given visions because, the family members, who should have been very supportive, only scoffed and ridiculed at their visions to make a difference.
Joseph was one of those people who almost got killed by his family for daring to have a vision.
Joseph had a dream of being a great man, but his brothers only got mad at him and sold him into slavery out of jealousy.
Even Jesus had problems with his family.
Rather than being excited that their brother was doing exploits at an unprecedented level, his brothers and family chose to ridicule him.
If Jesus had not been a man fully persuaded about his mission, he could very easily have had his dreams killed in its nascent phase.
However, Jesus simply moved to another town where his vision was received.
To make it as a Christian based business proprietor you must begin to identify members of your family and relatives who deflate your desire and dreams.
Is it your father? Is it your mother? Is it your spouse? Who among your family is always quick to let you know you could not do something? Be alert for the dream killers in your household! Remember the warning of Jesus that a 'man's worst enemy will be members of his own household.
' Dream Killer #2: Your Friends/Associates Sometimes, your close friends and acquaintances could be potential dream killers if you do not show proper discernment and manage them right.
Sometimes, you may have to take a stand and ignore your friends when you have a clear vision for your Christian based business The kind of friends and company you keep are very important in realizing your dreams.
David said it all in Psalm 1:1: "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or seat in the seat of mockers.
" Who are mockers? These are the scorners, critics, and the destructive cynics.
They are the people around you who keep saying 'It can't be done', 'forget it', 'Don't waste your time'.
'Nobody has ever done it this way before'.
David advised us not to walk with them, not to stand with them, and not to eat with them.
David was right on with this advise because if you hang around negative people long enough, you will actually end up sitting and partaking of their negative attitudes.
Psychologists have for long maintained that we tend to perform at about the same level of people who are around or close to us.
Proverbs 13:20 says "He who walks with the wise is wise" and that "bad company corrupts good character.
" A 'friend' in this context of dream-killers is anybody you spend time with- whether they are considered a friend or not.
Dream Killer #3: Your Present Boss And Those In Authority Over You Many visions of Christian based business have been prevented from seeing the light of day because of the jealousy and evil machinations of the people in authority over the dreamer.
Most humans by nature feel threatened when those under them can see something they are not seeing.
The worst in humans come to the surface once somebody with the potential to take over their crown shows up.
King Saul tried all he could to destroy David, the upstart who would be king.
Herod did not mind killing all the babies in Jerusalem in an attempt to destroy baby Jesus, the star who was billed to become the king of the Jews.
Most employers feel threatened when an employee starts showing signs of setting up for himself.
Those in positions of dominance often try all they can to suppress and destroy the upstart.
This is a fact that you can neglect to your eternal regret.
While it is honorable to leave your present employment properly, be wise as to know when to confide your vision of the new enterprise to your boss or those who in authority over you.
Be particularly wary of those who may lose their hold or control over your talents.
Do not be naïve.
The bible advises us to be 'as wise as a serpent and gentle as a dove'.
Nobody likes a challenge to their dominance and no employer likes to lose a good employee.
No Leader likes to lose his most productive lieutenant.
Many have trouble dealing with the fact that there former subordinate now desires to be on equal footing with them.
At first your employer, boss or overseer will dangle tempting carrots before you to keep you under the yoke of the wage system.
They will often give you concessions or offer you pay increases or other perks to keep the status quo.
Once that fails, almost invariably, the previously 'sweet' boss will bring out the stick.
Once you announce your intention to start out on your own, do not count on the goodwill of your superior continuing, even if they are fully born again, sprit-filled and tongue talking.
We all wrestle against the flesh daily and it is only a matter of time before the 'cursed body of flesh' will let them down.
When that happens, the javelin will surely begin to fly.
Just be ready to dodge and if possible hightail it out of town like David.
Dream Killer #4: Your Self Do not underrate yourself as your own most dangerous dream killer.
Too often, dreams of enterprise have died because the dreamer allowed himself to succumb to the dreaded elements of fear, failure, frustration and fatigue.
i.
Fear is an accomplished dream-killer.
The Israelites allowed their dream of a promise land to die in the desert because they gave in to fear.
After surveying the Promised Land in Numbers chapter 13, they all agreed that the land was exactly as God promised them and that the land did indeed flow with milk and honey, but they chose to give in to fear of the inhabitants.
As the far took root in their psyche they rebelled against God and his messenger, Moses.
They were ready to go back to Egypt where they had just been freed from over 400 years of slavery.
Fear caused them to prefer to go back to the status quo of servitude in a foreign land rather than risking going forward to possess their possession.
This attitude provoked God to the point where He had to destroy the whole generation, save for two people, in the desert.
Fear is a very real dream killer and it rears its ugly head in many forms.
It could be fear of failure, fear of the effort required for success, fear of your competitors or fear of leaving the comfortable for the unknown.
Fear will always rear its head when you try to do something new and unique.
The trick is never to give in to it.
Your trust in the Lord and His provisions must be allowed to bury that fear.
ii.
Failure is an accomplished Dream-Killer Your experience with failure is also another potential personal dream killer.
There are no spectacular winners who have not lost been spectacular losers at some point in their careers.
The difference between the ones whose dream died and the ones who made it big in the business world is their approach to failure.
When you allow yourself to be overwhelmed by failure in your quest to be a Christian based business, your dream may get killed without any help from Satan.
Failure is never final until you choose to accept it as final.
Joshua is known as a great warrior who conquered the promised land for Israel but he had his share of failure.
He just did not allow the fear to keep him from his kingdom assignment permanently.
Abraham was a great Christian based business but he also had his share of failures along the way but he never allowed the failures to keep him from his destiny.
So did Moses, David, Gideon and all the other great achievers mentioned in the hall of faith of the bible in Hebrew 11.
It is inevitable that you will experience some failure and some disappointments as you make your transition into the ranks of the Christian based business.
You must be careful not to allow your little failures to kill the big dream.
iii.
Frustration is an accomplished Dream Killer As you move on, some things may not move at the pace you expect it to.
The sources of finance and marketing prospects you were promised before you stepped out may be slow in coming in.
The profits or breakthroughs may not follow your carefully prepared and tested business plan.
Frustration will rear its ugly head at some point.
Frustration is part of the business world.
Do not allow it to kill your dream.
You must be optimistic that God will come through for you and make a way where there is no way.
Even when things look bleak, do not allow the spirit of frustration to win.
When it looks like it will take forever for the breakthrough to come, hang in there and keep hope alive.
Our ability to hope for the best when things look bleak is what separates us from the believer.
As long as we are doing things in the will of God we must continue to believe that help is on the way.
After all-all things work together for good of them that are called according to his purpose-and you must keep in mind that "He who comes to God must believe that he exists and that he is a diligent rewarder of those that seek him.
"" iv.
Fatigue is an accomplished Dream-Killer Fatigue has played its fair share in destroying dreams of many would-be Christian based business entrepreneurs.
Sometimes we just get too tired to sustain our desire or be creative.
As humans, we sometimes just get tired and give up on the dream.
Satan our adversary is aware of the destructive power of fatigue and he generally makes his appearance at such times to give us dream-killing suggestions.
You must be vigilant.
You are at your weakest mental and spiritual point when you are physically tired.
Do not let fatigue kill your dream at a low point in your life or business.
Be sure to watch against burn-out.
Do not overlook or neglect the benefits of exercise and relaxation.
Sometimes we get too caught up in working so hard to make things happen that we allow ourselves to get fatigued to the point where the devil can get an in-road into our minds to kill the dream.
Elijah basically resigned his ministry because he was tired and fatigued.
He had spent the whole day on Mount Carmel dueling with the prophets of Baal.
He had single-handedly killed hundreds of prophets of Baal after he won the contest.
It must have been a physically and spiritually draining exercise.
Next morning, here comes Jezebel with threats to put him to death by sundown.
Elijah was so physically drained, emotionally exhausted and spiritually fagged out that this empty threat caused him to run into a cave.
He was so tired he believed he could not go on anymore with the mission of revival he just started.
He even asked God to kill him because he now believed he was alone and could no longer press on with God's inspired assault on the false.
This was the beginning of the end of Elijah's ministry.
After God has fed him, he then showed him that there are other faithful prophets around who can carry on the battle.
God essentially accepted his resignation and gave him instructions on anointing a new king and a successor and then made arrangements to bring him to heaven by chariot of fire.
If only Elijah had not been so tired and drained, he would have realized how empty the threat from Jezebel was.
After all, he had just killed all the prophets that formed the back bone of Jezebel's power and sorcery.
I mean, these were the same medicine men that were providing Jezebel with spiritual powers and he had just killed all of them.
Why then was he afraid of Jezebel who had no prophets to help her? He was fatigued.
You must be careful not to make a major decision when you are tired or fatigued.
Do not resign or pack it in during a moment of burn-out.
Never decide to quit when you are tired.
Anytime you are tempted to bury the dream, learn to Step away from it all for a while and consider your options and the implications of your decisions before you commit to them.
Sometimes it is amazing how much better things can look after a good night's rest.
Watch out for the dream killed named fatigue!
These factors, if not properly monitored, and dealt with, can turn into dream killers.
Dream Killer #1: Some of us are unfortunate to be born into a family where people just shoot down your brilliant ideas and dreams.
This often happens if you happened to be a junior member of the family.
There are countless stories of people who buried their God given visions because, the family members, who should have been very supportive, only scoffed and ridiculed at their visions to make a difference.
Joseph was one of those people who almost got killed by his family for daring to have a vision.
Joseph had a dream of being a great man, but his brothers only got mad at him and sold him into slavery out of jealousy.
Even Jesus had problems with his family.
Rather than being excited that their brother was doing exploits at an unprecedented level, his brothers and family chose to ridicule him.
If Jesus had not been a man fully persuaded about his mission, he could very easily have had his dreams killed in its nascent phase.
However, Jesus simply moved to another town where his vision was received.
To make it as a Christian based business proprietor you must begin to identify members of your family and relatives who deflate your desire and dreams.
Is it your father? Is it your mother? Is it your spouse? Who among your family is always quick to let you know you could not do something? Be alert for the dream killers in your household! Remember the warning of Jesus that a 'man's worst enemy will be members of his own household.
' Dream Killer #2: Your Friends/Associates Sometimes, your close friends and acquaintances could be potential dream killers if you do not show proper discernment and manage them right.
Sometimes, you may have to take a stand and ignore your friends when you have a clear vision for your Christian based business The kind of friends and company you keep are very important in realizing your dreams.
David said it all in Psalm 1:1: "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or seat in the seat of mockers.
" Who are mockers? These are the scorners, critics, and the destructive cynics.
They are the people around you who keep saying 'It can't be done', 'forget it', 'Don't waste your time'.
'Nobody has ever done it this way before'.
David advised us not to walk with them, not to stand with them, and not to eat with them.
David was right on with this advise because if you hang around negative people long enough, you will actually end up sitting and partaking of their negative attitudes.
Psychologists have for long maintained that we tend to perform at about the same level of people who are around or close to us.
Proverbs 13:20 says "He who walks with the wise is wise" and that "bad company corrupts good character.
" A 'friend' in this context of dream-killers is anybody you spend time with- whether they are considered a friend or not.
Dream Killer #3: Your Present Boss And Those In Authority Over You Many visions of Christian based business have been prevented from seeing the light of day because of the jealousy and evil machinations of the people in authority over the dreamer.
Most humans by nature feel threatened when those under them can see something they are not seeing.
The worst in humans come to the surface once somebody with the potential to take over their crown shows up.
King Saul tried all he could to destroy David, the upstart who would be king.
Herod did not mind killing all the babies in Jerusalem in an attempt to destroy baby Jesus, the star who was billed to become the king of the Jews.
Most employers feel threatened when an employee starts showing signs of setting up for himself.
Those in positions of dominance often try all they can to suppress and destroy the upstart.
This is a fact that you can neglect to your eternal regret.
While it is honorable to leave your present employment properly, be wise as to know when to confide your vision of the new enterprise to your boss or those who in authority over you.
Be particularly wary of those who may lose their hold or control over your talents.
Do not be naïve.
The bible advises us to be 'as wise as a serpent and gentle as a dove'.
Nobody likes a challenge to their dominance and no employer likes to lose a good employee.
No Leader likes to lose his most productive lieutenant.
Many have trouble dealing with the fact that there former subordinate now desires to be on equal footing with them.
At first your employer, boss or overseer will dangle tempting carrots before you to keep you under the yoke of the wage system.
They will often give you concessions or offer you pay increases or other perks to keep the status quo.
Once that fails, almost invariably, the previously 'sweet' boss will bring out the stick.
Once you announce your intention to start out on your own, do not count on the goodwill of your superior continuing, even if they are fully born again, sprit-filled and tongue talking.
We all wrestle against the flesh daily and it is only a matter of time before the 'cursed body of flesh' will let them down.
When that happens, the javelin will surely begin to fly.
Just be ready to dodge and if possible hightail it out of town like David.
Dream Killer #4: Your Self Do not underrate yourself as your own most dangerous dream killer.
Too often, dreams of enterprise have died because the dreamer allowed himself to succumb to the dreaded elements of fear, failure, frustration and fatigue.
i.
Fear is an accomplished dream-killer.
The Israelites allowed their dream of a promise land to die in the desert because they gave in to fear.
After surveying the Promised Land in Numbers chapter 13, they all agreed that the land was exactly as God promised them and that the land did indeed flow with milk and honey, but they chose to give in to fear of the inhabitants.
As the far took root in their psyche they rebelled against God and his messenger, Moses.
They were ready to go back to Egypt where they had just been freed from over 400 years of slavery.
Fear caused them to prefer to go back to the status quo of servitude in a foreign land rather than risking going forward to possess their possession.
This attitude provoked God to the point where He had to destroy the whole generation, save for two people, in the desert.
Fear is a very real dream killer and it rears its ugly head in many forms.
It could be fear of failure, fear of the effort required for success, fear of your competitors or fear of leaving the comfortable for the unknown.
Fear will always rear its head when you try to do something new and unique.
The trick is never to give in to it.
Your trust in the Lord and His provisions must be allowed to bury that fear.
ii.
Failure is an accomplished Dream-Killer Your experience with failure is also another potential personal dream killer.
There are no spectacular winners who have not lost been spectacular losers at some point in their careers.
The difference between the ones whose dream died and the ones who made it big in the business world is their approach to failure.
When you allow yourself to be overwhelmed by failure in your quest to be a Christian based business, your dream may get killed without any help from Satan.
Failure is never final until you choose to accept it as final.
Joshua is known as a great warrior who conquered the promised land for Israel but he had his share of failure.
He just did not allow the fear to keep him from his kingdom assignment permanently.
Abraham was a great Christian based business but he also had his share of failures along the way but he never allowed the failures to keep him from his destiny.
So did Moses, David, Gideon and all the other great achievers mentioned in the hall of faith of the bible in Hebrew 11.
It is inevitable that you will experience some failure and some disappointments as you make your transition into the ranks of the Christian based business.
You must be careful not to allow your little failures to kill the big dream.
iii.
Frustration is an accomplished Dream Killer As you move on, some things may not move at the pace you expect it to.
The sources of finance and marketing prospects you were promised before you stepped out may be slow in coming in.
The profits or breakthroughs may not follow your carefully prepared and tested business plan.
Frustration will rear its ugly head at some point.
Frustration is part of the business world.
Do not allow it to kill your dream.
You must be optimistic that God will come through for you and make a way where there is no way.
Even when things look bleak, do not allow the spirit of frustration to win.
When it looks like it will take forever for the breakthrough to come, hang in there and keep hope alive.
Our ability to hope for the best when things look bleak is what separates us from the believer.
As long as we are doing things in the will of God we must continue to believe that help is on the way.
After all-all things work together for good of them that are called according to his purpose-and you must keep in mind that "He who comes to God must believe that he exists and that he is a diligent rewarder of those that seek him.
"" iv.
Fatigue is an accomplished Dream-Killer Fatigue has played its fair share in destroying dreams of many would-be Christian based business entrepreneurs.
Sometimes we just get too tired to sustain our desire or be creative.
As humans, we sometimes just get tired and give up on the dream.
Satan our adversary is aware of the destructive power of fatigue and he generally makes his appearance at such times to give us dream-killing suggestions.
You must be vigilant.
You are at your weakest mental and spiritual point when you are physically tired.
Do not let fatigue kill your dream at a low point in your life or business.
Be sure to watch against burn-out.
Do not overlook or neglect the benefits of exercise and relaxation.
Sometimes we get too caught up in working so hard to make things happen that we allow ourselves to get fatigued to the point where the devil can get an in-road into our minds to kill the dream.
Elijah basically resigned his ministry because he was tired and fatigued.
He had spent the whole day on Mount Carmel dueling with the prophets of Baal.
He had single-handedly killed hundreds of prophets of Baal after he won the contest.
It must have been a physically and spiritually draining exercise.
Next morning, here comes Jezebel with threats to put him to death by sundown.
Elijah was so physically drained, emotionally exhausted and spiritually fagged out that this empty threat caused him to run into a cave.
He was so tired he believed he could not go on anymore with the mission of revival he just started.
He even asked God to kill him because he now believed he was alone and could no longer press on with God's inspired assault on the false.
This was the beginning of the end of Elijah's ministry.
After God has fed him, he then showed him that there are other faithful prophets around who can carry on the battle.
God essentially accepted his resignation and gave him instructions on anointing a new king and a successor and then made arrangements to bring him to heaven by chariot of fire.
If only Elijah had not been so tired and drained, he would have realized how empty the threat from Jezebel was.
After all, he had just killed all the prophets that formed the back bone of Jezebel's power and sorcery.
I mean, these were the same medicine men that were providing Jezebel with spiritual powers and he had just killed all of them.
Why then was he afraid of Jezebel who had no prophets to help her? He was fatigued.
You must be careful not to make a major decision when you are tired or fatigued.
Do not resign or pack it in during a moment of burn-out.
Never decide to quit when you are tired.
Anytime you are tempted to bury the dream, learn to Step away from it all for a while and consider your options and the implications of your decisions before you commit to them.
Sometimes it is amazing how much better things can look after a good night's rest.
Watch out for the dream killed named fatigue!