Deal or No Deal

You can’t go someplace you can’t envision.

Vision wakes us up in the morning and keeps us up at night. But you can bet that if God has put a dream in your heart, the enemy will try to discourage you so that you never see it fulfilled. After I became lead pastor at then Flamingo Road Church, God gave me a vision for it. While I was confident in it, I wasn’t as confident to share it. I was tempted to concede and give up ground when faced with resistance. Moses experienced the same temptations during negotiations with Pharaoh for the release of the Israelites. He was tempted to compromise on God’s plan.

There were four “deals'' that Pharaoh tried to make with Moses. First, when Moses asked permission for the Israelites to celebrate the Passover festival in the wilderness, Pharaoh told them they could celebrate and worship God, but they must do so there in Egypt. A couple of chapters later, we see Pharaoh agree to let them worship in the wilderness but not to venture too far. Then, after being threatened with a plague of locusts, Pharaoh asked Moses to not only take the men to worship in the wilderness but to leave the women and children behind. Finally, Pharaoh agrees to let all the people go, but they must leave their resources behind. But Moses said “no deal” every time. Because he chose not to concede on the vision, when the Israelites did finally leave Egypt, they plundered the Egyptians of their wealth!

In the same way, the enemy tries to forge deals with you and me to get us to abandon the divine plan God has for our lives. He will tell us: “Don’t go where God is telling you to go, don’t dream, don’t tell everyone about the dream, and above all, don’t commit and put all your hope in it.” But those who take the deal never arrive in the land that God has promised. A vision may start with a whisper, but if it’s never given a full voice, it will fail. Take some time to read today’s scripture and reflect on the dream or vision God has given you. What deals does the enemy offer you to get you to concede? What are a few things you can do now to advance yourself toward the dream?