Parable of the Blessing: THE VISION

Dubai From Space (Night)

After Lot had gone, the Lord said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction – north and south, east and west. I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession. 

August 2001, the Arabian Gulf is a mass of activity. Dubai is building one of the biggest man-made islands in the world. Engineers have a daunting task ahead of them because this is a construction like no other. This island will be built out at sea using only natural materials – sand and rock. Dubai is one of the richest places in the Arab world. Fifty years ago though, Dubai was a trading town built on a creek but with proper utilization of resources, it became famous for its gold, trade, and oil. A problem surfaced in the horizon – by 2016 its oil wells will have run out. This was an obvious doom for the economy of this thriving city.

The Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, pioneered a two billion dollar plan to save his country. He ordered his kingdom to transform itself into the world’s number one luxury tourist destination. By then five million people visited Dubai annually. They decided they would triple it to fifteen million. The major problem they faced was that Dubai’s coastline was only seventy-two kilometers long. And seeing this would not serve fifteen million people, they decided to build a five kilometer palm island out at sea. This would increase the coastline by over fifty kilometers and make their tourism goal more realistic.

In a similar trend, Enoch Adeboye captured a vision in his heart that he would inspire fellow Christians to build a large living quarters. He began in an inhabitable hideout for bandits and ritual killers. The forest was filled with many wild animals and many doubted if his vision was reasonable. Within two years of starting out the quarters, he moved in and continued motivating people to follow. Today, the Redemption Camp, as it is popularly called, is the largest outpost for congregations in the world, seating up to five million people at a time.

The fame of Dubai and the Redemption Camp all began with the vision of one man. If your potential will become productivity you must capture a vision in your heart that activates your potential. Potential remains inert without vision.