Expand your capacity
Some years ago I attended secondary school at a remote mission school called Thekwane, 12km from Plumtree town, which is in the southwestern part of Zimbabwe, Africa. At this school we had a world that consisted of teachers, administration workers, boarding master, a nurse and us students. These people around us defined our world. More than 15 years now, most of my fellow students either grew up to be teachers in the surrounding schools or became nurses and nothing more. For me, my life took a radical turn during one chemistry class lesson, conducted by my late role model teacher David Vundla, when he introduced the mining and mineral processing world through the practical use of principles of Chemistry. The man’s thinking was so broad and objective full of life and enthusiasm. It was then that I started studying Maths and other subjects with an applicable mind in view of my pending destiny. I later graduated as a metallurgist from University and to date I still practice in the mineral processing industry. I owe my professional growth to a man who increased my capacity to think outside the box, David Vundla.
I read a book entitled “The dream giver” by William Wilkinson and it encouraged and challenged my life. When you were born, God had in you a seed of greatness, which Habakkuk calls “a vision” and William calls it a dream. Whatever name is given to it, it is in you and should propel you to your destiny. It is up to you to ensure that seed finds good fertile soil and is frequently watered to ensure its healthy germination. It is up to you to weed out any weeds to avoid suffocation, deprivation of oxygen and unnecessary competition for water and other resources. It is up to you to protect the seed, that has grown up to be a tree from ‘predators’ who may want to cut it down and use it for firewood and other cheap uses…. That seed of greatness that God laid in your life before you were born should come out and be counted.
Everyone has a dream, but not everyone accomplishes his or her dreams and visions. Accomplishment of a dream is not dependant on friends and colleagues, who may or may not stand with you, but it is dependant on you building a capacity by expanding your viewpoint of the ultimate on the expense of the immediate. As a schoolboy, my world was limited to the school boundary, but David transformed it to be global without limits. Resources, be they human, financial or any other, will chase the dream and not the dream chasing the resources. Every dream requires immediate sacrifice to attain ultimate satisfaction. Dreamers are overwhelmed by their dreams to the extent that everything in their lives should be building up to their dreams.
Dreams are interconnected and affected by the following factors: Spiritual, Social, economic and political factors. Take the example of Joseph in the bible. His spiritual right standing with God enabled him to receive unmatched revelation of where God was taking him. His spiritual uprightness mattered everywhere he went. It gave him inner strength when he was sold by his brothers, pitted, blackmailed by Potipher’s wife and when he was in prison. Your dream is heavily dependant on your spiritual connection with God. Your dream could be in politics, business, entertainment industry, profession etc but it is heavily dependent on your spiritual health for it to be fully accomplished as intended.
The social framework is very critical too. Society has values and standards. Your dream does not succeed in a vacuum. Respect and recognition of society yet advancing your dream is a must ingredient. Joseph found favor in the eyes of Pharaoh but maintained his integrity in the ‘office of the president’ by his people skills. The bible says Jesus found favor with God (spiritual) and with man (social). There is need to develop your ideology and understanding of the complex societies of today so that you can find favor with them without compromising your integrity as a believer. Expand your capacity from backyard thinking to cooperate thinking. God gave you a mind to use, use it and think. Do not allow the geographic boundaries set up by man, tribal and race limitations, family and friends to obscure your thinking. Think hard and balance your thinking with the support of the infallible word of God.
Joseph became a strong economic powerhouse in the world because of a combination of factors. He was a spiritual man who received revelation from God on what was to come to pass. He had social skills, people skills that enabled him to lead Egyptians when he was a Hebrew – strange hey. He also was an economic strategic thinker. He understood the power and operations of the economy. He understood trade partnerships in strengthening his position. He believed in investments and eliminated any form of debts. During time of famine he sold food to his own brothers for a profit… in short he had an understanding of world economy. Every dream, whatever it may be, needs increased capacity in economic factors. Take for instance, God will not allow any church to grow beyond its capacity to handle and account for its finances. He is a jealous God, his reputation is important to him. His love for you is greater than his love for your dream. He would rather have you lose the dream than for Him to lose you. So for you to reach your full potential, you need to increase your capacity in issues of finances. Understand the functions of the economy. Even Jesus had a treasurer, Judas. Even Jesus and his disciples paid taxes.
And finally, it is critical to be politically wise to advance your vision. It is possible to be wise politically without supporting any political party of any nation. Politics speaks of leadership and influence. It speaks of integrity, accountability and principles. As a leader of your own dream, you need to develop yourself to be able to speak to anyone at any level to advance your dreams. You may even need to speak to leaders of nations on various issues. Samuel was a great man living a great dream yet he advised kings. Pharaoh could not resist the integrity and wisdom of Joseph, resulting in his promotion. Nebuchadnezzar recognized the God of Daniel because Daniel was a principled, focused visionary who could not be swayed by anything else. He ended up being a great leader, a Hebrew boy, in Babylon. Solomon is an excellent example of a man whose influence affected all political powers that surrounded him.
In conclusion, this short encouragement is here to push you to increase your capacity so that you can be what God intended you to be. As a believer, you need to understand the world around you and beyond to advance your dream to the next level. Read the word of God, yes the bible, it will give you a strong spiritual heritage you need for this life and that to come. Pray, for prayer will keep you close to God. Read, yes read again, but this time newspapers, economic and political publications, listen to the news! Upgrade yourself through beneficial courses to your dream. Drop some old friends that are a liability to your dream and pick up new friends that will add value to your dream. Increase your capacity to handle pressure and challenges without compromising your uprightness. Do not negotiate your integrity. No one can destroy a dream. Joseph went to prison but his dream got him out. Your dream will save you! Jesus was 3 days in the tomb, but his dream got him out! As we step into the season of open heavens, I challenge you to step into your dream by increasing your capacity. There is nothing as powerful as a dream.
The extent in which one can accomplish his or her dream is dependant on how much they are prepared to increase their capacity to handle success and challenges in the next level of their dream. Stop playing with chickens; increase your capacity and start flying with eagles. Sky is not the limit, but your extent of willingness to increase your capacity is the only limit to your dream. Stand up and be counted as a genuine dreamer in this season of open heavens.
Dream big.
Pastor Sbanga 
