Having prophetic encounters with God is amazing. It's a chance for Him to give you a quick snapshot of your future. Through the gift of prophesy God gives us promises. You may have a dream of you working at the job you desire, or maybe God used someone to tell you of your blessings to come. It's a great thing, but it isn't greater than God.
Receiving a prophetic message is both a blessing and a responsibility. These promises are given to us to show us what is to come if we choose to continue on the road with God. We have to make sure that we don't get carried away with the promise. Satan tries to pervert every blessing God gives you, and a prophetic word certainly isn't an exception. The key to staying on track is to focus on God just as you did before you were given that promise.
Don't omit God from the promise
Sometimes it can take years before a prophetic word is fulfilled. It's all in God's timing. Until that day comes focus on Him. One year God sent me one prophetic dream after another. He showed me all these things He was going to do in my life. He even revealed that I would be writing this blog--this was a year ago. At one point I was so excited about God's promises that I unintentionally began to replace God with my pending blesses. I praised God more for what He was going to do and not for who He is. My faith began to weaken because I didn't have faith in the right things. Instead of saying God will deliver me from my troubles, I would think I'm going to be _______ someday. I put everything into my promises.
This is how Satan attacks. He throws in distractions to weaken your faith. Then when storms come, you struggle to sustain. This is exactly what happened in this scenario. A year had gone by and none of those promises came to pass. I began to get depressed and discouraged. Then God blotted out my promises temporarily. I went through a season when none of my promises looked like it was ever going to happen. There were impossible conditions blocking my promises. Since my faith wasn't in the right place, I began to get angry at God. I felt I had been patient and I practiced good faith. So why wasn't anything in my life changing? After a week of feeling sorry for myself, God checked me by teaching me something I would never forget.
Love by faith
1 Corinthians 13:12-13 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Hebrews 11:1-3 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
As I am writing this section, I see an image of a child walking down a road and holding a balloon. The road the child is walking on is the path to God. It represents your walk with Jesus Christ. The balloon represents your promises. God gives you many balloons along the way. But make sure you don't get carried away by the promises. It is your genuine love for God that keeps you grounded.
Don't get so stuck in the future that you can't stand to bear the present situation. God's promises are only one aspect of His love. God's love comforts us through seasons of turmoil, and He smiles on us everyday. The most important tool we should have is knowing that God loves us no matter what circumstances we're in. This way we are grounded by His love, and we have faith by loving what we cannot see.
There was this guy who told his testimony about seeing hell. Now whether or not you believe these kind of testimonies is irrelevant to this point. One thing he said stood out to me. He said God showed him people living their lives. They had this strong light over them, and many people hardly paid attention to it. This light was God's presence, and His love. Everyday when you wake up and lay your head down at night, remember you have that light. Even when you backslide, you still have God's love and presence over you. That is worth more than all of His promises. His promises will come to pass, but most of them apply to your lifetime. But God's love endures forever. Remember to appreciate Him for His love first and foremost. Every other thing is an added bonus.
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