Kyle T. Miller: "Lift Up Your Eyes So You Can Properly Discern Your Situation"

From the desk of Steve Shultz:

This is a real "eye-opener" of a word...pun intended! If only we could SEE from God's perspective...that His ways are much higher than ours...it would bring great understanding and Peace to our challenging circumstances.

This is a very insightful word from Kyle T. Miller:

We will never understand perceived setbacks in our life until we are able to properly discern what has happened. We must inquire of the Lord to receive His understanding on what has actually happened in any given situation because more often than not, our understanding of situations may be wrong.

It is very wise and important to get understanding from the Lord...as you'll read in Kyle's article.

I'll leave you with this Scripture: "Wisdom is the principal thing;Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding" (Proverbs 4:7). (To Subscribe to the Elijah List go here.)

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On the Road to Emmaus

"When He was at the table with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, 'Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?''' Luke 24:30-32.

Jesus' disciples were distraught. They had just witnessed one of the most traumatic events anyone could ever go through—the murder of someone they deeply loved. It was after the crucifixion of Jesus, and now two of Jesus' disciples were walking on the road to Emmaus discussing the events of how Jesus was killed. Interestingly, Jesus begins to walk alongside these two depressed disciples and immediately ascertains from their countenance that these men were sad (see Luke 24:17).

So Jesus begins to inquire of the men, asking them what were they talking about. Almost condescendingly, one of the disciples named Cleopas remarked, "Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?" (Luke 24:18). In-other-words, Cleophas was saying to Jesus, "Dude! Are You really asking that question? So where have You been this past weekend? What planet are You from?" (photo via Flickr)
 
Jesus Will Often Ask Us Thought–Provoking Questions

A very important point to remember is this: when Jesus asks you a question, it's typically not because He doesn't know the answer. Rather, the question is asked to provoke you to understand something properly—from His perspective. When Jesus asked the disciples, "What happened?" He obviously already knew what happened! He was personally involved in what happened—being crucified! Jesus did not ask Cleophas and the other disciple, "What happened?" because He needed to know what happened. Nor did He ask because He wanted to know why the two disciples were sad.

Jesus asked what happened because it was part of His process of bringing these two men to a proper understanding. We will never understand perceived setbacks in our life until we are able to properly discern what has happened. We must inquire of the Lord to receive His understanding on what has actually happened in any given situation because more often than not, our understanding of situations may be wrong.

 
The Lord's View on Our Painful Situations Are Often Very Different From Our Perspective.
 

What's particularly interesting is this: after the two disciples explain the traumatic events that led to Jesus' crucifixion, Jesus doesn't respond back by saying, "Hey boys, I know it had to have been rough for you to watch! But, think about Me! I actually went through it!" Jesus also didn't show pity and feel sorry for the disciples by saying, "I'm so sorry you are sad. I feel your pain." No! Jesus actually rebukes the disciples:

"He said to them, 'How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?' And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself." Luke 24:25-27

In essence Jesus said, "Dudes, why are you depressed? The Scriptures already told you about everything that was going to happened to God's Son. God said that I was going to go through a lot of bad stuff, but in the end I would be resurrected and enter into His glory."

We Must Properly Interpret What Is Happening

So many times we improperly interpret what is going on in our life because we do not see things correctly from the Lord's perspective. There are times when God will purposely allow us to experience what we consider to be negative situations so that He can then bring us into His glory.

A practical example of this is: after a very lengthy interview process, I was hired to be the executive director of a non-profit that was in partnership with a university. This position seemed like my dream job. I was paid a very healthy salary, benefits, and prestige; but I began to realize immediately, after accepting this job, that this position was not all it was cracked up to be. I had inherited an office staff of people who were disgruntled, bitter, and negative. These staff people were used to doing whatever they wanted. Furthermore, this staff had gone without a supervisor for almost a year.

I also soon discovered that my immediate supervisor had no respect for my time. She would call me on holidays, weekends and evenings to submit reports to her. Compounded with staff and supervisor issues, I had a work-load that never ended. When I started at the organization, over half of the 3,000 children that we serviced were undocumented and needed to be located and our budget was in a quarter of million-dollar deficit. (photo via Pixabay)

After a year of 12–hour work days and practically no personal life, I had successfully created a system that was put in place to document all of over 3,000 or so children our organization served. Also, our organization was no longer in a budget crisis. I had secured over $1 million dollars in grants to supplement our organization's budget. Yet with all the success our organization had experienced, I was totally miserable. I hated my job!

One day, unexpectedly, I was called into my boss's office and asked to resign. I was totally caught off guard. I asked my boss why, and she said that the organization wanted to "go in another direction." I was totally dumbfounded. I had basically worked myself into the ground and fixed everything and now I was being told that the agency wanted to "go in another direction?!" Really?! It all seemed so unjust to me!

Just like the disciples, I was extremely depressed. How could this happen? I was not the type to get sacked! And I had worked so hard, only to be asked to leave. I felt like a complete failure! I soon thereafter secured employment, receiving a glowing reference from my previous place of employment. Yet, I never could reconcile why I was let go. Following this situation I became very down.

Jesus Is Right There, But We Often Cannot See Him

In Luke 24, the Scripture states that Jesus began to share the Scriptures with these two disciples. Later that day, when He began to depart, the two disciples asked Him to eat dinner with them.

"When He was at the table with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight." Luke 24:30-31

Jesus had spent the whole day with these depressed disciples. While He was with them, Jesus began to share the Scripture—explaining to them from Moses and the Prophets—how He would be crucified and then later resurrected. And yet, throughout this discourse, Cleophas and the other disciple could not even see that they were talking to the very man they were sad about being murdered. Jesus was right there in their face and they did not know it!

Depression and disillusionment will cause our eyes to be blinded to the truth. Even though Jesus was right there in front of them, because of their emotional state, the disciples could not see that it was Jesus! This is a very important concept to understand: if we ever find ourselves in an unhealthy emotional state, we will never properly perceive Jesus, or what He is doing in our life.

Although, the disciples' understanding of what had just happened was not complete, it was the first step toward emotional healing. I believe this is why Jesus asked them, "What happened?" He already knew what happened. He was personally involved. Yet, He wanted to initiate a dialogue with them and get them to process their thoughts so that He could then bring them to emotional healing. (photo via Wikipedia)
 
The Significance of Prophetic Counseling
 

In the prophetic movement we have seen an emergence of the administration of a way of facilitating prophetic ministry called, "Prophetic Counseling." When administered properly, prophetic counseling aims at doing what Jesus did with the disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Prophetic counseling allows a dialogue to take place between the prophetic minister and the person needing ministry. Through a Spirit-led discussion, guided by Jesus under the unction of the Holy Spirit, the person who is experiencing challenges is able to discuss these issues with a prophetic minister. Afterwards, the Holy Spirit assists the prophetic minister in helping the person to understand their situation accurately, from Jesus' perspective.

Years later, while successfully working at another job, I would still ponder from time-to-time why I was asked to leave that job I mentioned earlier. The whole situation caused me anguish because I could not reconcile why I was mistreated. I would often rehearse the series of events and ask myself, "Why?" 

One day, I found a minister who administered prophetic counseling. I thought it would be pretty awesome to be able to speak to a prophet, ask questions, and then hear what God had to say about these situations in my life. Prior to our first session, this prophet gave me the assignment of submitting the three most significant things that I had questions about. I remember that one of the questions I had wondered about for over five years was, "Why was I released from that job?" I was now doing very well professionally, but I could never reconcile why I was terminated. (Photo via Pixabay)

The day of our appointment, I asked my other two questions first (I honestly don't even remember what they were). The prophet was very calm, and assuring, as he explained to me what God was saying to me about these issues in my life. Finally, I asked him my last question: "Prophet, why was I terminated from my job?" Without hesitation, the Prophet said, "Because God was tired of seeing you mistreated."

Wow! I began to become very emotional. I felt five years of condemnation, depression, and angst begin to lift off of me. It was so comforting to know that there was nothing I did wrong, but rather God wanted to protect me and keep me from becoming damaged emotionally by staying at that job. (photo via Pixabay)

Intimacy with Christ Opens Our Eyes to the Truth
 
After Jesus explained to the two disciples the Scriptures, still not realizing who He was, the disciples asked Jesus to eat dinner with them.

"When He was at the table with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, 'Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?''' Luke 24:30-32

The word of God administered by Jesus began to cause the disciples' hearts to burn. Jesus continued to talk to them on the road while they moved forward. This is a very powerful concept to understand. Just like the disciples, no matter how depressed and down you are, if you continue to move forward, God will always speak to you and give you a proper perspective. 

Later, when the disciples sat down to eat with Jesus, their eyes were opened. Eating in Biblical culture symbolizes intimacy and relationship. This is why the Pharisees made such a big deal about Jesus eating with tax collectors (see Matthew 9:11). To eat with someone meant you were establishing a relationship with them, or already had a close relationship. Of course, Jesus was establishing a relationship with tax collectors and other "bad" people because His desire was to save these people from their sin. However, in this case, this was a prophetic symbol demonstrating that the disciples were reestablishing their fellowship with Jesus.

Jesus began to celebrate this fellowship by worshiping God. This was demonstrated by Jesus taking the bread and blessing it. When Jesus worshiped the Father while in fellowship, the disciples' eyes were immediately opened and they could clearly see that Jesus was not dead, as they thought. Jesus was right there with them! When this happened, the disciples' depression lifted and they were delivered from their hopelessness and despair.

A Prayer to Open Your Eyes

No matter how dire you may think your situation is, Jesus is right there with you. You are not alone. Just like the disciples, He can bring you out of your depression, disillusionment, and despair, by opening up your spiritual eyes to see things as He sees them. If you would like to have your spiritual eyes opened, pray this prayer:

Heavenly Father, I pray that You open up the eyes of my understanding that I may see You clearly. I pray that You remove the veils off of my eyes and ears that I may see as You see and hear as You hear. I pray that I may know the hope of my calling in You and that I will be fortified in my inner-man so that I may see as You see. Help me to see You so that I may know as You are known. In Jesus' name, Amen! So be it! (To Subscribe to the Elijah List go here.)

Kyle T. Miller
Prophet Kyle - Personal Prophecy
Email: kyle@prophetkyle.com
Website: www.prophetkyle.com

Kyle T. Miller, a licensed and ordained prophet, has been called to the marketplace as a musician, play producer, and educator. A native of Arkansas, Kyle has been prophesying and interpreting dreams for almost 15 years. Kyle is also a scholar, obtaining a Masters of Arts in Intercultural Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary and a PhD in Higher Education Administration from The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). Kyle's theatre production company, Positive Images in Christ, has directed and produced over a dozen shows since it was founded in 2004. Kyle is extremely passionate about speaking into people's lives so that they can grow and blossom into their God-given calling. Besides prophesying and giving words of knowledge, the Lord also uses Kyle in the ministry of deliverance.

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