HOW GOD TESTS HIS OWN

TIME FOR WISDOM, COUNSEL, AND INSTRUCTION

Lately many Christians have complained to us that prophets have come and have laid on them great prophecies of grand ministries to which the Lord is calling them, but nothing has happened--except that everything has gone in reverse, and trials and tribulations have befallen them! This morning the Lord made it clear to Paula and me that it is time to bring some wisdom and counsel for the comfort and instruction of His people.

LEARN TO DUCK!

First, whenever the Lord elevates you through mighty prophecies-duck! If the word is truly from Him, He must prepare your heart. Through humbling and testing, He will cleanse you of those things that would defile the ministry or prevent its execution as He intends, as He builds into you a reflection of His character and a willingness to rely solely on Him. The subsequent time of suffering means He has chosen you and trusts you to let it work its full weight of glory in you (2 Corinthians 4:17)!

WAIT FOR CONFIRMATION

Second, quickly humble your heart. Wait for confirmations. "By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established" (2 Corinthians 13:1b, NKJV). The Lord may confirm instantly, or wait a great while. Do not act until He confirms. Please hear it again, do not act until he confirms. The Devil may be tempting into presumption, but at the same time the Lord will be allowing that in order to reveal to you any weak spots in your ability to be humble and obedient to His counsel. Humbling your heart is vital, because Satan copies all things, knows the Word as well, and can send his own confirmations, which are just as false as the promises!

CAN YOU KNOW FOR SURE?

How are you going to know the difference? There's no guarantee you will! But you don't need to know for sure--it's not your knowing that will bring it to pass, it's the Lord's faithfulness! For this reason the Scripture declares that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.

Proverbs 8:12-17 says:

I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And I find knowledge and discretion.

The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way, And the perverted mouth, I hate.

Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, power is mine.

By me kings reign, And rulers decree justice.

By me princes rule, and nobles, All who judge rightly.

I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me.

FROM ONE WHO HAS BEEN THERE MANY TIMES

I have been down many blind alleys that I thought had been definitely confirmed. Here are a few signposts that can point to pitfalls ahead.

IF YOUR HEART LEAPS

1) If your heart leaps with joy and you feel elevated and can't wait to do whatever is prophesied, watch out. The prophetic word has appealed to your flesh. Pride is rising.

This doesn't mean the word may be false, but it does mean your flesh is in the way! For a good example in scripture of the breaking and humbling process after an exalted prophecy, take a look at the story of Joseph, beginning in Genesis 37. God gave him two prophetic dreams that he quickly and unwisely "shared" with his older brothers.

They already hated him because he was their father's hands-down favorite, but these dreams, which showed them bowing down to him, were the limit; they sold him into slavery, letting their father believe he was dead. This might be where many people would figure, "Well, that's that! Must have been a false word, 'cause look at what's happened now!" or "Look what the devil's doing to poor me. Where's God when you really need Him?" But no, through years of patient and loyal servanthood, God prospered Joseph, and he was given more and more responsibility and trust.

End of story? Nope!

SUFFERING FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS

Now he had to go through years in prison-falsely accused by his master's wife because she couldn't break his integrity and get him to sleep with her. First he suffered for his own thoughtlessness and lack of wisdom; then he suffered for the sake of righteousness! When God gave Joseph those dreams, did He expect him to behave in a mature and restrained manner? Was it ill-timed? Did Joseph blow it? No to all of the above. God's timing is perfect, and knowing Joseph's character as it was, how it needed to become, and just what it would take to get it there, God gave him a true word. In due season it came to pass just as He'd shown that it would, and Joseph was able to walk uprightly in it because God had done a good work in him.

 

 

"HELPING" GOD

2) Flesh is sweaty and tense. If you've been gripped, you may feel mightily stirred to act, and become possessive and defensive about "your" ministry. A true call received with maturity will be accompanied by a sense of peace--and a willingness to lay it all on the altar! Watch out for the ways your flesh (and the devil) will prompt you to "help Him do it." It's easy to do too much and it's tough to wait on the Lord, whose timetable is certainly different from your own!

DAVID, A GOOD EXAMPLE IN PROPHETIC FULFILLMENT

A good example in scripture of someone with a huge word spoken over them who did NOT try to get ahead of God's timetable is the young shepherd boy named David, whom Samuel anointed as King of Israel, at God's instructions, in I Samuel 16. Did he get to ride into Jerusalem on his high horse and depose King Saul, who had fallen from God's favor? No, he came under the existing authority, first as the royal harpist, to sooth Saul's torment, then as the royal armor bearer, and then as a fugitive, running for his life from the jealous and unbalanced king, whom David refused to kill even in defense of his own life. What David and Joseph both understood was that in order to be given authority, one must be willing to come under authority-and that authority may not always be friendly, understanding or "fair"! A lot of flesh has to die for this to happen!

LOOK FOR GOOD CHARACTER AND A SENSE OF "YES"

3) Look closely at who is giving you that wonderful prophecy, and who is confirming it. God can give a true prophecy through a rascal, but the chances are slim. If the prophet's character doesn't manifest Jesus' nature, be very skeptical; that won 't be a sign of lack of faith on your part, but only prudence, which the Lord will approve. But remember, even if this word has never before occurred to your conscious mind, God has already been at work in your spirit, and a true word from God, no matter how surprising, will, at the same time bring with it a sense of "Yes, this is real."

LISTEN TO THE WARNINGS AND WOUNDINGS OF FRIENDS

4) True friends will often give you hard words; "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy' (Proverbs 27:6). Job's comforters may applaud and encourage you to plunge ahead full steam (they want to bask in your glory, proud of and idolizing you - and are also among the first to turn to rend you when things go wrong). Set yourself to hear the reproaches and warnings of friends. "He who hates reproof will die" (Proverbs 15:10b). On the other hand, don't be a people pleaser who turns from a true calling just because trusted friends don't approve. Paul didn't decide not to go to Jerusalem when Agabus prophesied captivity if he went and friends pleaded with him not to go (Acts 21). If a command has been clear and confirmed, obey it no matter what, always remembering to remain attentive to the leading of the Holy Spirit for how and when, in order to keep from stumbling!

GOD WANTS YOUR SUCCESS

Something to remember-and take comfort from--when talking about testing: God isn't sitting there correcting your exam papers like some stern and legalistic school master; He wants you to succeed, and will do everything to cause you to succeed. Everything that you'll allow Him to do, that is! Life is full of tests: anything from having to perform the Heimlich maneuver for the first time on a stranger in a restaurant (should I do it? what if they decide to sue me?) to being asked to give $X for a worthy cause (this'll mean having to trust God for my Visa payment/phone bill/next meal...shall I/shan't I?) to being willing (or not) to leave the last cookie on the plate for someone else! In God's economy, tests are to show us where we are, how we're doing and where we're lacking-He already knows. So sometimes we have to get caught with egg on our face, or flat on our face, in order to see where and how we need to die to self and look to Him.

PARENTS UNDERSTAND THIS WITH CHILDREN

If we but think a moment, this isn't too hard to understand. How many times have our children pestered us to do something we knew wasn't good for them, until we finally we let them go do it, knowing that, at this point, the freedom to learn by a mistake is worth a thousand words; they'll have to learn the hard way what they couldn't accept from us in the form of advice. Sometimes that permission is only a test of their common sense, and they decide that, being free to make their own decision, now they really don't want to do it after all. But if they do have to learn the hard way, we're still there, loving them and willing to help pick up the pieces-if asked. God is a far better Father than we, and acts in the same way, only infinitely more wisely.

"WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO, LORD, KILL ME?"

So. You've been given a glorious prophecy. What do you do? Lay it on the altar. If it's a true word, when the time is right, God will give it back to you. It won't be easy, and if you find yourself crying out, "What are you trying to do, Lord, kill me?"...just remember, the answer is "Yes."

All scripture quotations are from the NASB, except where otherwise indicated.

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