Have you ever had a prophetic word spoken over you? Depending on the Christian culture you grew up in, this may or may not have been a common occurrence.
In both Shellby's and my childhood churches, there was an emphasis placed on the moving of the Holy Spirit, where words of knowledge and the gifts of the Spirit manifested were regularly occurrences, and they were things we both loved and remember fondly.
In my particular case, there was a season where it felt like every time I was in a service where someone from outside of our church congregation was preaching, prophetic words were spoken over my life. These words were varied, but all of them had to do with one thing, and one thing alone: the ministry.
You see, ever since my sophomore year in high school, I knew that I was called to the ministry - to teach and preach the Word. I didn't know what it would look like, but once I surrendered to the call, I knew that I would never be truly happy doing anything full time besides ministering.
These words spoken over my life were things that I believed, and still do to this day. These prophetic words are still in effect over my life and ministry, however, I must confess to you one thing: I haven't seen them manifested to the full in my life yet.
Some of these words were things that were spoken and prophesied over me 15 years ago. I know that when they were given, I surely did not think that they would take this long to come to pass.
I thought that by 33 my wife and I would be in ministry full time, with either a large church or a large partner base, and we'd be speaking at large meetings and conventions on a regular basis - with more demand for the message God had given us than we could even respond to.
But, that obviously wasn't the timing for His plan. I still work a 9-5 job in corporate America. Shellby is a stay at home mom. So what happened? Did these ministers miss God? Were the words spoken not accurate? These are all valid questions and I hope that as I endeavor to answer them in my life, it will help you answer them in your life, whether it's an unfulfilled dream, a prophetic word that has yet to come to pass, or something else.
In Acts 26, we find Paul before King Agrippa after he had been arrested by the Jewish people. He was brought before the King of Judea and appealed to Caesar, as was his right as a Roman citizen. Paul begins to tell Agrippa about his vision of Jesus in the flesh, and in summing up why he was arrested, says in verse 19, "Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision." In other words, though Paul had suffered all these hardships, he stayed true to the call of God on His life.
I don't know what discouragement you might be facing today. Maybe your marriage or relationship with a significant other has fallen apart, maybe God called you to do something and you don't know how on earth God can bring it to pass...but here's the reminder: Making these things happen in your life isn't your job, just like causing the words spoken over our life and ministry to come to pass isn't Shellby's or my job. Our job is to do what Paul speaks to here - we are endeavoring to not be disobedient to the heavenly vision. We are doing our best to be faithful to what God has called us to. Now, that vision may change over time, or as you see more light in a particular area it may shift, but the goal should be to fulfill His call on your life. Concerning yourself with the result is actually counterproductive, as it doesn't allow you to trust and rest fully on His grace.
Above all else, if you're struggling to see how God is going to bring something to pass in your life or when you'll see it happen, remember the words of Zechariah in Chapter 4 verse 10, "Do not despise the day of small beginnings." Though it may seem insignificant, great things come from small beginnings.
Shellby and I both enjoy working out at home, and one of my favorite trainers is a man named Tony Horton. It's something about his corny sense of humor combined with always pushing you to do more, and his never ending mantra of, "Do your best and forget the rest." In one of the routines in particular when you reach a particularly hard exercise, Tony tells you not to worry about making the results of the exercise pretty or if you struggled. He says, "You're in the room. You showed up. Millions of people around the planet didn't do this today." In other words, even if you don't feel like it, you were here. You got better, whether you think you did or not.
We would do well to carry that attitude in our life. It may not be perfect, but it's a step in the right direction. Millions of people didn't even bother to take that step today.
My Spiritual Father said something along the same lines, “Don’t let perfection become the enemy of progress.” Show up. Take a step forward. Put in the work.
So don't worry about when things are going to happen in your life or when God will bring something to pass. Keep doing your best to be faithful to what He has called you to do. His job is the completion of it in His timing.
By Grace,
Dave