"WHEN WE NEED TO TRUST THE PROPHETIC WORD, AND NOT TRY TO ANALYZE IT"

Jan. 10, 2004

HEB 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. [2] This is what the ancients were commended for.

I have found recently that after posting a prophetic message that sometimes people want details and interpretations concerning the word. To a point, I believe that this can be a good thing, but when it is carried to an excess then we can analyze things to death to the point that we try to figure out everything without placing our trust and faith in God. One of the main purposes for the prophetic word is in speaking forth the mind and counsel of God. Now to be true, there are boundless "types" of prophetic messages from the simple word of prophecy to the prophetic office which entails words of direction, prediction, and a host of other things. Our entire relationship with God has to do with faith, because "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Now if we can't see it, then we need to place our trust in Him and believe that He will carry it out according to His plan. Now understand me here; I'm not referring to the need of discerning whether or not a word is from Him or not. We are to [21] Test everything. Hold on to the good. [22] Avoid every kind of evil. 1TH 5:19 However, after we truly "know" that this is from God then we need to pray about what God wants to reveal to us in His prophetic word. What is there in it that speaks to us personally? Instead of chopping it up and wondering is God speaking here about whether we are to be raptured now, later, or in the midst of the tribulation period, may well be something we cannot find. We may well have to just put these things on the shelf and just believe that He knows, and that because He knows, then we are to simply trust Him.
My wife and daughter and I just returned from a trip to the Southwest during the holidays. Now I had a map of course, and on the map it indicated major highways, roads, landmarks, and towns. However, I found that there were some things that weren't on the map. We simply had to drive to the destination and then along the way, there were people, places and things, that we didn't even know about. No matter how much we studied the map, not everything was there. The same I believe, is true of the prophetic. God will give us a piece of the puzzle, but He won't give us everything. There are so many things that can cause us to dispute amongst ourselves. There are so many things that can frustrate us or confuse us, when God simply wants us to rest in Him. There are times when He certainly does speak quite clearly, and when He does, then there most certainly is not a need to even question His message to us. To be sure, He does want our communication. To be sure, He does want our relationship above else. But let's just take Him for His word. When we're not certain about a message that a brother or sister speaks for the Lord, then why don't we simply ask God about it? "So Lord, what really was the central message that just came forth there?" I'll bet that He would be glad to answer your question. Go ahead and seek the prophets. Go ahead and ask your pastor. Go ahead and get some apostolic impute, but don't go again and again and again, to the prophet and ask him or her what else there is for them. There comes a time when God is to be sought. There comes a time when we can "wear out the message." There even comes a time when we can "wear out the messenger." So, ask, seek, and knock, and then the door will be opened to you. But don't bang the door down.

Stephen Hanson