Coming Out of The Fog - Part II

This week, I have been speaking with people all over the country who have been sharing experiences they’ve had with Believers who have been impacted by the various narratives circulating during the recent election season. Many are discouraged and confused while a few remain resolute that the predictions, in which they have placed their trust, will come to pass! Others are asking: How could this happen? How could seasoned, quality, people of faith become so engrossed and caught-up in these conspiracies and seemingly fictitious storylines? How could the Prophets get it wrong? I would like to offer some thoughts and lessons learned from my own journey of faith that might offer a bit of insight.

Quality Individuals

Even the best of people can be mis-lead by conspiracy theories and deceptive narratives. In fact, there are some unique QUALITIES that we possess as Believers. When not balanced by corresponding Biblical principles, these same qualities can inadvertently position us as easy targets for those who transact in the art of deception. As Christians, we believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and that by simply putting our faith in Him we can be brought back into right-standing with God! Our salvation experience, alone, opens us up to a whole new world of faith, hope and trust! With our spirit man renewed, we can believe in something far greater than ourselves; we were designed by God for BIG faith!

Honestly, from the sacraments to liturgy, in our everyday devotions, or in our weekly services, we are encouraged to BELIEVE GOD big time! This gigantic capacity that we have to believe in God, to believe His word, and to believe His promises allow us to partner with Him in ways that are life-changing, exhilarating, and miraculous! We are even exhorted by Jesus, himself, that a tiny mustard seed of faith can move mountains. (Matt. 21:21) However, such a precious commodity/quality must be balanced and protected!

CAN DO versus WILL DO

As Believers, we need to be intentional to learn and employ the Biblical principles that balance these special qualities. One of the truths that help keep our “big faith” capacity on track is learning the difference between what God CAN DO and what God WILL DO. I have counseled a number of young Believers who got caught up in poor financial decisions - committing themselves to house payments, car payments and various other debt based scenarios that they simply could not afford. They always reported the same thing, “they did it by faith.”

In their thinking, “they paid their tithes and had 'big faith' that God could make it happen!” Presumption and entitlement are not faith! God CAN do anything but, WILL He do it? Did He truly speak to you about these purchases? Is this the right timing? This is the balancing dynamic. God can be trusted to do what He said, and He is 100% faithful to provide for what HE initiates by faith according to His will! In the lives of Believers who don’t learn this balancing concept, you will often see this unfortunate pattern repeating itself resulting in ongoing financial hardship and confusion. We serve a generous, loving and faithful God. We know from the Bible that He wants to bless us! But, presuming upon the how, when, and where of those blessings will not result in good fruit.

This scenario can also play out in the area of prophetic utterance. People can want something or a specific outcome, and they sincerely believe it would be best for them and/or everyone else. Their excitement and passion can be so strong that they start to believe that God must want the same thing too! Knowing that faith is a mighty activator of God’s promises, they begin to declare their desired outcome as the will and word of God. I call it having faith in faith; it doesn’t work! If we are not careful, our passions and desires can cause us to slip into the trap of having faith in the powerful qualities of faith versus having faith in and for something God has actually said or promised. We cannot use faith to make God do our will.

When this dynamic is in operation, there will be an unbalanced focus on the faith of the individual. If things don’t turn out as prophesied, the conclusion is drawn that we did not have enough faith. Placing false responsibility on the shoulders of Believers, because a word didn’t come to pass, is a distortion of the whole prophetic process. Abraham and Sarah had less than ideal responses to God’s promise of a natural born son and yet, Issac was born, right on time as God promised!

“If I take God at His word, the responsibility of fulfilling His promise does not lie with me, but with God, who made the promise.” Charles Spurgeon

The Bible admonishes us to avoid prophesying from our own inspiration and our own spirit (Ezek. 13:1-3). Actually, a thorough review of Ezekiel chapter 13, from time to time, is a sobering reminder of how careful and intentional we need to be when we open our mouths to prophesy! We serve an amazing God, and we were designed to have unwavering faith in Him and His words! But, we were also designed to balance our “big faith” with accountability, Biblical wisdom, and common sense. It is a mistake to assume/believe that God is obligated to words, desires, and declarations that have their origination in our flesh, no matter how grand, glorious, relevant or correct they may seem.

Sincerely Wrong

Sincerity is another quality that, ideally, Believers have in abundance. Sincere, by definition, means genuine, without pretense, heartfelt, and wholehearted. This precious commodity/quality must also be balanced and protected! I think, one of the hardest Kingdom lessons to understand is the concept of being “sincerely wrong.” When we sincerely believe in something, we absolutely believe in the rightness of what we are believing or doing. This makes it very difficult for us to receive correction or to be willing to change our minds. We risk becoming stubborn and unteachable, meanwhile, humility becomes more and more elusive.

Unfortunately, the reality is that no matter how sincere we are or how big our faith is, if we are wrong and we practice our faith in error or imbalance, we will reap the consequences of our errors and imbalances. When our strength is out of balance it can be manipulated into becoming our weakness. People with “big faith," not properly equipped, can get caught up in big blunders.

I have been there! BUT, right in the middle of my big blunders, I was met by an even BIGGER GOD who mercifully offered me a better way! He lifted me up, dusted me off and offered me the opportunity to walk in greater wisdom and balance! And for the record, Prophets, are not exempt from these lessons. Sometimes, they say the correct things and apply them incorrectly, and sometimes they just get it wrong; sincerely wrong! (Acts 21:12-14) When we bravely embrace humbling circumstances, this is where our authority grows exponentially!

Caution

It is so important that we exercise caution in these areas. When we are cautious, we are intentional to “take care” to avoid costly or dangerous mistakes. Imbalanced faith and sincerity mingled with passion can cause us to move away from inspiration and influence and into control and intimidation. This creates a very weird atmosphere potentially creating openings for some unsavory characters. In this atmosphere, there is little tolerance for individual convictions or opposing points of view. In fact, leaders who cross these lines often make it a loyalty test wherein you have to prove you are on board with “the vision” as they see it. We must take cautious steps not to allow imbalanced passion, sincerity and faith to turn us into spiritual bullies.

Course Correction

Nothing can re-center you like the realization that God is NOT doing what you thought He was doing. It actually offers us an opportunity for a heart reset. We come to the Father as a bewildered child, fully aware that we are absolutely dependent on Him. His open arms and warm embrace reminds us how much we are loved. He encourages us to fine-tune our ears to the Shepherd’s voice, so the next time we are not so easily led astray by other voices!

Prophetic Responsibility

I have seen prophecy at its best and at its worst! Yet, I remain a believer in the validity of the office of the Prophet within the context of the five-fold ministry operating within the Body of Christ (Eph. 4:11) I also respect the spiritual gift of prophecy. (I Cor. 14:3) When these two elements of spiritual gifting are operating according to Biblical protocols, they are wonderful avenues of Godly insight, direction, comfort and encouragement. I was blessed to be trained by pastors who understood that this privilege also came with great responsibility. We were taught to balance this privilege with Biblical principles and accountability. I think it is important to point out that Biblical accountability is not achieved by surrounding yourself with people who are saying the same thing(s) as you. The five-fold ministry, by design, incorporates individuals with a healthy respect for:

authority, prophecy, the Body of Christ, sound doctrine, the Harvest.

The five-fold leaders, aided by the Holy Spirit, are the most sure protection that we have from digressing into error and apostasy. These are the levels of accountability we need to incorporate within our networks of faith, churches and ministries.

New Days, Old Tricks

I think it’s interesting to note, here, that in the Garden, Eve fell for a conspiracy theory. The theory/deception was that the Godhead was conspiring to hold something back from her. The serpent convinced her that for the price of her disobedience she would: have her eyes opened, she would be like God, and she would KNOW good and evil. The heart wrenching part of this story is that she was already like God! There was no godly purpose in opening the “eyes of her spirit” to some new revelation regarding good and evil. I’m not entirely sure that anything did happen to the “eyes of her spirit that day," but the idea that it could happen, and she would be “in the know," was certainly part of the draw and the promise of darkness.

As we navigate away from this election season of confusion, misinformation, and varying points of view, it is so important that we pursue humility, patience and gentleness. We need to be intentional to carefully protect our relationships with one another. People often comment how the terrorist attacks on 9/11 brought us together as a nation. I believe that the events of this season necessitate this same response from us as the Church! Let’s be determined, in love, to stand together holding on tightly to one another. Remember that the grace you choose to withhold today may be the very grace you need tomorrow!

Many blessings,

Joanne