Thirteen years ago in a study, God spoke to my heart as He illuminated words in Scripture . . .
“Before I formed you in the womb, Denise, I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” ~ Jeremiah 1:5.
His rhema pierced my heart as it jumped off the page. Yet, I was unsure of what He meant.
In December 2016, a man prophesied over me saying, “you have a spirit of Elijah on you.” Honestly, I didn’t give it much thought . . . in fact, in my skepticism I questioned his validity for he is merely man. Hearing these prophetic words left me confused. Three months later, I was waiting to catch a plane to Seattle in a chaotic and loud coffee shop when God in His faithfulness and willingness to provide understanding gently whispered to me, “look up ‘spirit of Elijah.’ ” The first article that google popped up had just been written, “Elijah – Boldest of the Prophets.” The words poured into me like water does to parched soil. I felt God sitting right beside me telling me what He wanted me to understand. As Bill bought Starbucks, I secretly wept.
This was very intimate and personal to me, I’ve always seen similarities between Elijah and myself. Fearlessly following God into crazy circumstances like chasing a pimp down an alley as he hurt his prostitute, yelling at him to “Stop!” while my husband thought I was going to get shot. Then forgetting God’s mighty works and foolishly fleeing in a time of weariness due to fear.
Despite my stumbling, God is always patient with me. These last couple of months, He brought back to mind these past encounters to say again, “you are a bold prophet of mine, you will stand up in the face of difficult situations, speak truth when I ask you to speak truth in the way I reveal for you to share them.”
Being a prophet for Him is not always an easy task. I haven’t particularly liked it. People do not always welcome receiving a redirecting word. Being a people pleaser and desiring people to like me has caused me to wrestle with being obedient to Him when asked to speak. He is teaching me how to share corrective words in a gentle and compassionate manner.
By speaking an instruction through a messenger God said, “Denise, let your testimony be your counselor.” He is sweetly showing me to switch my perspective and my attitude by saying to me, “Do not look at it as a negative responsibility, but rather see it as an opportunity to illustrate to them how you understand their point, how you’ve been in their shoes and how you’ve felt similar things, yet you were shown a different way to respond that honors Me. Denise, let your testimony of how I showed you to do it, be a counselor to them.” He’s been counseling, teaching and training me with words like, “I’m helping you find your voice. I’m refining your trust in Me as I take you deeper. Keep your gaze focused on Me constantly, so you do not sink in these deeper waters. Remember what matters is My thoughts towards you and My thoughts towards you out number the grains of sand for I love you with an everlasting love.”
He has also revealed recently to me that being His prophet doesn’t have to be a negative. I don’t always have to deliver a word that someone will feel as harsh or awkward. Graham Cooke is a prophet I enjoy learning from. I’ve been reading his book, “Approaching the Heart of Prophecy A Journey into Encouragement, Blessing and Prophetic Gifting.”
He illustrated beautifully how since Jesus came, we are in a season of grace. God can show me a difficult truth, a painful situation that if spoken directly would inflict more of a wound. Instead, in that moment, ask God what He wants me to say about that situation? How can I speak life in to that circumstance and call forth the beauty God desires to see in that person. Isn’t that brilliant? Guaranteed a person knows where they are stumbling, they don’t need someone telling how they are falling, but rather believing in them and calling forth what needs to be seen instead to bring glory to God.
This is the prophet I desire to be. May God continue to train me to be a bold prophet for Him speaking truth in love, full of His grace, calling people in to the place God desires them to stand.