Real prophets are not required to make life better for you! They are made to respond to God about us. You don't play with them or the other 4-fold ministry gifts that are called to help His Body. They each one have to work at what they each are called to do, be it local or beyond, to make a difference. They are people with a ministry and when each one does their calling, THE BODY WILL FUNCTION AND PROSPER!!! God places them across the lands, and they often are drawn to like kind.
Are there difficult circumstances in your life that you are facing? Financial, medical, family, or even legal issues that seem like a mountain looming before you? Fear and anxiety will only add to the mountain. And, if you speak those words of fear, it will make things worse. I assure you; I have done it myself before I learned to STOP speaking words contrary to God's will. What I do, when I see that mountain, is to turn my eyes to the Word of God. God's will is for us to live in victory over every financial, medical, or relationship mountain. So I look to Jesus and His Word and turn my eyes away from that mountain!
With so much exposure going on, when should we answer or critics (especially in response to the gifts of the Spirit)? While I understand that preachers and pastors cannot always give people an answer—I myself don't have time to read nor answer all the comments on my media feeds—there are times when we should explain our actions. It may not change the minds of those who are hell-bent on critiquing us, but it may clear up confusion for those in the middle.
Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. (Hebrews 12:15 NLT) If we consider what were some of the practical factors in Christ's crucifixion, we realize that His sufferings were caused by men's fickleness, bigotry, fearfulness, jealousy and treachery. In love He bore all these for us. And these may well be the factors which challenge the reality of our love to God.
Control. Many of us, myself included, have wrestled with control issues. We love the feeling that all is well because we've done a good job of ordering our lives. The problem is that having control is the opposite of trusting God. The Gospel of Matthew invites us into a story about a mom who wanted the best for her two sons. Who can blame her? I can sure relate—can you? Her two wonderful sons, James and John, were followers of Jesus, and their mama was proud of her boys! She approached Jesus with what I imagine she thought was a wonderful request; she asked if her two sons could sit at the right and left hand of God in the kingdom to come.
We all have times in life when it seems like we've hit a dead end or things aren't turning out the way we hoped or expected. However, I've learned from experience that when we feel stuck, discouraged, or disappointed, that's not the time to throw in the towel and give up! I realize this isn't easy. There have been times in my life when I've felt discouraged and even wondered if I could hold on and keep going to get through the pain to the place of victory. Through these experiences, I've learned that when you're in the middle of a painful situation, it can often feel like God isn't doing anything about it. But it's vitally important to trust Him during this time, because He is working in your heart to make you more like Christ.
Years ago, I had an encounter with a couple angels in a dream. This was not my first encounter with angels. I have had many encounters with angels in dreams. And the angels have told me things that take place in my life or give me direction. I also can see angels in the natural while I am awake as I am a seer and can see into the spirit realm. My encounters with angels are usually pleasant and positive but there was this one dream that stands out in which it wasn't so great.
I asked her how it felt, this tennis match she'd just played. "It was amazing," she said. "I didn't feel the need to think about what would happen if I lost this point or how I would be three-zero down instead of two-one." This was a player who had spent her entire career imprisoned by her thoughts. Every point was weighed down by calculations about the future, assessments of risk, fears about outcomes. The mind had been running the show, and it was exhausting and incredibly limiting to her potential.
Since encountering my own situations with wolves in sheep's clothing, I found myself reflecting on these encounters and trying to learn from them. My stories regarding wolf-wrangling bear some similarities with those other people have shared with me. I've written articles about healing from a wolf attack and how to wrangle with a wolf, so I wanted to take some time and learn from these situations. We must learn how to spot a wolf.
We all feel it—this world is inundated with noise. Both on and off the Internet, the countless voices that vie for our attention make it a challenge to know what to let in versus what to shut out. Consequently, this chaos of the natural world often makes it even more difficult to discern the voices in the spiritual world. It's no wonder well-meaning people frequently confuse the enemy as God.
