One of the difficulties in living a prophetic life (as well as the need to completely die to yourself and realise that of yourself you have nothing valuable to say, and how wary you have to be of pride and the sin nature that so easily puffs self up and seeks a platform to spout opinion), is how to live in the period of time that occurs between receiving/ releasing the vision, and seeing it come to pass.
At this point in history we have received many exciting words about what God is getting ready to do in these end-times. I even shared one in yesterday’s blog post. And this morning I entered again into that place that we are all so familiar with…
The wait.
Waiting can sound like a passive, sitting-around & twiddling-our-thumbs, dentist’s-reception-room, distracting-ourselves-until-whatever-it-is-happens kind of deal. But that’s not what we are called to. And it’s definitely not how we are supposed to wait for God’s specific promises. The space between the promise and the fulfillment is the place where God is seeking the development of one main thing: our faith. The wait is a place of living, growing, active faith.
We know that God is not late as some imagine lateness (2 Pet 3:9). But that doesn’t always stop us from getting frustrated and crying out “When, God?” Sometimes the wait can be so discouraging, that people start to lose hope and give up waiting. And at times when everything around us seems just as dark and unchanging as ever, it takes a real act of will to continue trusting that what God has promised He will perform.
This morning I wasn’t yet in the place of giving up, but I was in the place of “when, God?” I was feeling tired of living what feels like a powerless life in the midst of darkness, and longing to see my family, friends & neighbours truly set free. I don’t want to be passive in waiting, but I’m also aware that human effort is powerless: in myself there is nothing I can do to truly change anything (other than keep praying to the One Who has all the power, of course).
And in that place of frustration, God spoke, to encourage me to keep waiting expectantly: to take the same faith it took to enter His presence, the same faith it took to listen for revelation of His promises, and the same faith it took to declare it here… and to continue in faith.
After all the faith it took to enter His presence and to receive and release God’s promise, may I not fall at the final hurdle – may I not let go of that faith when I need it most! The wait is where faith grows – if we don’t let go of it!
Col 1:22-23 – “now there is nothing between you and Father God, for he sees you as holy, flawless, and restored, if indeed you continue to advance in faith, assured of a firm foundation to grow upon. Never be shaken from the hope of the gospel you have believed in” (TPT)
The word for continue there is epimeno, meaning remain, persevere, continue with persistence.
It reminded me of the picture God gave me last week, of the travelator: that the Christian walk takes persistent effort to go against the flow of the world that would pull us away from God, and advance towards Him.
Heb 10:36-38 – “For you have need of patient endurance [to bear up under difficult circumstances without compromising], so that when you have carried out the will of God, you may receive and enjoy to the full what is promised.
For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay.
But My righteous one [the one justified by faith] shall live by faith [respecting man’s relationship to God and trusting Him]; And if he draws back [shrinking in fear], My soul has no delight in him.” (AMP)
It does take patient endurance to keep trusting God’s promises and hoping for the fulfillment of His promises when nothing seems to be changing: to hope against hope, as Abraham did (Rom 8:14). But that is how faith grows – by reminding ourselves of God’s promise and reminding ourselves of how faithful He has always been to fulfil His promises – and then making a quality choice to keep trusting and to hope against hope.
As God’s Word says in Hab 2:3, “For the vision is yet for the appointed [future] time. It hurries toward the goal [of fulfillment]; it will not fail. Even though it delays, wait [patiently] for it, because it will certainly come; it will not delay” (AMP)
So if anyone else is feeling that same weariness today, that same challenge to our hope brought on by the seemingly endless wait, know that I’m standing with you. God HAS promised a mighty end-time revival; He IS coming back for us; He is ALWAYS faithful to do all that He has said He will do (even when we think He is late); and we ARE going to see a mighty harvest if we do not lose heart (Gal 6:9).
Let us lay hold of the faith that we held when we first received His promise, and encourage ourselves and each other to continue in that faith. He won’t let us down.
In the Secret Place 
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