The first time I had a conviction about my life partner after much prayers, I approached about three people (men who I respected in the faith) to pray with me about the lady. They all got back to me with a firm warning not to proceed with the relationship. Yet, I was perfectly convinced the Lord was leading me into it.
I went back to pray again and my conviction remained the same and in the fulness of time, I proceeded to propose to the lady (who by the way today is my wife). I didn’t inform any of these three men of God of what I had done, yet two weeks later they all called me back one after the other to apologize that they were wrong and that the lady was actually the will of God for me in marriage.
I didn’t understand what actually happened until many years later while I was studying the book of Acts 11: 27-30. Prophet Agabus had said to Paul by the Holy Spirit that if he proceeds to Jerusalem he would have successfully signed his arrest warrant but Paul went there anyways. It was one time in the bible when I’ve had to question Apostle Paul’s spirituality. ‘Why would he stubbornly disobey the voice of the spirit? I asked! Until the Holy Spirit made it clear. Paul knew that it was the will of God for him to suffer for the gospel, so when he heard the prophecy of Agabus it wasn’t an instruction for him to run from the will of God but a reminder of what lies ahead of him even though it wasn’t palatable.
Back to my pre-wedding story! All the men of God I spoke about were not wrong, they saw the many battles and dangers that lie ahead in proceeding into that relationship and because they were too emotionally invested, they all advised me as their son to run for my dear life. Indeed, God had spoken to them but not a warning instruction rather, it was an insight instruction.
Unfortunately, I have seen in my short life many children of God always mixing these two things together and getting into trouble (warning vs insight). For instance, I have seen people getting stuck in a funny relationship or walking away from one because they got a word of prophecy that negates their conviction. To turn around against what God has convinced you about because of the voice of one man is either an indication that your conviction was either shaky, not real, or simply shows a lack of depth.
To take God’s message of insight as a message signal to run away is a shallow way to live as a believer. We must develop a level of maturity that can allow God to confide in us about the future that may not look good from a human perspective and yet we can still remain calm and not take it as the basis for scaring everybody up and down.
- God was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah with Lot, Abraham’s cousin in it, yet he could remain calm to intercede.
- God was sending Jesus to come and die, yet he could remain calm and silent before his accusers.
- God was sending Paul to Jerusalem and to Rome showing him what he must suffer but he embraced it anyways.
Can God trust you with the secrete of his heart? If he truly unveils what is to come can you handle it? It’s time to grow up and learn to properly discern the voice of the Lord.
