If you have ever received a prophetic word either through your time with the Lord or through a prophetic message, you have found how exhilarating it is to have a word from the Lord! His specific word brings encouragement, significance, and a new level of motivation to remain focused and run after God’s purpose in life!
The challenge with the word of God is that it only comes in seed form, and it is not meant to be fulfilled right away. Some of us naively have sat around waiting and watching His word to see when it will come to fruition. We eventually found ourselves tired, discouraged, and doubtful that the word will ever come to pass. This is where we need to look at the Biblical pattern and see what happens after a word is being proclaimed over someone.
Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. 1 Samuel 16:13
David was a given a prophetic word by Samuel to the surprise of his father and his brothers, and his life became harder than ever! As God was lifting him up, Saul was trying to tear him down and kill him. He had to flee continually from the hands of Saul just to save his life. Taking the throne seemed the least of his problems for a long time since his survival was the most urgent issue at the time (For complete story start at 1Samuel 16)!
Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. Genesis 37:5
Joseph had a couple of powerful dreams when he was young that offended his father and brothers. Those dreams spoke of God’s purpose, but they were not meant to be fulfilled right away. They were just announcing a season of processing in Joseph’s life before he could be ready to be placed in that position (For complete story start at Genesis 37).
God’s purpose is tied to the process! Without the process, one cannot reach God’s promise. As a result, patience and obedience are much needed in the tough processing season!
