When God Speaks
The posture of our hearts can determine whether we merely witness what He has spoken or partake of it.
For a moment, in my place of prayer I became silent, allowing my spirit to help me pray. And in that silence, I found myself reflecting on this verse.
2 Kings 7:2 “But Elisha replied, ‘You will see it happen with your own eyes, but you won’t be able to eat any of it!’”
Just before this, the prophet Elisha had declared to the people of Samaria:
“Tomorrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.”
But the king’s officer replied:
“That couldn’t happen even if the LORD opened the windows of heaven!”
And Elisha answered him:
“You will see it with your own eyes, but you won’t be able to eat any of it!”
The word of the Lord came to pass exactly as it had been spoken.
And this is what sat on me heavily;
What if there are manifestations of God that we will see, but never partake of, simply because of how we responded when the Word first came to us?
I hear God saying:
If My people would cultivate pure hearts and exercise bridled intelligence (James 1:26, “bridle the tongue”) in response to My Word, how many wonderful manifestations and breakthroughs would they partake of?
It is not that God does not speak to us through His representatives. He does. God still speaks, warns, directs, gives instruction, reveals, and makes known things concerning what is ahead.
But what happens when the Word reaches us?
Often, the battle begins in our response. We hear the Word, but our sentiments rise against it.
We hear the promise, but our circumstances argue with it.
We receive the instruction, but our preferences negotiate with it.
And sometimes, before the word has had an opportunity to produce in us what God intended, we have already rejected it in our hearts.
I wonder how many times the vessel has been placed under such pressure by our reactions that the person carrying the word must first think about how to package it, soften it, explain it, or articulate it in a way that will accommodate our sentiments.
Because we have become so ready to attack the messenger when the message confronts us.
We want the Word, but we want it edited according to our emotional tolerance.
We desire prophecy but only if it agrees with our expectations.
We are looking for direction but only if it does not disturb our present arrangement.
And perhaps this is one of the sobering realities of our generation: we can become so hostile toward the vessel that the vessel becomes afraid to carry the message as raw as God gave it. We have made it difficult for them to simply deliver the Word as it came.
There is nothing wrong with understanding, wisdom, or discernment. Scripture itself tells us to test what we hear. But there is a difference between testing a word and despising it because it does not fit within the limits of our present understanding.
Because sometimes we think we’re discerning not knowing it is simply unbelief that has learned to speak intelligently.
And we do not realise what we are losing when we do this.
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God’s Spirit is very sensitive. He is quick to move where He is honoured and appreciated. God has many great and wonderful things He desires to reveal and release among His people. There are dimensions of His dealings, manifestations, and mysteries that require hearts that are open and responsive to His Word. When our hearts continually resist what He is saying, we may find ourselves standing before what He has promised without ever partaking of it.
Imagine if this happened in our generation.
A prophet stands before us and says, “You will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it.”
And it happens exactly as he said.
The officer dies at the gate. What would this generation say?
Maybe, we would say, “It was the prophet who killed him.”
We would turn our attention to the messenger. Question his motives, analyse his words & build a narratives around the message or the conduit.
And perhaps, in doing so, we would completely miss the condition of the heart that had rejected the Word.
God is still speaking.
He has great and wonderful things. Mysteries He desires to make known.
But the question is “What is happening in me when He speaks?”
Because I have said this before:
You can reject what is spoken over you.
The hand may have been laid upon you. Words of blessing may have been released over you. A prophetic word may have been spoken concerning you. But where is the state of your heart when you receive it?
What are you saying internally? Are you agreeing or rejecting?
What are you calling impossible?
What are you allowing your mouth to speak concerning what God has spoken?
Sometimes the greatest resistance is not a public rejection of the Word. It is the quiet response we have already settled upon in our hearts.
Hence, I’m here to say:
Work on your heart before God. Work on your responses.
Be careful with what you say when God speaks. Because what you say is powerful enough to shape your posture toward what God is releasing.
The prophetic realm is a sacred moment, a prophet speaking to us on behalf of God. Woe betide us if we play lightly with such moments.
It may be better not to hear than to hear and despise what God has said.
Because the tragedy of the king’s officer was not that he never saw the Word fulfilled.
He saw it. He simply did not partake of it.
I sometimes wonder how different that moment might have been if his response to the prophetic word had been one of faith rather than contempt.
May God give us pure hearts.
May He teach us to bridle our responses.
And may we become a people who do not merely hear what God is saying, but have hearts prepared to receive, believe, and partake of what He is releasing.
Shared in stewardship and Humility
~ Izzy
