Sometimes when we hear from God or have someone prophecy over us, we receive a fairly clear picture of what He’s planning for us. It might sound something like ‘you’ll be a leader one day’ or ‘your words will influence thousands’. Even if we don’t know how we’re going to achieve it, we know the direction God’s pointing us towards. Or we might be given a word that instructs us to do a simple act, without knowing why it’s important or how it fits into God’s plan. But if we’re sure we’ve heard correctly from God (it’s a good idea to talk to an experienced Christian who you trust, like your pastor, who can help you discern this), we then need to be willing to obey His instructions. We need to have faith like Abraham’s. In Genesis 12:1 God told him: ‘Leave your native country…and go to the land I will show you’ (NIV), and ‘by faith Abraham…obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going’ (Hebrews 11:8 NIV). He had no idea why God told him to do that, but he trusted God and did it anyway. Later, God promised that Abraham’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars (Genesis 15:5). Abraham and his wife Sarah were far too old to become parents, so this seemed impossible. But Abraham chose to trust and believe God’s promise even though he couldn’t see how God would achieve it, and his faith was rewarded when Isaac was born (Genesis 21:2). We won’t always understand everything God asks us to do, but that shouldn’t stop us from obeying His instructions.
What now?
Have a look back through your journal for any instructions God’s given you. Give yourself an honest evaluation of how well you obeyed each one.