Oftentimes the Lord uses His people to carry His words to others. Either to someone far from Him spiritually, or who are in a circumstance where they are not open to hearing from Him directly. Perhaps it may also be that the Lord knows certain people who can get across to others with a voice that has a weight of its own. These are His spiritual mail carriers. (No brown or blue uniform required.)
Over this past month, there have been a handful of times where I felt prompted by The Spirit to deliver a message to someone. While part of me thinks I should do so immediately, I usually run these things through a test first; especially if the message is of a sensitive nature. This is to make sure I am not misleading myself as too often we feel we know what someone needs to hear and convince ourselves it is what God would want us to do. So before I relay the message I ask myself three questions.
- Is it backed by scripture?
- Does it come from a place of love? (As God ultimately is love)
- Is there prayerful conviction?
If it meets the criteria then I pass on the message to the intended person. It can still be an awkward interaction. Let’s be honest, “Hey, I have a message from God for you,” comes off a little crazy to most people. However, it is the times I don’t heed the prompting that I come to regret.
The most recent occasion was with a kind young woman with whom I am acquainted. Our conversation turned to the spiritual and she opened up about her own experience. She said that in her upbringing her family was wiccan and she would work through things with tarot cards. She said even now she would call out to Greek gods and hear spirits. She said that her grandmother had been Baptist and exposed her to Christianity. Yet, she voiced her frustration that when she would try to call out to the God of Christians she would get nothing. The next day, as I sat studying in my office, I recalled the conversation and felt The Spirit prompt me to deliver a message.
Salt water and fresh water cannot fill the same vessel and remain separate. Yahweh is a jealous God who does not play nice with spirits and lesser gods. When you are ready to let Him alone have sovereignty, He will be there.
“Ok Lord,” was my response in spirit. I ran it through the checklist. 1) Is it backed by scripture? “You must not have any other god but me.” Exodus 20:3 NLT, yes. 2) Does it come from a place of love? The message, while firm, was meant tenderly so, yes. 3) Is there prayerful conviction? I prayed, “Lord, do you really want me to say that to her?” The conviction came back unwavering, yes. I resolved myself to do the will of my Lord and deliver the message. I even wrote it down so I’d get it right. When I next saw the young woman I approached her in faith as I said, “I was given a message for you.” I pulled out my small piece of paper and reminded her of our previous conversation that brought us to this moment. I read the note and her eyes grew wide. “Oh wow,” she exclaimed. The message given to its intended recipient, I folded the paper and tucked it away. She was further intrigued that I had written it down. I off-handedly said, “It’s like back in the day when we would keep a notepad by the house phone so we could make sure people got their messages.”
Later, I was led in my studies to Exodus 24:4 “Then Moses carefully wrote down all the LORD’s instructions.” This reminded me of the importance of getting these things from the Lord right. Also, the importance of verifying what comes to you to convey to others so as not to fall victim to a false spirit. “And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people.” (Matthew 24:11) That is why studying the Bible and being in prayer is vital for the testing of these messages to work.
Yesterday I saw this young woman again. She came up to me gingerly and said she had been thinking a lot about the message. She said she has felt a tremendous weight prompting her and she has started reading the Bible. She shared that for the first time since she was a child, and her grandmother would take her to church, she feels the draw towards God. She thanked me for my willingness to deliver the message and I returned with thanking her for her willingness to receive it as the Lord intended.
This is the call of His people! To do the will of Him who sends them out into the world.
And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” Romans 10:15
Author Dellaca Ferraiz Reynolds 