Remember how excited you were when
you got that prophetic word five, 10 or even 15 years ago? You set your heart
to prepare yourself to walk it out. You confessed it out of your mouth. You
declared it shall come to pass. You prayed it through.
You did everything you were supposed
to do, but that prophetic word still hasn’t come to pass. In fact, it may even
look like the exact opposite is happening in your life. It may look like to
enemy has already robbed your prophecy. It may seem like the prophetic word
will never come to pass.
Now is your moment of decision. Will
you give up on that tried-and-tested prophetic word that you know that you know
that you know is from God? Or will you go back to the author of that
prophecy—Jesus—and remind Him of the prophetic word?
Jacob’s Vow at Bethel
Jacob got a prophetic word from God
while he was fleeing his angry brother, Esau, whom he cheated out of his
birthright. Imagine the scene: Jacob was traveling alone from Beersheba toward
Haran, and when the sun started setting, he decided to rest. He used a rock for
a pillow and had prophetic dreams of “a ladder that was set up on the earth,
and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and
descending on it” (Gen. 28:12). Next came a prophecy that was exceedingly
abundantly above all he could ask or think:
“I am the Lord God of Abraham your
father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and
your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you
shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and
in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold,
I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to
this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to
you” (vv. 13-15).
Jacob believed the prophetic word,
set up a pillar to God, poured oil upon it and made a vow to give a tenth to
God if He kept him safe during his journey, gave him food and clothing, and
allowed him to reach his father’s house in peace. Of course, God kept up His
part of the covenant. Despite being cheated by his uncle Laban for more than a
decade, Jacob prospered wildly in every respect in Haran. He had exceeding
abundant children, livestock and favor with God.
Wrestling With God
Finally fed up with Laban’s
dishonesty, Jacob decided to return to his country. Laban pursued him, and
Jacob boldly confronted his uncle—but when Jacob learned that Esau was coming
out to meet him, fear struck his heart. Jacob did what we need to do when it
looks like our prophetic word can’t possibly come to pass—when it looks like
the devil is devouring our prophetic dreams. When the enemy comes in with fear
that what God said will never happen, we need to take the prophetic word back
to its author in prayer.
“Then Jacob said, ‘O God of my
father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me,
"Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with
you": I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth
which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my
staff, and now I have become two companies. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand
of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack
me and the mother with the children. For You said, "I will surely treat
you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be
numbered for multitude"’” (Gen. 32:9-12).
But Jacob didn’t stop there. Jacob wrestled with
God over the issue until the break of day. You’ll recall the determined words
of Jacob’s mouth: “I will not let You go until You bless me!” (v. 26). Jacob
got his blessing, but he walked away with a limp
Newsletter sent January 21, 2014:
fear that is attached to you. God says, 
Look
at the fish. Ask Me for the fish. The serpent might be on your road but
see the fish and inside the fish there will be supply for you to shod
your feet with peace. You'll walk right past the serpent that is in your
path."
