When the COVID-19 pandemic began the world shut down and life as we knew it ceased. A new way of existing developed based on a mixture of protecting ourselves and fear.
Staying home, avoiding crowds and gatherings, social distancing, masking, all became our reality. Whether we liked it or not, agreed with it or not, all of us had to adjust. For myself, speaking engagements got cancelled and ministry opportunities dried up.
What followed were months of being at home away from everyone except my immediate family. I only ventured out of the house to go grocery shopping or run errands. That was pretty much the extent of my traveling.
By the summer of 2021, COVID-19 cases had leveled off somewhat and society gradually started to open back up. My good friend, Pastor Walter Nistorenko, of Abundant Life Church in Ocean View, New Jersey, called and asked if I could come to his church and minister to the students who attended his school of ministry.
I took some time to pray about it and when the Lord gave me the green light, I accepted the invitation. It had been quite a while since I had done a speaking engagement and knew that at some point, I was going to have to take the plunge and get back out there.
The trip was going to take a few hours, so I was praying like I usually do when out of nowhere a fear gripped me. One after another, the questions kept coming, unnerving and unsettling me. Then, a debate started in my head as I tried to reason and come up with answers. I was going to minister and didn’t want to be carrying those lingering questions and be unsettled when I walked through the door. I’ve listed those responses below to help you in your prophetic journey as a way to not only navigate, but to fully understand your spiritual DNA as God sees it.
Question: My gift is not being used so maybe something is wrong?
Answer: My gift was given to me to use at His discretion, so it is on loan. It is wrong to take ownership of it because the Lord gave it to me to use when I am directed to use it, not when I want to or “feel” like I should. It is not part of my identity, and it does not define who I am. God is the one that triggers the gift, and I don’t have to work or strive to earn His love. Instead, I can relax and move when He moves, resisting the temptation to rush or view times of quietness as a negative.
Question: Is the gift gone?
Answer: Years ago, when the gift was first activated in me, it took me a while to get accustomed to it. I remember being at a friend’s church and one of the staff members and I were chatting. He saw I was having issues adjusting to things and he asked me, “If you could ask the Lord to take the gift away, would you?” I remember pausing and telling him I would need to think about it.
What was concerning, now when I look back, is I actually had to take time to think about it rather than simply accept that the Lord knows more than I do. He knows what my full purpose is and what will fulfill me. For I am “His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).
Question: Will my gift come back if I try to use it?
Answer: If He doesn’t lead, then I do nothing even if it is embarrassing. To walk authentically in the prophetic, and guard ourselves from false words, we must be willing to be embarrassed every now and then when obedience means saying nothing.
Throughout the years of my prophetic journey, people have put pressure on me to deliver words from God to them. I’ve finally been set free from the need to produce something that is not there to please people. Below are some examples of comments I have had over the years.
- I have traveled here to see and meet you. The Lord told me you had a word for me.
- You don’t have a word for me? Are you saying God doesn’t love me?
- I have been searching for God for many years and you are the closest I have come to actually knowing Him. Are you sure you do not have a prophetic word for me?
- Are you sure you aren’t a con artist because all people can fake prophecy?
- You prophesied to Jonathan Cahn and you do not have a word for me? Am I not just as important?
The answer to those questions vary individually, but ultimately rest on God’s sovereignty. He will always answer His children. In fact, He promises this in John 10:27, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
This doesn’t mean that God won’t provide a word of encouragement or direction, but it may not often follow the pattern the person desires. {eoa}
The preceding is an excerpt from chapter 9 of Hubie Synn’s Lessons From a Wandering Prophet (Charisma House 2022). For more information or to order the book, visit mycharismashop.com.
Hubie Synn is a speaker and prophet who travels around the world. He has ministered to Super Bowl hero David Tyree, media personalities, Grammy Award–winning artists and countless others. A certified public accountant by trade, he resides in New Jersey with his wife and five children.
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