When God Tells Us Stuff...

Words and images bombarded him like vultures attacking a day old carcass. They wouldn't let up. They wouldn't go away. They just kept coming.

Until they stopped.

Famine.

Death.

Help.

Agabus shook his head. God had spoken to him. No wait. Was speaking to him. He needed to share this with the others. He needed to share this with the church so that Antioch could prepare, and so that they could send help to other believers.

Agabus started to stand when fear gripped him. What if they all thought he was crazy? What if they didn't believe him? What if he was wrong? He had only been working in the prophetic for a few months. Maybe he was wrong...

But what if he wasn't wrong... The dry and thirsty ground flashed before his mind's eye. Those lifeless faces made him want to weep. The echo of help still rang in his ears. What if he wasn't wrong? Was he really willing to risk all those lives?

No.

Agabus stood up, his large frame making a commanding presence. He marched to the head of the room and faced his brothers in Christ. Then he opened his mouth so that the Spirit could speak through him.

Based on Acts 11:27-30

"Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul." Acts 11:27-30

God doesn't tell us stuff for no reason. Especially something like that. If we are given a word for someone, it's so that we can tell that person. If it's a word for you, it's so you can apply it to your life. If it's a vision or a prophecy of something like say a famine, it's so you can prepare for it!

These guys heard the call. They got the message. They prepared, planned, and provided. They didn't stop with themselves either. They sent relief to the Christians in Judea. They did everything they could.

Has God ever told you something that you've ignored? Have you ever felt the flame of His Spirit trying to reach you, only for you to dose Him with water? Have you ever heard the call, only to turn up the volume on your TV?

I have heard the call. I have been given messages. I have shared some, and I've held a lot back because I thought I was crazy, or because others would think I was crazy. I know what it's like to have that fire burn without fulfilling it's purpose, and I know what it's like to release it. I know a number of other Christians who have done the same thing as me.

Here's the thing. It's not just you. It's not just me. It does affect others. The difference between me, us and the Christians at Antioch is that they did. They got the word, delivered it, heard it, accepted it, and prepared. We usually get lost at step two or three. But it doesn't just affect us. Image if Agabus had heard that word, and didn't share it because he was afraid. People would have died.

It's not just us. God tells us stuff, so that we can do something, so that we can help, so that lives can be changed. It's not about our fear. It's about them.

V. Joy Palmer