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by Precarious Yates.
Narrated by Artificial Intelligence, Jenny.
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Sometimes, we become the accuser.
“She stole my socks!” When I thought of a certain person, this was the first thought that followed. Although I twinged at the accusatory thoughts that immediately arose when I thought of her, I had allowed accusations to fester. I didn’t muse on how kind she is, nor on all the hugs she gives or how she stands up for others. But I thought of her faults, as if I had none.
The Hebrew word for ‘accuser’ is one we’re so familiar with that we often forget its Hebrew origins. The word is ‘satan,’ and it’s mostly not used as a name in the Old Testament scriptures. The name appears in the book of Job where there is a court in heaven and the “Accuser” challenges the righteousness of Job. Afterward, Job suffers immense trials, and his friends join in the throng of accusation: “You suffer because of all the faults you have.”
Our faults might be glaringly obvious to our loved ones. They might be even more obvious to ourselves. But we are not the sum of our errors. We are a new creation in Christ Jesus, as Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:21. When we begin to see ourselves and others through the lenses of being a new creation, when we ask God to show us how He sees people, we see glimpses of who God made them to be. We see ways in which our skills and talents can complement those of others. We can draw out the precious from the worthless. Once, the prophet Jeremiah was complaining to God about the people around him, as recorded in Jeremiah 15. In response to Jeremiah, God told him, “Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘If you return, then I will restore you— You will stand before Me; And if you extract the precious from the worthless, You will become My spokesman…’” Once we put away accusations against ourselves and others, or, as Isaiah said, fast from pointing the finger, we can call out in ourselves and others the very aspect of our design that corresponds to our calling. In other words, instead of naming faults, we name glorious futures.
This is prophecy. Prophecy comes from the Greek meaning “first light.” When we fast from accusing people, we allow God’s light to instruct us on how to see others. Once we see this, we speak forth what we see.
Paul, in 1 Corinthians 14, describes prophecy as being for the edification, exhortation and comfort, or encouragement, depending on what translation you read. Edification means to build people up. There is so much work for that needs to be done in this world, and people need to be built up to accomplish that work, not torn down and reminded of our faults. We’re all broken in some way, and we all need to be built up and strengthened for the good works God has called us to do.
Exhortation means to extract the precious from the worthless. It’s calling out what is good in people and reminding them that they are meant to be God’s poetry and love letter to the world, not base sinners who have nothing to offer.
To encourage someone is to put courage inside of them, to remind them of the courage they once had or to remind them of the courage they are meant to carry.
To comfort is to use our words as a soft place that a person can return to when life is razor-edged hard. We can take cues from God, who spoke comfort to Israel when they were in Exile by speaking through Isaiah, in Isaiah 40:1
“Comfort, yes, comfort my people,” says your God.
And from Isaiah 41:10
“Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
When should we speak words of edification, exhortation, and comfort or encouragement to people? Every day! We should prophesy to each other every day. When we start thinking of all the faults in people, when we start accusing everyone and groping for ways to blame others, we need to turn to the Lord and say, “How do you see this person?” He will tell us. And he tells us with the purpose of us speaking these things out. We have the Holy Spirit living inside of us! God wants to encourage you and God wants to encourage others through you.
When we open ourselves up to God, we open ourselves up to living in the overflow. Our cup will ‘runneth over!’ When you fast from pointing the finger, and you open your heart and mind to hear from God, you might think of a bible verse for someone. Go ahead and write that in a note to them, or speak it out. Send it in a text.
This is how we prophesy to one another. Not super spiritual, just super encouraging.
How do you know when someone needs encouragement: Are they still breathing? Let’s go encourage one another.
God bless you!
Precarious Yates
About the Author:
Precarious Yates has lived in 8 different states of the Union and 3 different countries, but currently lives in Texas with her husband, her daughter and their big dogs. When she’s not writing, she enjoys music, teaching, playing on jungle gyms, praying and reading. She holds a Masters in the art of making tea and coffee and a PhD in Slinky® disentangling.
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