There is an old song that goes, ‘Nobody loves me… I’m going to the garden to eat worms…’
My friend has a compost barrel in her garden and inside under the lid is teaming with juicy, wriggling worms, hundreds of them—eeuuw!
Eating worms has become something of a metaphor for having a bad day. A message that says, ‘Need worms, quick!’ is code for, ‘I’m having a bad day—need sympathy and prayer!’ On a really bad day, it’s ‘Give me the barrel!’ But what if you are not only having a 1-barrel-of-worms day, but a whole 10-barrel month, or even a 100-barrel year?
I am working on a chapter in my new book on ‘The Testing Season’—or should I say, the chapter is working on me? (It couldn’t get worse than the week a few years back when I was working on a chapter on pride!) At any rate, this whole business of experiencing testing, or wilderness seasons in the growth of our prophetic gifts is pretty relevant, and actually there is GOOD news too, so I thought I’d share some of it with you.
Signs that you may be experiencing a wilderness season in relation to your spiritual gift:
- Feeling that you have been shut down in your God-given abilities. You wonder where your gift has gone and what God is doing
- You may have voluntarily or involuntarily released ministry responsibility to do with your gift and feel displaced as a result
- You long for the honeymoon period when you first discovered your spiritual gift and think of it as ‘the good old days’
- You may have made mistakes and wonder whether you will ever recover
- You experience doubts about your ability and wonder if God really called you
- You find yourself going through character-testing circumstances and coming up short on the character side
- You wonder whether the prophecies once made about you will ever be fulfilled
- You feel as though you are being criticised, blocked or resisted
- You feel battle-worn and weary
- You feel displaced, separated or hidden in relation to your gift and ministry
- The opposite of God’s call and the destiny you believed for seems to be happening to you.
If you can identify with any of these things, there is some very good news for you—there is a REASON for this SEASON and it all has to do with you, God, and fruitfulness! We’ll have a look into this some more in the next few days.
Do you identify with any of the above points now, or have you in the past? I’d love to hear from you, and so would others—leave a comment for me.
In the meantime, I’m going to fast worms and try thanksgiving and praise instead…
The teaching section in this post is excerpted from the e-book, ‘Grow Your Prophetic and Prayer Gifts.’ If this post has ministered to you and you would like further help in the development of your prophetic gifts, click here to review the book.
See also Prophetic People in Testing Times: The Reason For The Season
© Helen Calder Enliven Publishing
Hi Helen,
With a list like that I’m sure we all can identify with at least some elements of it.
Testing is never easy, but if you aren’t tested you don’t really know who you can be.
I go to the gym. I don’t really enjoy the workout at the gym itself though the people there are a pretty good bunch. I’m in Endeavour Hills and go to the local Leisure Centre – http://www.ehlc.ymca.org.au/ . There, just gave them a free plug. If you are looking to maintain yourself physically then you have to do something. I’m just interested in keeping in good shape and maintaining myself so I can keep contributing for many years to come. The alternative is becoming decrepit.
I think our spiritual lives are the same. We are either growing and keeping strong or we become decrepit. Feeble if you prefer. Now a physical workout requires resistance. Otherwise we aren’t doing any work. A spiritual workout has some similar features. And God wants us to be effective, not decrepit. So if we don’t choose to step up on our own terms, he can provide some circumstances that will push us in the required direction.
Some of the things we go through are just because we aren’t taking responsibility for what is already on our plate. And we reap what we have sown. No input from God required at all for that to occur.
But there are times when we need to grow and it is beyond our current understanding as to what the next step looks like. So God provides the environment and takes us on a journey.
To be an overcomer, there must be something to overcome.
On a different note, a recent survey covering all the habitable continents on earth looked at finding the secret to a happier life. They determined that only 3 things were required:
– eat less
– sleep more
– do something energetic to maintain your body
Translating this to the spiritual I came up with this list:
– be faithful with what you already have and know
– be at peace and trust God
– be actively praying and listening to God
I go to the Winepress in Berwick, http://www.winepress.org.au , and am very excited to be part of a community of faith that is actively trying to be a blessing to others. ‘Love God, Love Others, Make a Difference’ is our catch cry. There are always issues as you are growing but it is a wonderful thing to be doing the growing with such a loving and dynamic community. Even the testing goes easier in an environment like that.
Ray Keefe
http://www.successful.com.au
Helen
I am going through a rather very very tough time and relate with almost everything you have said. Its hard its my first time ever I feel so vulnerable. I am alone physically in this. My whole family is totally against it. They all think i am nursing a mental illness in solitary confinement. Everything that i have worked for and depended on stripped off. Depend totally on the Holy Spirit and hard not knowing what your next day will be like and what your next month is like of which i used to know because i used to work fulltime. But your words are comforting. Only me and God and anybody who can relate to this understands. I am so glad i found this website especially at this time thank God for you.
Dear Patience, I’m sorry to hear you are experiencing these difficulties right now.
I believe our Heavenly Father has designed us to flourish and grow in our relationship with Him, with others and in our church. Sometimes we go through periods of pain, but He brings restoration when our hearts are open to Him and we remain open also to those He gives to lead and help us.
I have sent you some pages and resources that may help you process some of these things. I pray that you find your way through to healing in this coming season.
May He continue to show you all the rich blessings He has stored up for you in Jesus (Eph 1).
thanks for this website. I think am indeed in a season I myself does not know! because I have been dreamin a lot about supernatural things! Last time, i dreamt about 2 people being targeted under False Prophets coming my way! and then it happened right the same like I saw!! also having dreams about teaching people all the time!! All of the source of income thrown away!! I recently had a feeling to gv words of encouragement on the internet! I have given a lot of Personal Prophecies to people which most of them confirmed!! My town has no or little knowledge about Prophets and Prophecies, even in most churches around me! Infact am realy in a desert, island, actualy in a wildernes! No one to mentor and have training and directions from just the lord! Recieving a lot of Revelations and when I preach, I see the church so low and little with regards to the preach! They understand not. And it discourage me all the time! uughh! What kind of Season is this?
Hi Benjaming, I’m sorry I missed your comment and have just noticed it. May I encourage you to have a look around Enliven Blog as we have put a lot of material online to help people like you who don’t have mentoring and help in the prophetic. Check out our main website too as we have more free resources that could help you: http://www.davidmccracken.org/
Thank you so much Helen. I have read through most of your post….and actually its helping me!!! But Recently I am being led to Start a Prophetic Training in my Area. Teaching People about the Prophetic and then Helping people discover their spiritual gifts and also teach people about the essence and benefit of the Prophetic. In all to Equip the Saints. But the truth is its like am all alone. No one understands me, even not in the Church. I’m trying my best to get some people, so that we can undertake this Work but it seems not working at all. I am 24 years. and Please Can 24 years be a prophetic Minister. its sounds funny though…..waiting!!!!!
I REALLY feel like God just had me to read all the pages I have read thus far. God is amazing in how he knows exactly what you need to hear and see to keep you going! I feel and have experienced ALL of the signs listed above. I am at a loss as to how I can describe my surprise as to how I got to be on your website. In all that I experienced, I eventually realized that the God uses “people” and their names to convey messages to me, so I used to dream of my cousins Patience and Faith so much that I kind of got concerned. Initially, I thought it was because something may have been going on in their lives etc. As time went on and as I asked God why I dreamt of these individuals, I realized that God was messaging me to exercise patience and faith. I also realized that at the times, the dreams of my cousins were on the increase, I was going through periods of great doubt, exhaustion, impatience etc. What an awesome, loving , caring God we serve. I breakdown and cry every time “I get it.” I may go through something and in retro, realize the test at hand and it happens without fail that I just get it and breakdown at the clarity of what just happened. I recently got into a situation with a co-worker. I should have known better because I had actually been very conscious that I was going through spiritual attacks. I was praying and interestingly enough, in this instance, I felt like God was “not around” Like I was on my own. I fell head on into the “trap” and didn’t see that particular trap coming. It taught me not to “look at the individual” in opposition. Ephesians 6:12 came to mind. They are being used just as you are being used and when I realized that the both of us “had been set up for the bait” I could not help but to feel sympathetic for the one whom I had had an altercation with. I prayed that her job would be spared, especially so because she is not Christian and confesses it and so I felt that as the believer, I should have handled myself and the situation differently. My journey has been long since I had my revelation, but I continue to listen and obey.
What is the causes of dryness in your spiritual life as a prophet
Hi Phoebe, this article may have the answers you need: https://www.enlivenpublishing.com/blog/2012/03/27/7-ways-to-combat-spiritual-dryness/