“Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry “Peace” when they have something to eat, but declare war against him who puts nothing into their mouths.” Micah 3:5

As I was reading through the third chapter of Micah this morning, I began thinking about much of what has been going on in the prophetic world recently, which seems to correspond with Micah 3:5. When the prophets are happy and getting what they want, (whether it be the masses agreeing with them, things going in the direction they expected, recognition, etc.) they prophecy peace and good things, but when they’re not getting what they want, and things don’t go the way they’d like, then they turn and begin prophesying war; they begin prophesying judgment against those who aren’t going along with them, saying the judgments are from God.

It’s the famished prophets, the ones who haven’t spent ample time with the Lord, feeding on His Word, and asking Him for His perspective on situations, who begin to falsely foretell untruths and dish out unrighteous judgments. They may only see one side of the Lord, and think that’s the only way in which He speaks, or responds, to certain situations, because they never took the time to really dig in and eat the meat of the Word, and find out how God operates. When we don’t understand how God operates, when we don’t really know His true character, and what the Love of Christ truly looks like, we can actually put out false words that we think are from Him.

There are also prophets who have a hunger to see certain things happen; things that can actually have the appearance of something God would want, but are not actually the will of God. These prophets become convinced that because they feel a certain way about a situation, and because it looks like something God would want, that it is God’s will. An expectation is then placed upon God to respond in the way the prophet believes He should respond. It becomes unfathomable to them that God might choose to go in another direction. In this instance, the opinion of the prophet is placed above the actual will of God.

We see this happening right now to some extent. There are prophets who prophesied that Trump would win a second term in 2021, however that’s not what actually transpired. Corruption aside, whatever God had said about the election is true and just, and His word will manifest at the appropriate time, without an alternate meaning. What I mean is this – if God said Trump would be president for this next term, then it doesn’t mean He’s still the president behind the scenes, while the other guy sits in the office. God makes no mistakes; we are the only ones who can mess it up. We are the ones who can look at what He said, His sure word, and view it wrongly, or apply different meanings or time frames to it that He never intended.

So, we have many prophets, (and others who are not), who are still looking for Trump to get back into office for whatever reason – because that’s what they desired, because they believed that was the only way God would choose to save this nation, because they had the wrong idea about God and how He would respond to the corruption going on, or even because they thought they knew better than God about how to deal with His own creation. Some have been releasing fear in the body of Christ, and what they believe is godly judgment, over anyone who mentions praying for the other guy, or upon anyone who dares say this was part of God’s plan. They didn’t get what they wanted, and the “seers” have met with disgrace (Micah 3:7). So many of them have had to attend “PPP,” the prophetic purification process. Where once they have given completely accurate words, somewhere along the line, they made a wrong turn, and they’ve had to back track and see where they went wrong. A humbling has occurred, and they’ve had to go before the people and publicly apologize for getting it wrong. I for one say thank you to all those who have chosen the path of humility and who have acknowledged they got it wrong.

It’s 2 months into the new year, and I still see a lot of prophets who are angry at what happened. They viewed Trump as their savior, and as the only way to make it out of the trouble our nation is in, quickly, in a relatively short period of time, without having to go through much of anything. A short-term fight was appealing, as was the ability to go back to the way things were, but that’s not what happened. God decided it was time to deal with His house. 1 Peter 4:16-17 says,

“Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”

Judgment begins with the house of God, but I believe many have been so “harvest” focused, they have failed to embrace what God is doing within His own home.

I believe much of the problem has been that the body of Christ has only been looking for the unbelievers to change, and we have failed to examine our own hearts and renounce all our wicked ways. We love to quote 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says,

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land,”

but I don’t believe we really understand what it means to humble ourselves, and to turn from our wicked ways. The Scripture also says, “my people,” not those who do not belong to the Lord. It is our job to make an accurate assessment of ourselves; it’s our job to thoroughly examine our own hearts, and we must be honest with ourselves. So many times, we make excuses for why we act the way we do, or why we think the way we do, but it’s important for us to recognize that humbling ourselves and turning from the things in our lives that are ungodly, are more than just renouncing obvious sins (such as drunkenness, sexual immorality, stealing, etc.). It’s recognizing bad attitudes that set themselves up against God. It’s recognizing faulty systems of thinking and partnering with Holy Spirit to change them. It’s recognizing we are in need of deliverance and that there are foul spirits at work that we need to come out of agreement with. 

Judgment begins in the house of the Lord and we are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). If we’re not right, how are we going to properly reach the unbelievers? If our light is dimmed by the darkness we’re allowing in, and wallowing in, how are they going to clearly see the light in order to be drawn in?

To wrap this up, as prophets and Christ followers, we’re not always going to get what we want. God is not always going to do things according to our plans. His plans and purposes are higher than ours as we see in Isaiah 55:8-9.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.  

When things don’t go our way, we don’t respond as bratty children and declare war on the rest of the family, responding to them in anger. God doesn’t make mistakes – we do. Let’s make a point of spending more time in the presence of God, and asking Holy Spirit to reveal the deep things within our souls that we need to deal with. Ask Him to shine His light in all the dark rooms, and in all the dark corners of our souls.

Father God,

I ask today for everyone who reads this, that your Spirit will go forth and shine your light in every dark area of their lives. Illuminate the dark corners, and let nothing that is hidden remain hidden, but let it be revealed, and expelled from their lives. I ask Holy Spirit, that in every area where the darkness has been removed, that you will fill those areas with Truth. Enable them also to trust you, for your thoughts and your plans are good; there is no darkness found within them. Let us be a shining light for you in the midst of this world, and let the people be drawn unto you.

In Jesus’s Name we pray.

Amen.