Two Special Phases
How else can an individual or group miscarry vision? By not clearly distinguishing between the time of conception and the time of delivery. This is also one way discouragement sets in. It is easy for us to conclude that the word we receive, whether through prophecy, prayer or divine revelation is about delivery. Something new is about to come forth and we are ready and expectant to receive it. In the excitement, it is just as easy to forget that the word needs first to be conceived and incubated so that it can produce its full potential and bear the fruit that remains. One can overlook the fact that though they live in the natural, revelation is not something to be handled naturally. It has to be handled spiritually.
These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. (1 Corinthians 2:13)
It is not enough that revelation be imparted in a spiritual way, using spiritual means. It must also be received in the same manner it was given for it to be effective and to change lives. If the promise concerns a certain breakthrough in my life, I must never see myself as a passive spectator. To the contrary, I am an active participator in that breakthrough. The revelation we have may be one of conception but not necessarily of delivery. For instance, we may have received a calling, but have we yet been commissioned?
Frustration comes when we fail to distinguish between conception and delivery, because we begin to question, “Why is it then, that the movement of my life is in a direction and pace removed from the prophetic word which I received?” Not every revelation comes with an instant manifestation in the realm of the natural. This is why we need both faith and patience in order to inherit the promises (Hebrews 10:36). Conception requires faith. Delivery requires patience.
There are a few biblical examples that could help illustrate this.
So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. (Ezekiel 37:7-8)
Ezekiel 37 describes a time when the prophet of God was taken up by the Spirit and was set in a valley of dry bones. Scriptures declare that the bones were very many and very dry. The Lord then directed him to prophesy life into this hopeless situation. Though the prophet prophesied as he was commanded, there was only a rattling and a shaking as the bones came together, but there was no life in them. He had to prophesy again, for the process to be complete. Finally, where there previously had been countless dry bones, there now arose a mighty army.
Likewise, in 1 Kings 18:41-42, we read the following account:
Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” so Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees.
Elijah released a word of conception to Ahab concerning the coming of rain to end a three and half year period of acute drought. But as Ahab made his way back to the palace to throw a party and feast, the prophet of God went up to the mountain and took the position of a mother about to engage the delivery process. He had insight into the laws of birthing. He knew that the revelation he had disclosed was from God. However, there was a spiritual procedure to be followed in order to ensure that what had been conceived crossed over into manifestation.
The incubation period here was like a spiritual “pre-natal” phase that lasted through the seven trips his servant made. And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea” so he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.” Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand coming out of the sea!” So he said,” Go up, say to Ahab, 'Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.'” (1 Kings 18:43-44)
You can already see the pattern here. May we become men and women who know how to handle revealed information until it is finally experienced in the tangible realm.
The Battle for Delivery
We now return to King Hezekiah's situation, following up on the trend of events from Isaiah 37:6,
And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.’”
Notice the words of this revelation that the prophet of God received. They were definite and specific. God had committed Himself to intervene in the situation at hand. The sequence is as follows.
1. The enemy king would hear a rumour.
2. He would return to his own land.
3. He would perish there.
After these words, let us now see how the events unfolded.
Then the Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish. And the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “He has come out to make war with you.” So when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, “Do not let the God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”
“Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? Where is the king of Hanmath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivah?” (Isaiah 37:8-13)
The first and second parts of the prophetic revelation were fulfilled exactly as it had been disclosed. The king did hear a rumour and returned to his own land during which time there was some measure of relief for Samaria. However, this did not last long. In fact, instead of the second part of the revelation coming to pass, the situation took on a new, peculiar twist and things quickly worsened.
First, the enemy confirmed his firm resolve to conquer the city and take over his kingdom. Hezekiah received a chilling reminder of the many lands that had been conquered by the brutal Assyrian forces despite their attempts at resistance. This was not empty egoistic, military boasting. It was backed by a proven track record of barbaric torture and destruction. The Assyrians were known and feared for their military tactics and the horrifying means they went about annihilating their foes. If the walls of Samaria were penetrated by this horde, Hezekiah knew exactly what was coming.
Today, we may not be staring at a situation of such deadly peril in the face. However, our struggle may be similar in the sense that we have been taunted from every side by an enemy bent of depriving us of our spiritual inheritance and legal ground as priests and kings. One way the enemy does this is by using images from a marred past to discourage the individual to the point of intimidation, such that they are unable to confidently and fully move into the destiny that has been revealed for their lives. Negative voices and thoughts within combine with circumstances without to compete with the direction they have received and they may find themselves on the verge of giving up.
With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbour; but through knowledge the righteous will be delivered. (Proverbs 11:9)
There is a deliverance that comes through the knowledge of the truth. Being unaware of spiritual operations is what often leads into captivity. Discouragement can be defeated by allowing the light of truth to dispel the clouds of ignorance in our lives. The first step out of this quagmire is a recovery of true spiritual understanding (See Isaiah 5:13). Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. There is a hearing that pushes you toward conceiving and there is a hearing that positions you to deliver. Hence it is not enough just to hear. As Jesus taught, we need to take heed how we hear.
