Spiritual gifts

It's interesting you should mention timing. I've been discussing some words that God gave a sister of mine. At the time they were given, we interpreted them to be taken in a certain way, only to realize recently that they were actually time released, and that God never intended to release their true meaning until the circumstances were right. I suppose word of wisdom works on the same principle. In fact! The Spirit is bringing back to my remembrance now that this same sister has often mentioned not being able to give certain words to people yet, even though she knows it is true. But until they are ready to hear it it will only do them harm.
Hi Hidden in Him, yes, timing is so important.
 
After discussing this with each of you all week crazy things have been happening to me. Not crazy as in crazy, but out of the ordinary for me. People have been coming to me for encouragement and or prayer. As I speak to them it's as if I am saying exactly what they need to hear. It's weird. It's like I just know what to say to them at the time.

Then I keep hearing words of encouragement for me through people, others, you guys, etc. for me spiritually, which are confirmations back to me.

I really feel now in the spirit it's time for me to start praying that God will open my eyes spiritually. The world is a spiritual world whether we realize it or not. The world was created by God and there are spiritually things all around us that we cannot see. I am not asking to see Angels / demons, etc. I am saying I believe I am being directed by the HS to start seeking to see with my spiritual eyes. Does this make sense? Any words of advice in this area?

Some days I feel I am starting to go crazy because I just don't feel the same anymore. I know we are not to trust our feelings because they can always lead us astray. I seriously feel I am on the edge of something great and exciting and life changing for me spiritually. Yet, I wonder... am I making this up? Am I crazy? Does this truly exist? Maybe that's just the enemy of this world distracting me and trying to get me to not get my breakthrough that I have been seeking for so long. It's right there.. I feel I can almost reach out and touch it.

Where do I go from here?
 
I seriously feel I am on the edge of something great and exciting and life changing for me spiritually. Yet, I wonder... am I making this up? Am I crazy? Does this truly exist? Maybe that's just the enemy of this world distracting me and trying to get me to not get my breakthrough that I have been seeking for so long. It's right there.. I feel I can almost reach out and touch it.

You will start to feel less and less crazy the more you step out and follow His lead more and more. Don't get nervous, or feel you have to "perform" in any way. Just stay in prayer until you start getting increasing confirmations like you are now. Don't wait for them to happen. PRAY for them to happen. Eventually you will start to know His voice so well that you become less and less nervous, and gain experience in following His leading and witnessing Him increasingly use you to His glory.
 
I am agreeing with Hidden in Him that the best course of action is to spend time with the Lord in prayer. This way you will know His guidance and be certain of what He wants of you. I think it is important to try and stay as calm as possible, and if you can, to be quietly expectant but emotionally as neutral as possible. When you feel overwhelmed by anxiety or excitement, stop and pray for calmness and clarity so that the Lord's voice will be heard. I have been in situations where I could clearly see that the Lord was doing great and wonderful things for me, but as events unfolded I found myself getting more emotional and excited. I had to make myself stop, pray, and be calm, and because of this God was able to do His work more easily for me. In the end I received an incredible blessing - one that was life changing. The whole experience, however taught me to make sure to stay grounded in God, and not be pushed this way and that by my emotions.
 
Based on the above I thought I would share a couple of similar items which have happened in my life.

I will try to keep this short but that's not my forte.

Should it be unspoken

Years ago, I was the youth minister for our Church. On a particular Wednesday night the Spirit came over me to talk to my Youth group about Sex. I had never discussed this with our leadership or any of our parents. I was scared out of my mind to be doing this unannounced; made worse by the fact that the woman who usually helped me with the youth was not there that particular Wednesday.

I prayed beforehand, delayed start of class in the hopes my helper would show or something would bring me to my senses. I remained convicted that I needed to have this discussion with these kids and it needed to happen now. I threw out my lesson plan and set loose on this taboo topic. This is the one and only time (outside of prayer) that I ever remember this group being fully silent. When I finished up it was obvious they weren't just being quiet, not a single person was moving; it was as if they had collectively held their breathe.

With the feeling that came over me beforehand and the reaction I received in sharing, I knew this was Spirit led; I just don't have that affect on people.

Dream/Vision


I won't go into the details because it is a sensitive story for someone at my Church. The short of it was that I was having dreams, both sleeping and while I was a awake. They were very specific dreams about someone who was seeking guidance from leadership in the Church. Where I finally realized it was a vision and not just some dream was that in the dreams the topic was always the same but there was a different teenager (that I knew) as the person seeking help. After praying about this I received the knowledge that the teenager was a teen in our youth group but not one that I knew.

I was very confused about why I was receiving these visions because if they were true the youth was already receiving help beyond what I could provide. I spoke with my neighbor (a fellow believer) and after some prayer he told me I was to be in intercessory prayer. I began to be in daily prayer for this unknown teen, eventually the visions went away and I felt that everything had been resolved.

God is good all the Time.

As time went on things became public in our Church about an event that had happened to one of the teen youth in our Church. I believe that this is the same teen I had been praying for from my visions. Years later I was pressed upon by the Spirit to tell this teen about my visions and my prayers. Based on the response this seemed to be something the teen (now no longer a teen) needed to hear about how God works for us often without us even knowing about it.

Her Story

When my wife and I had been married only a few years she told me about a little girl at her daycare who broke down crying and told her about her father being shot in front of her during a convenience store robbery. While I was heartbroken for this little girl and her family I didn't know anything else about her and never heard about this again.

Fast forward over a decade. I became plagued with visions, again waking and sleeping, of the shooting in question. I don't use the word plagued lightly, I couldn't get away from this vision in my head. I had no idea why this had come to mind after all these years and certainly had no idea why it was now attacking me in every quiet waking moment and while I slept. This went on for weeks and I finally prayed for guidance of what I was supposed to do with this. The answer I received was that I was supposed to tell this story and relate her father's sacrifice (which is how I saw it in the vision) to Christ's sacrifice for us.

I didn't know who I was supposed to share this with so I began formulating exactly how I was going to tell this story and present the lesson. I was planning on discussing with our youth pastor about presenting this to the youth group and then I was going to request to present to the entire Church. Before I approached our youth minister he approached my wife and I to be chaperone's on a youth retreat. I was still working on my story presentation so I still did not talk to anyone about sharing the story.

During the youth retreat the Spirit came over me and it was clear that I was supposed to share this story right then. I shared the story and it was far more powerful than I could have imagined.

After that, the visions went away and I now longer felt the drive to share. I know someone there that night, needed to hear those words.

Summary

You never know when God will use you. We should do our best to be open to the spirt at all times but based on my experiences I would say that God uses us whether we are ready for it or not. At times when I feel like I am working against the spirit (or at least being obtuse) I remember the story of Jonah. He outright denied God's will for him and God wouldn't let him get away from his responsibility. If it is God's will that you do something very specific, he will make sure you do it. Keep yourself open to the Spirit and you will save yourself a lot of heartache.

HeIsOnFirst
 
You never know when God will use you. We should do our best to be open to the spirt at all times but based on my experiences I would say that God uses us whether we are ready for it or not. At times when I feel like I am working against the spirit (or at least being obtuse) I remember the story of Jonah. He outright denied God's will for him and God wouldn't let him get away from his responsibility. If it is God's will that you do something very specific, he will make sure you do it. Keep yourself open to the Spirit and you will save yourself a lot of heartache.
Good advice, thank you. :)
 
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