It doesn’t take much talent to catch a despised politician or someone we find disgusting in a moment of less than complimentary composure. In those moments a photo is snapped by an opportunist paparazzi to confirm our most base opinion about the person caught in a demeaning image. The photo sells, we repost it on social media, and our hearts remain unchanged. As a result, we become progressively more bitter and cynical and eventually lose our prophetic voice in culture.

God works within a different set of standards. In our most ugly moments, His love doesn’t capture our brokenness or a contorted facial image with an attached caption and broadcast it for all the world to see. He covers us with love. Yes, He exposes sin but He does it because He loves everyone, believer and non-believer alike. God’s exposure is not like ours. He does it for love, to redeem and restore. We do it to support our delusion that we are somehow better than the people we demean.

Many of you reading these words have a prophetic calling to speak the truth in love to your culture. If you have identified that gift in your life, the greatest prophetic skill you can acquire will not be given to you just because you went to a prophetic school or conference and took good notes. True prophetic impact does not happen because someone has developed a large following who listen to their voice and buy their products. The kind of prophecy that changes culture prophesies the heart of God, not the heart of man. That level of prophetic ministry is available to anyone willing to come before God with a heart of humility.

Our lives will have the most significant Kingdom impact when we sound and act differently than the mocking spirit of an unredeemed culture.  That lesser kingdom values the expression of bitterness, cynicism and gotcha imagery more than it does revealing the heart of God. Its all about God’s heart. That is the message of true prophecy. Choose to look past the ugly moments constantly being placed before your eyes. With that single choice will come a deeper revelation that will turn something ugly into a beautiful work of God.