As we wait for the fulfillment of a prophetic word, we should never appear like someone following a carrot-dangling-on-a-stick, continually pushing a word forward into the future past its initial date of promise in hopes something will take place. Once a prophetic word is declared, we need to shift our attention away from the word to the One who alone has the ability to fulfill the promise contained in the word.
If the carrot-on-the-stick way of thinking persists and is not broken, two kinds of jeopardy will appear. One jeopardy can cause a prophet to compromise their integrity trying to keep a word and their reputation afloat through ongoing acts of self-promotion or a never-ending stream of updates and revisions. There are times when displaying our faith in silence and trusting the Lord is our strongest prophetic act. The other jeopardy is disillusionment for those who trusted a prophet, but as they wait, they see the prophet performing the equivalent of religious cheerleading using emotion and human energy to mask the fear of delay.
We can trust God to perform what He promised if what we prophesied is truly a word from the Lord. Between the moment of declaration and the fulfillment of a word is where God builds our character and establishes a witness of our prophetic credibility.
Thank you for that. I have used the same exact words in times when I am on a downer. Carrot on a stick. Time to go back to just trusting in the Lord? This is regarding Scripture I prophesy over myself. I’ll mull over this and break this carrot on a stick cycle.