(This is an excerpt from Letter 18 of Letters to the pioneers found at www.letterstothepioneers.com)
Do you believe you are a voice but are just wired differently?
Maybe like me you have struggled in your journey to find where you fit when are a little unconventional?
Just like John the Baptist, you are a bit of an oddball. Maybe your calling and passion have branded you as socially awkward and strange because it bursts out of you involuntarily.
But no, you aren’t strange, you are just wired authentically.
You don’t have the filter they do. You don’t have the assistant screening your words before you speak them or cutting out what could offend.
You aren’t politically correct. Not that you want to upset anyone, but your spirit connects to your mouth in a way that isn’t acceptable in the world of proper - aristocratic prophetic ministry.
So how do you survive in a hyper-critical world where people are always sizing you up, judging what you said, judging what you didn’t say, and assuming they know your heart?
How do you begin to steward your voice and maintain being a voice without being cut down and thrown out in the trash in your first week?
How do you stay true to what God is telling you to speak without compromising, cutting yourself down to fit, or suppressing yourself to walk the road of least resistance?
How do you be a wild voice in this time of history?
How do you last the distance?
While far from conclusive, here are a few practical things God has taught me over the years that will hopefully help you keep being the unique “You” in this hour;
YOU HAVE ONE ASSIGNMENT.
John's assignment was simple. He cleared the way for Jesus. If you don’t know your message or assignment, ask God for clarity and begin. Too many voices get stuck in the hesitation stage when they just need to begin. Don’t take on too many functions. Just speak what He gives you and let Him do the rest.
START WITH WHAT YOU GOT.
The other thing that stops voices from consistently speaking is feeling like they don’t have what it takes. “I don’t know how to get out the words right. I don’t know how to say it like them. Don’t let your lack of skillset stop you from obeying God. He will always increase your gifts as you step out. This leads me to the next one.
YOU ARE A ONE OF A KIND.
You have to quit comparing yourself to others on social media. I’ve done it and it’s sabotage to your authentic flavor and message. Your anointing is greatest when you are true to how God designed you even if it is strange or unique. Trust the way God wired you and refuse to become like everyone else to be liked or to get followers. Just be you and entrust that to God.
LET GOD GET YOUR MESSAGE OUT.
Stewarding your voice effectively is having to choose not to hide it, but it doesn’t mean you have to fall into the trap of thinking you need to be a marketer. Let God get your message out. You don’t have to pay for ads or try network or rub shoulders to get your message out. Just be faithful to release it and He will surprise you with where He takes it. I have seen far too many people pay and hustle their way into notoriety God didn’t endorse and it’s a hard job to upkeep the doors you pushed down.
GET OVER YOURSELF.
Being a voice is not about you nor is it attached to your reputation. Of course, people don’t see it that way but you have to learn to see it as God's voice through you. When you do that it helps you speak what He gives you with greater confidence because it’s NOT YOU. So be HIS VOICE in the earth knowing He backs you.
LIVE IN THE SECRET PLACE
Far too many emerging voices start off right. Their message erupts from their wilderness season and soon gains traction but instead of maintaining their lifestyle of intimacy they begin to shift into a lifestyle of being around other prophets and leaders instead of staying in the posture that launched them. Stay in the secret place so you don’t run dry and burn out.
HUNGER FOR FRESH MANNA.
While there is nothing wrong with keeping your message consistent, I do believe God wants us to build upon what we receive. Encounters and visitation lead us lot deeper revelation of what we received earlier. Like another layer of insight and anointing, fresh manna will keep you fresh and your oil burning. Don’t be satisfied with the old and don’t rely on old encounters til you run out of juice. Lean in for the fresh.
KEEP YOUR VOICE HONEST & PURE
People ask me “How much of the revelation you receive from God do you release?” I would say 5 percent. Revelation is sacred and birthed out of intimacy. To share everything would be violating my relationship with God - or PROSTITUTING the gift. You keep your voice honest and pure by increasing your ability to discern what is for the masses and what is for your history.
TRADE IN THE ORPHAN SPIRIT
I used to operate in a major orphan spirit in my teens and early twenties and it skewed my thinking. It made it impossible for me to work with others and be a voice for the Lord because everything He gave me was filtered through my Identity dysfunction. Many emerging voices wrestle with this and it leads them into a parallel universe of the calling God has for them. It’s a thief and robber. It will cause you to post for likes and share words for affirmation. It will cause you to compete and grab for moments in the spotlight. To be a healthy voice you need to be Fathered into a healthy identity. Seek this more than being heard. Seek this more than releasing your sound so that when you do, it will be pure and powerful to those who hear it.
DON’T CAST YOUR PEARLS
A big lesson I wish I learned early on is that not everyone is for you and your mission. Many only want to get close to you so that they can steal from the fresh flow coming out of you! I remember being so excited when God started speaking through me that I wanted to tell everyone my deepest thoughts and weightiest revelations. I wanted to share all my dreams, now words fresh off the printing press of heaven, and projects and ideas, and what happened? People stole them, used them, and trampled over them. Which leads me to…
KNOW YOUR COMPANY
Do you know who labors amongst you? Do you know their heart and motives? I don’t need to elaborate on this one. I have almost thrown in the towel from not paying attention to the red flags that led me to multiple betrayals, slander seasons, and hijacks of my calling. If there is something to pray and fast on it’s to know who your close circle and company are meant to be and who they aren’t.
ALIGNMENTS ARE CONTRACTS
Recently I had a few amazing groups contact me wanting to lock arms and run together. The sentiment is humbling and I know their hearts were probably pure in their desire to run with us but what I have learned over the years is that alignments are contracts. I have entered into covenant and alignments God never asked me to and it’s always shut down my voice for long periods or diluted it. Supporting other movements is kingdom but before you give your word or vow about anything deeper take it into a season of prayer and fasting.
A SAUL WILL ALWAYS BE WAITING…
When you begin stepping out as a voice I guarantee you that this will happen - a Saul will present themselves. Who is this Saul? A person is normally a leader or a more seasoned voice that sees what is on your life and either doesn’t want you to exceed their level of success or a person who wants to use you to prop up their waning ministry. It happens like clockwork and it’s a deadly trap of flattery and ego-stroking to those new to the game. And when you have been a Lone Ranger for so long you tend to see this sudden interest as favor and hand over the keys to them all too quickly. Please beware! Protect and guard your anointing. Don’t appoint people whom you don’t know or God has not spoken to you about.
LONE RANGER SEASONS DON’T MAKE YOU ILLEGITIMATE
Not long ago I had a well-known pastor drag someone under the bus in front of me. He said these pastors were illegitimate because they had no covering from a major church or network. As he spoke I saw into his heart and saw the gaping fear of losing territory. He didn’t like the favor they were getting and had to use the only card he had - to discredit this emerging ministry in a need to further validate his own. Let me say this clearly - Lone Ranger seasons are ordained by God. He uses them to purify and heal us before he launches us in a public way. Don’t see them as a bad thing like many do. Covering has become an idol and way of bullying those who are carrying unique messages that would never be approved by the stuck-up clergy of the religious club. If you are Lone Ranger, know that it’s a season God has you in but keep your heart ready for God to bring you to the right people at the right time instead of the wrong people just to appease their need for you to be legit.
DON’T PAY ATTENTION TO THE PROPHETIC POLICE
Another trap many fall into is listening to the prophetic police. I have spent so many years trying to breathe life and courage back into voices who have been through so much wounding from the mainstream only to see the rise of pharisaical spirit coming from leaders who should know better. They write posts essentially telling the emerging voices to shut up because they don’t know what they are doing. Does a child learn to walk in a day? Did you ride your bike perfectly the first time you rode it? Did the disciples become seasoned overnight? Please disregard the condemnation of these voices who should be stepping into their shoes as fathers/mothers but have failed to do so and have deviated from their calling. No matter what they say, be a voice anyway and let the Father's words over you be the only voice you hear.
YOU WILL ENCOUNTER JEZEBEL
I don’t want to beat around the bush. You will hit warfare. Regularly. You will have days that are funky and swirly and feel like you are wading through a thick marshland of confusion. Yes, you will face witchcraft, chatter, and chins wagging to pull you down. But the greatest attack will come from the Jezebel spirit. She hates your voice and will try to discredit you and make you feel stupid for speaking at all. She will make you wanna run and give up. And she will send her loyal assassins in to do her bidding. Just like the enemy will position a Saul to bring you into false covenant, she will send one of her representatives in to try to be your best friend and cheer squad but will be positioned there to steal your voice. Don’t fall for her traps!
STAY IN YOUR LANE
There are days you will wake up to the news of chaotic world events, and then the inevitable tsunami of prophetic voices suddenly prophesying, virtue signaling, or reminding of you what they said about it years ago. That’s fine for them, but what If God didn’t tell you about it? What do you do if the pressure to speak up is mounting but God has something else on your radar? Don’t fall to the pressure to say something simply to appease people or be politically correct. Stay in your lane. If it’s not in your lane, don’t enter the fight. You can’t be everything to everyone. You have to stay within the grace and bounds of your anointing.
YOU ARE NOT A VENDING MACHINE
Hear me say this - you are no one’s personal prophet. The moment someone says that you can be guaranteed that they are saying “Can you hear God for me because i dont invest in my relationship enough to hear Him for myself” The moment you agree to that, you can be assured that you will be called upon by when they need something from God, but instead they will demand it from you. You are nor their vending machine. You are not a psychic. Refuse to enable people who aren't willing to go after God for themselves. Just so you know my heart, I’m not condemning people who are after a prophetic word. I get dozens of these requests daily from people who only know a kingdom where they are disempowered from hearing God for themselves. But YOU are not their answer unless God instructs you to.
YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO BREAK NEW GROUND
You weren’t given your calling to maintain your post but to extend the borders of the kingdom with it. One of the greatest traps many voices fall into is playing it safe. Trying to uphold an image or reputation. Like I said earlier. This is about you. You are a dead man. Christ Jesus now lives in you. Please don’t play it safe. Be bold. Break new ground. You have been permitted to carve new paths and write new language for the hour. You have been permitted to confront the oil and unveil the new, blow away the dross of the past era, and lead the church into something fresh.
CHARACTER OVER GIFTING
I prayed years ago “Lord never let my anointing or gifting grow bigger than my character” and I would like to think He honored that. My leash has been short and He deals with me regularly. Too many voices fall into the trap of stopping the Lord developing their character and it begins to show. Don’t ever leave the potter's hands because it’s the safest place to be.
STAY A NOVICE
Pioneers, stay a novice. This means staying humble and small in your own eyes. Don’t fall into the trap of feeling invincible because you have tasted ten minutes of favor. Popularity is poison to many voices but there is a way to have influence while staying small and teachable. I’ve noticed that those who see God move upon them long-term are those who don’t get lost in the fame and fortune of their success. They also don’t parade themselves or their revelation like it’s the missing link of humanity. Stay a novice.
LOVE JESUS MORE THAN MINISTRY
Lastly, don’t take yourself too seriously. Don’t lose yourself in your mission and forget to be a person with needs, a prosperous soul, a healthy marriage and family. Pour more time and focus there than you do pouring out. Above all, love Jesus. Don’t let ministry become your mistress or idol. Last the distance by stewarding this well. Be normal. Be real. Have hobbies. Laugh. Live with adventure. Be creative. Live for the audience of one.
Nate