Context and Understanding in New Testament Prophecy
By: Ron Martin
One of the things I love about prophecy is its ability to impart context and understanding into our lives. During the May 2015 TWC Q&A session with Graham a fellow warrior received a prophetic word for me. The word said that in 18 months I would experience a significant 180-degree shift into my ministry. Not knowing this warrior very well, and wanting to test the word, I decided to set this rather large word on the shelf.
Returning home from the conference I settled back into running the business I started in 2010. Time had passed and it was now late 2016. 2016 was year of profound favor in the growth of my business. Yet, the 18th month had arrived and during a 2-week span within that 18th month my business experienced a complete 180-degree shift just as Lynn had written. Clients I had successfully serviced for nearly 7 years simultaneously decided to hire internal staffing to take over the projects I had championed for them.
Normally, a business owner experiencing this kind of shift would go into panic mode. Yet, as I re-read the word Lynn had spoken over me I realized that God, in his majestic kindness, had given me this word so I would know that His intentionality was at work…not the enemy’s destruction. God used Lynn’s word to give me a context for what was happening and that context allowed me to respond to that season with understanding.
I’ve learned that context comes to us in several ways when; 1) we receive a prophetic word, or; 2) we use our God-given gift to discern the God-seasons within which we are living. (see Luke 12:54-56).
Context is a powerful tool in the hands of a believer and is defined as “the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed.” This word gave me a context for the massive 180-degree shift in my business during that 18th month. The word provided a context that empowered me to make choices based in understanding rather than in ignorance. Said another way, context releases understanding and understanding allows us to make informed decisions resulting in a more gracious walk through this life. The prophetic word I received allowed me to step into faith-and-trust because God saw fit to kindly show me what was coming so I could respond to this season with wisdom and understanding.
The prophetic is such a powerful gift that has great potential to provide context and understanding for the God-seasons of our own lives and the lives of others. I’m still walking out the word spoken over me and I thank God for His kindness to give me a heads-up so I could navigate this massive season of change with a peace that surpasses understanding.
– Ron
