“Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well.” (I Timothy 1:18)

Isabel Allum, who is one of my mentors in prophetic ministry, once said (not an exact quote): “Whenever Ivan & I run into a negative situation, we go through all the prophetic words we have received to see what God had to say about it.”

When they found something that was relevant to the situation, they would read them out aloud and pray: “God, you made this promise to us through your prophets. We stand on your word and praise you for the victory.”

You could see how the Allums were putting into practice the words of wisdom that Paul gave to his spiritual son, Timothy. By “recalling the prophecy”, they were “fighting the battle well.”

They focused on what they were going to, not what they were going through.

The enemy of our souls would love to see us stay focused entirely on what we are going through. This way we will not be able to see where we are going to, according to God’s promises.

Our attitude becomes negative. We see no way out. We prophesy doom and gloom over ourselves. And we end up getting defeated.

But, Pastor Jeeva, what if I don’t have a prophetic word that addresses my situation?

Fear not! The Word of God is full of promises that cover the entire spectrum of circumstances anyone will ever face in this life.

Dealing with fear of any kind? “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1)

Feeling inadequate or weak? “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

Worrying about lack of something? “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

Coping with illness? “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.” (Matthew 8:17). “By His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

Get the picture?

As we focus on those promises, something shifts in our attitude. King David puts it this way in Psalm 27:13: “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.”

And we too will come to the conclusion that is stated by the apostle Paul in Romans 8:18: “I consider that our present sufferings (what we are going through)  are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us (what we are going to).”

In December 2010, as I was dealing with the loss of 30 pounds over 6 weeks and excruciating pain brought about by a polyp in my colon, the enemy would often whisper that he would take my life.

One of the weapons I used to fight this battle was a prophetic word given to me by my friend Drew Maxwell more than a year earlier. He saw me as an old man with white hair and declared that I would live to a ripe old age.

God in His mercy had given that word through Drew for such a time as this. I also stood on Psalm 91:15-16: “He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honour him.  With long life I will satisfy him.”

You can hear all about the miracle that followed by clicking here.

Take it from me, dear DWOD friend. Shifting your focus from what you’re going through to what you’re going to will make a world of difference to you as well.