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Personal Prophesies, Bitterness, and Dismay

Personal Prophesies, Bitterness, and Dismay

Last updated on: September 12, 2026 at 7:44 am by Frank Viola

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Personal Prophesies, Bitterness, and Dismay 2026-08-22T07:47:18-04:00 Frank Viola

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“Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it?”

~ Lamentation 3:37

In the past I wrote an article called Prophetic Nonsense.

A brief preface for those who are new to my work: I strongly believe in the prophetic function operating today. But what goes by “prophetic” is often not even in the same neighborhood, let alone the same block.

Today, I would like to address a pregnant elephant that many have shut their eyes to.

An innumerable number of Christians have shipwrecked their faith because they’ve received “words” – supposedly from God – about something that was supposed to happen in their lives.

And when those “prophetic words” didn’t come to pass, the situations blew up in their faces.

Some were so dismayed they still haven’t recovered.

Others handed Jesus divorce papers, becoming bitter at God and His people.

(When bitterness sets in, it’s game over.)

If you or someone you know has experienced this sort of thing, let me offer a few guiding words.

I’ll put them in a bulleted list in classic Frankie V. style.

Each point works with the others, so you’ll want to read the entire list.

1) It’s a colossal mistake to ever act on a “prophetic word” given to you by someone else. Such words are designed to confirm what God has revealed to you personally through other means. This is why a true prophetic word will resonate with you internally.

2) The prophetic is only one way in which the Lord speaks to us. He also speaks through His written Word and through wisdom. I discuss this in a chapter about the three-fold speaking of God in Revise Us Again, chapter 1. These three modes will never be in conflict with each other. (By the way, wisdom is not the same as “common sense.”)

3) This one is huge: Even if you believe God has spoken to you about a certain event or happening, the Lord always calls us to let go of the outcome. So it’s not enough that you hang on to what you believe He’s promised. The act of letting go is critical. Monumental, even. (I expound this principle in detail in the new book Hang On, Let Go using biblical examples.) Those who haven’t had their own Gethsemane in this area usually end up crashing and burning.

4) Prophetic words are always to be evaluated, not just by you, but by others (1 Corinthians 14:29; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21). Especially those who are mature in the Lord. (Unfortunately, many Christians today can’t discern the mature from the immature.)

5) Even if God genuinely speaks to you, the task of interpreting what He says and the timing of it falls squarely on your shoulders. (Case in point: Jesus – the perfect communicator – was often misunderstood by His disciples. And that still happens today.) On this topic, Craig Keener rightly said, “the more emotionally involved we are personally in a decision, the harder it often is to think and hear clearly.”

6) When it comes to the promises of God, those which are sure and unmovable are found in the Scriptures. (I give many examples in Hang On, Let Go.) A prophetic word given by another person is NOT a promise of God unless it confirms what’s promised in Scripture and/or it turns out to be correct. For instance, all the prophetic words about COVID disappearing by Easter and Trump being reelected in 2020 turned out to be false. Those who put their trust in such “words,” elevating them to the status of divine promise, were devastated.

7) No prophetic word will ever conflict with Scripture. That includes the spirit of the Bible. That last sentence is important because prophetic words will often be too specific to violate any written Scripture. But false prophetic words will often violate the spirit of the Bible. Put another way, there are three holy elements that cannot be separated: Jesus, the Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit. They make up a three-fold holy braid. If one part of the braid gets separated, the whole rope unravels. But there is something that ties the rope and forms the braid. It’s the body of Christ. Not just your little group or denomination, but the whole body. (Since I’m a member of that body, this article and others like it are part of that tying.)

As a genuine Jesus follower, nothing should be able to rattle you. So if something like a failed “prophetic word” given to you by another mortal shakes your faith, then your foundation and motives for following the Lord ought to be reexamined.

I’m encouraged that many who have shipwrecked their faith (a metaphor that comes from 1 Timothy 1:19) – as well as those who are being scalded by life right now – have found the following three audios to be of tremendous help.

You can listen to them freely at PRACTICAL HELP IN YOUR CRISIS.

If you know anyone who is going through the wringer right now, consider sharing this page with them. It could save their lives, spiritual and otherwise.

If you want to comment on or share this article, go to the blog.

WANT TO GO DEEPER?

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