The Self Sabotaging Scribe: Part I & II

Introduction

As a prophetic scribe, the Lord is always downloading nuggets of revelation into your heart. Your role in this process is to write out those jewels and await the appointed time to release them. In Matthew 13:52, the scripture that serves as the foundation for understanding The Scribal Anointing, the bible says that a scribe will pull out old and new treasures in the spiritual realm.

Truly, that kind of revelation is immeasurable. Many times we think that the Word of God is hidden from us, but it isn't. We can access whatever we desire to access simply by tapping into our omniscient Father. He desires to reveal himself to us. While we are not writing scripture, we are writing from the "revelation" in the scripture. This is why we can read and re-read the same scripture over and over again and obtain a new understanding each time.

If YOU are a prophetic scribe, then you WILL WRITE for others. In truth, everything we do in the Kingdom is for others just like everything Jesus did was not for himself, but for us. It may start out as something for you, but I guarantee that the good fruit produced will feed others in ways we cannot imagine.

It is for this reason that I write to you concerning a "raging" problem among scribes called "self-sabotage."

Part I: Self Sabotage

If this spirit isn't exposed and its stronghold broken, many scribes will leave this earth without fulfilling their purpose. It's a sad thing to carry a prophetic word from the Lord in your heart concerning your destiny; but never seeing it fulfilled. I used to suffer from this stronghold – but once I got to the root I overcame it by FORCING myself to obey God and resisting the enemy of my soul. The root of self-sabotage in my life was strong feelings of unworthiness and fear. So in overcoming them, I had to be delivered of those ungodly beliefs hiding out in my heart.

The Lord doesn't want His people to die with unfulfilled dreams inside them. He doesn't want us to dwell on this earth never having tasted His goodness and His faithfulness in all the areas of our lives. He wants us to walk out those dreams with passion and power. Was it not so He would never have placed them in your heart. If He didn't think you could do it, He would never have placed the task in your hand.

We must remember that even if man does not believe in us (mothers, spouses, friends, loved ones, etc.), that God does. We must remember that there is a great cloud of witnesses in heaven standing with angels who know that you are already victorious.

Philippians 1:6 says, "For I am convinced that he who began a good work in you will see it completed until the day Jesus Christ returns."

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the thoughts and the plans that I have for you, to give you a hope and a future."

SELF SABOTAGE (SPIRITUAL): The deliberate act of destroying or disrupting the plans and purposes that the Lord has for your life; or any act that an individual commits against himself that hampers, hurts or destroys the plans of God in, through and for their lives.

Below are some examples of strongholds that are activated in the lives of people who walk in self-sabotage. At one point in my life, I was the extreme of all of these. I was confronted one day by a sister in the Lord who literally "tore me up" with the truth. My feels were HURT. I was angry, but I went to God anyway. I didn't speak to her for a while until the Lord told me himself that EVERY WORD of correction she gave me was the truth. He confirmed another statement this sister in the Lord made to me. He said clearly, "These strongholds will destroy the plans and purposes that I have for you if you do not sweep them out."

Of course they didn't all go at once, but I asked the Holy Spirit to help me with the root. Once the root was dug up and severed, I was able to address the associated strongholds. I also went back to my sister in the Lord and thanked her for the wakeup call. Without being "dealt with" the way she did, I could easily have destroyed Voices of Christ single handedly. So as you read this, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal areas of self sabotage in your own life. 

Part II: Cyclic Patterns and Behaviors of Self Sabotage

Self Sabotage is a vicious cycle. When a person is in it, they continuously repeat bad habits or learned behaviors that are self destructive to them. Obvious behaviors that cause self sabotage in the natural could be the continuous practice of poor spending habits; eating all the wrong foods after receiving a diagnosis of diabetes; or something as extreme as showing up late for work every day knowing that you have already been warned or written up for tardiness. In other words, you are walking out behaviors that will result in consequences that will negatively affect your life. In some instances, the consequences can be devastating.

Listed below are some behavior cycles that can significantly affect the ministry of a scribe. Our focus is on those strongholds that hinder the birthing or completion of writing projects. Most of the time, I give tons of scriptures with these articles. This time, however, I want to challenge you to seek out and find scriptures and biblical situations addressing these strongholds. Many of them can be found in Proverbs.

The Self Sabotaging Scribe Can Operate In:

• Procrastination: Is the act of constantly postponing or putting off opportunities to write, complete areas of your writing, or to otherwise focus on what the Holy Spirit is constantly bringing to your remembrance. If the Lord is calling you to write, you will receive constant reminders, nudges and pulls in your spirit to do so. These are "beckoning" or calls to come into the presence of the Lord because our Father wants to speak with you. Many people will dismiss these nudges with a promise to "do it tomorrow." While the Father is patient, there will come a time when the assignment will be passed to someone else who will answer the call.
   
• Excuse Making: This is the pattern of consistently coming up with reasons or explanations concerning why you cannot do something or why something has not been completed and/or started. In most cases, it's a different reason every time and often, people will blame the Lord for the project "shift" or say that they just didn't have time. The root here is usually selfishness and willfulness, wanting to do it "my way" and when "I feel like it." Sadly, they fail to understand that they are doing this for the Lord and for His Kingdom, and that this assignment is more important the other. I've learned that when I take care of God's business, my stuff automatically works itself out.
  
  
• Lack of Focus: The inability to stay on task. When working on an assignment from the Lord, many become easily distracted by "other" things and are unable to devote any significant amount of time to their projects without being "interrupted." I was in a meeting with someone recently. The meeting was planned a month or more earlier. However, they picked up their cell phone four times during our 1-hour meeting to take a call. When a person is focused, they use their time wisely and give full attention to the project at hand or in this case with the person they are meeting. When we are talking to the Lord, we have His complete attention. He deserves at least that much from us when He calls us into a work for Him.
  
  
• Slothfulness: This is just another word for being lazy. A slothful person lacks passion and motivation for their writing projects. They tend to be jazzed up about the "idea" of the project – but lacks follow through. Projects often tend to sit ignored or forgotten.
  
  
• Denial: This is a biggie. It is the inability to inwardly see that "you" are the problem – and not the people around you. It is a rejection of reality and truth concerning one's own self. It is the failure to fully recognize and acknowledge that self-sabotage is taking place. Often pride, self-will, rebellion and disobedience is at the root. (Watch out for this one! It has many associated strongholds.)
  
  
• Negative Thought Patterns/Figures of Speech: This one is devastating. A scribe will talk him or herself out of their own project simply with their thought processes, mouths and views of themselves. People suffering from this stronghold often need a great deal of encouragement due to ungodly beliefs rooted in their hearts. They tend to speak negatively of themselves -- belittling their own knowledge, skills, and possibility of success. They even settle for anything. This type of scribe will always have an "I think the worst" type of mentality. For everything good that is presented, they automatically counter with a negative thought process. The root here is generally rejection, comparison and feelings of unworthiness.
  
  
• Poor Planning/Time Management: Failure to make time for the project. Deluded by a "busy" smoke screen that has been specifically designed to block the project. People who overly tax themselves may also suffer from forgetfulness.
  
  
• Fear: An overwhelming feeling of anxiety or apprehension caused by a lack of confidence, a lack of support in the natural, the possibility of competition or as a result the opposition. This is also an area where scribes are afraid of taking risks by stepping out on faith. Other associated strongholds could include spirit of suspicion, inability to trust others, or thoughts of conspiracy. Fear can also lead a scribe into a place of desperation – especially in the publishing process. (I may come back to this particular topic later).

As a result of these behaviors -- many of which are extreme, many of the TREASURES OF THE KINGDOM are lost, delayed or forgotten. The Father will not give up on us, but if he wants something done and we refuse to do it... he will find a willing vessel to carry that task forth. Don't give up one of the keys to your destiny.

Had I not broken the ROOT of these strongholds off of my life, the Lord would not have been able to trust me with the other books I am in the midst of writing. It is imperative that the scribe wake-up from His sleep to be used by God. Have you ever met a "scribe" who didn't write?

Have you ever met a medical doctor who did not practice or teach medicine on ANY LEVEL? What if Jesus called himself a savior but then decided He wasn't going to save anyone? It it is illogical --- in the natural and in the spirit. In part three, we will discuss uprooting sabotage from the life of a scribe.