Copyright 2015 Theresa Harvard Johnson
(This article is long, but well worth the read for the serious scribe. To get the most from this discussion I recommend reading the previous two articles, “The Scribal Incubation Period and Entering Your Scribal Incubation Period in this order.)
There are definitive, guaranteed rewards that will emerge from every authentic scribal incubation period. The rewards that I am sharing with you are not focused on project completion; but on your spiritual scribal maturity and personal growth. There are many prophetic scribes who complete numerous scribal projects; but never truly immerse themselves in the scribal process. That lack of deliberate, spiritual investment ultimately reveals itself in their lives.
In my previous posts on this subject, I have briefly mentioned the rewards of the scribal incubation period. In this blog, I want to be a bit more specific. It is my prayer that you will recognize some of these rewards in your own life; and decide to stay on the course of obedience for those that you do not recognize. Remember, God has no respecter of persons along this this journey. Personally, I have come to understand that “scribal incubation” is the key to becoming an expert scribe or a master in the midst of our unique Matthew 13:52 calling.
Acts 10:34 CJB, “Then Kefa (Peter) addressed them: I now understand that God does not play favorites, but that whoever fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him, no matter what people he belongs to.”
Below are a list of guaranteed rewards that come with your “scribal incubation period.” As I share them, please know that many of them are perpetual and will be experienced throughout your scribal growth and development in the Lord.
The rewards of your scribal incubation period are:
1. The reward of deeper relationship. Recognize that your scribal ministry is the vehicle in your life through which the Lord prefers to embrace intimacy with you. The more you engage this area of your life, the deeper your relationship will become. You will find yourself growing in covenant with him and longing even more for his word. He uses the incubation period to help you develop a thirst for him. (Ex. 9:16, Psalm 84:2, Matthew 5:6, Phil. 2:13)
2. The reward of a refined identity. For those called to the office of the scribe, Father uses your scribal ministry to give birth to or bring forth your identity in Him. In other words, the specific “book written about you in heaven” is opened and you will begin to walk out your unique design with extreme clarity, understanding and courage. He uses the incubation period as a refining fire. (Psalm 139:13-14, Jer. 29:11, Heb. 10:7, Psalm 40:7)
3. The reward of strengthening your message and voice in the Kingdom. As you incubate, your message and voice will mature, become defined and will ultimately “distinguished” itself in the midst of your specific environment. You will no longer be an echo but a piercing shofar. He uses the incubation period to separate the common in us from the uncommon in him. (Deut. 32:2, Acts 13:2, 1 Samuel 16:23, Phil. 4:13)
4. The reward of a continuous prophetic flow. As you incubate, you will enter seasons of continuous prophetic flow – uninterrupted streams of revelation knowledge that matures into wisdom in your life, for your life. You will experience less of what Babylon labels “writer’s block or a lack of creative direction.” In other words, spiritual constipation will not be your portion. Instead, you will know what it is to worship in His presence. He uses the incubation period to place you in a river of prophetic revelation, vision and navigation. (Isaiah 61:1, 1 Cor. 14:5, Heb. 4:12, 2 Tim. 4:2, Deut. 29:29)
5. The reward of knowing and easily identifying the Father’s voice. As you incubate – especially with the Word of God, your spiritual discernment will increase. The ministry of the scribe thrives on the WORD OF GOD! It is not separate from it. It is imperative that scribes READ & KNOW what is written in those 66 books. You will continuously grow in distinguishing between your voice (the soul speaking), the voice of a stranger (unfamiliar, confusing and ungodly doctrines), the voice of the adversary (lies and deceit), the voice of echoes (the repeating of information heard) and the voice of God (His word and its revelation). He uses the incubation period to help us earnestly know Him (not just of him), and to know ourselves (tendencies, weaknesses and strengths). (John 10:27; Heb. 5:14)
6. The reward of self-discipline. One of the most precious rewards of scribal incubation is that of self-discipline. You will receive the very strength of Christ to overcome many aspects of self-sabotage. Obedience in your call as a scribe will be your portion. I have to digress for a moment here. You see, I was the queen of self-sabotage and spiritual laziness. Entering into the chamber of the scribe when Father called me to incubate began the process of overcoming this diabolical stronghold. He uses the incubation to ensure that we complete what he has placed in our hands. (Rom. 13:14, 1 Cor. 9:24-27, Phil. 3:12-14, Heb. 5:14, 1 Peter 4:7)
7. The reward of faithfulness and loyalty. As we incubate, we begin learning endless lessons surrounding Father’s faithfulness and loyalty to us. We are also faced with the reality of our level of faithfulness and loyalty to Him. We find ourselves on a perpetual journey of living authentic lives in Christ in which we take on His fearless nature in regards to His Word. He uses incubation to ensure that we know inwardly what it means to be faithful to His will and way. He uses the incubation to prove his loyalty in our lives and to teach us how to be loyal to Him. (Deut. 7:9, Mat. 6:24, Heb. 10:23, Acts 4:19, 20:24)
8. The reward of unwavering love. As we incubate, we gain assurance of His unwavering love for us – combatting the lies of the enemy, and reinforcing the promise of the Gospel: Eternal Life. This truth, which is hammered into us like it was in the lives of the original apostles, breathes life into our shared purpose and destiny in Christ Jesus. There is great personal healing in this place, and deliverance from unhealthy thought processes. We begin to truly put on the mind of Christ here – which is why we must resist distractions that come to interrupt our scribal incubation periods. He uses the incubation period to reinforce the depth of His covenant with us and to immerse us in His love. (John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 13; Rom. 8:31-39)
9. The reward of “deep roots.” As you incubate, the spiritual roots of your scribal ministry will become deeply imbedded in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Babylon, meaning the world system, will lose its grip! In my own scribal journey, I didn’t realize this was happening until one day I had this unquenchable longing to be immersed in the reality of my faith. I had developed a strong distaste for compromise in my personal life and ministry. Psalm 1:1-3 describes deep roots this way: “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.”
Could I list more rewards? Sure. But these nine truths are what I believe are the most significant rewards hidden in the midst of our scribal ministries. Why? Because these truths can only be excavated in HIS PRESENCE and rewarded personally by God himself to you.
The Apostle Paul sums up these rewards in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15. He writes: “Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.”
