Category: Article History

Copyright 2015 Theresa Harvard Johnson

This phrase echoed in my hearing this morning, “Beloved, You are my beautiful footstool!”

Can you imagine a footstool being beautiful? I can. This morning as I celebrated the gift of 2016, I remembered a time when I was a little girl going with my mama to clean houses. I had to be about five or six years old.

I remember standing at the edge of this giant bed in one of the homes unable to hop up. At its base was this beautiful, elaborately designed “tiny table” – I thought – that I could use to climb up to get into this huge bed that was unlike anything I had ever seen. This “tiny table” was made of wooden legs and a cushioned top.

Mama said, “Baby, that’s a footstool not a short table.” For me it could very well have been both. This was an awesome memory to launch the first day of the New Year. Intrigued, I decided to study “footstools” this morning and the following passage of scripture jumped out at me:

Acts 7:49 NIV, “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by men. As the prophet says:Heaven is my throne,and the earth is my footstool. What kind (manner) of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be?”

Copyright 2015 Theresa Harvard Johnson

In my free ebook, “Scribal Purpose: 10 Reasons Why God Has Commanded Us to Write,” I talk about the extensive time Moses spent on Mount Sinai with the Lord receiving and recording the Ten Commandments.

As I reread this section of the book, Holy Spirit illuminated three pivotal elements of his scribal journey to me: (1) Moses identified, ascended and embraced his mountain; (2) He descended his mountain with critical instructions that would not only guide his journey, but help him guide the journey of a nation; and (3) God tangibly engulfed him in His presence throughout this entire act of obedience. (Note that when we use the term scribe in Voices of Christ, we are referring to many manifestations of the scribal gift – not just writing.)

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.

Copyright 2015 Theresa Harvard Johnson

For the full understanding of this article, please read:  “The Scribal Incubation Period.”

Every prophetic scribe has seasons of incubation. These seasons can be very casual and relaxing or they can be extremely intense. You need to know that it matters how you navigate them.

I will give you two examples from my personal scribal journey.

Example #1: In my early scribal journey, the Lord would wake me up at all times of night to write. While I did not really understand what was happening to me, I was obedient to answer. I would be drawn to a particular place in my home and would spend hours intensely recording whatever he poured through me. Often, this was powerful poetry, spoken word and prayers. I was recording so much that I didn’t have time to really think about it. Those times could last for one night or a series of days! Then, as quickly as it started it would end. Again, I must use the word intense because that is exactly what that experience was like.

Copyright 2015 Theresa Harvard Johnson

There’s absolutely nothing like a “do-nothing-day.” You know – staying in your pajamas or favorite jeans all day, curling up with a hot cup of tea, a bowl of popcorn and watching movies. For most of us this is a rare treat as we move through our busy lives.

There is, however, another dimension to this for the prophetic scribe.

Our “do-nothing-days” are filled with the urgency to write or otherwise engage in scribal ministry. We long for the relaxing, yet urgent press to shut-in and create. This isn’t the usual call to enter into our craft; rather… this is a time to put away every possible distraction and enter into the “chamber of the scribe” to rest, nest, hear and create.