Encouraging

I recently had a friend whose dad considers himself to be prophetic. He told her that something bad was going to happen soon. This of course caused some alarm and anxiety. I Cor 14:3 says "But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their encouraging, strengthening and comfort." I think many so called prophets that spout doom and gloom have missed the boat about what prophesy is designed to do under the new covenant of grace. Also the more charasmatic christian can get so hung up on trying to get a "word" from God that they also miss out on being a blessing. I was once told by an experienced brother in the Lord that prophecy is reaching past the dirt to pull out the gold in someone's life. A divinely given word is always wonderful, but how many times have you and I missed out on pulling out the gold in someone's life from what we know of them naturally.
An encouraging thing happened a few nights ago as I was with a small fellowship. A woman in the group that is in transition with her career path was there. The entire night I saw in my mind's eye the word counselor over her. So at the end of our discussion told her and how I thought God wanted to use this skill to draw the potential out of others. She mentioned that she had wanted to be a counselor since she was 9 and had just reignited a spark to pursue it within the last few months. It was a great confirmation for her and for me as I stepped out a bit in giving it. You can check out the group at www.mountaintopgroup.com