Many of us have been prophesying that it is time for God's promises to come to pass.
It is our time to step into The Promised Land.
So many of us have been waiting years, even decades for these promises to manifest.
It is not easy to keep believing when things around us don't seem to change, but look opposite to what The Lord Has promised.
I rarely let discouragement take over my emotions, but lately I have been finding it particularly challenging not to.
In a very vulnerable, raw moment, I asked Him:"Father, are these promises ever going to come to pass, or am I just waiting for something that will never happen?"
I heard Him say:"Psalm 102"
The title of the Psalm is :
A prayer of the afflicted; when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint to God.
WOW!
That is exactly how I was feeling when I went into prayer today.
In the first 11 verses the psalmist is asking God to listen to his pleas, and is being very honest about his feelings, just as I was with God.
Psalm 102:1-11 AMP
Hear my prayer, O Lord,
And let my cry for help come to You!
2 Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress!
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day when I call, answer me quickly.
3 For my days have vanished in smoke,
And my bones have been scorched like a hearth.
4 My heart has been struck like grass and withered,
Indeed, [absorbed by my heartache] I forget to eat my food.
5 Because of the sound of my groaning [in suffering and trouble]
My bones cling to my flesh.
6 I am like a [mournful] [a]vulture of the wilderness;
I am like a [desolate] owl of the wasteland.
7 I am sleepless and lie awake [mourning],
I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop.
8 My enemies taunt me all day long;
Those who ridicule me use my name as a curse.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And have mingled my drink with tears
10 Because of Your indignation and Your wrath,
For You have lifted me up and thrown me away.
11 My days are like an evening shadow that lengthens and vanishes [with the sun];
And as for me, I wither away like grass.
Then 12 and 13 verses are what stopped me in my tracks!
Psalm 102:12-13 AMP
12 But You, O Lord, are enthroned forever [ruling eternally as sovereign];
And [the fame and glory of] Your name [endures] to all generations.
13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion, For it is time to be gracious and show favor to her;
Yes, the appointed time [the moment designated] has come.
The Greek word for "appointed time", is a word that has been coming up in almost every prophetic word than has been released lately.
KAIROS:
kahee-ros'
1) due measure
2) a measure of time, a larger or smaller portion of time, hence:
2a) a fixed and definite time, the time when things are brought to crisis, the decisive epoch waited for
2b) opportune or seasonable time
2c) the right time
2d) a limited period of time
2e) to what time brings, the state of the times, the things and events of time
This is exactly what so many have been prophesying, including myself: that the appointed time is NOW!
We might be feeling hopeless, discouraged, like we want to give up...BUT GOD!
He Is enthroned forever! He rules and reings over everything! He Is sovereign and He keeps His promises!
He rules over time and space.
He can come in at the last second, and completely flip the script in the blink of an eye! There are so many examples in the Bible of the way The Lord showed up just in the nick of time for His children.
That's who He Is! That's what He does!
You see, He doesn't operate according to our time, Chronos.
He moves according to seasons, and events.
Ecclesiastes 3:3 AMP
3 There is a season (a time appointed) for everything and a time for every delight and event or purpose under heaven—
Again the word used for season in this passage, is KAIROS.
The appointed time, the opportune time, the right time.
When conditions are favorable.
God lives simultaneously in the past, present and future.
He sees what we did, what we're doing and what we'll do all at the same time.
He sees the end from the beginning!
Isaiah 46:10 NLT
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.
2 Peter 3:8 NLT
8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.
Our present circumstances have no power, or influence whatsoever over His plans!
We need to learn how to live and view our lives Kairologically!
Chronos is measured quantitatively, Kairos is measured qualitatively.
Meaning we measure Chronos time in seconds, minutes, days, months and years.
Kairos is measured in moments, events, or better yet in "seasons".
When conditions are perfect, "ripe for the picking".
The concept has its origins in the practice of Greek archery, representing the moment when the archer finds the perfect opening to shoot his arrow and hit his target.
By looking at circumstances Kairologically, and not focusing on what is around us and on the time that is taking for things to come to pass, we will learn to trust God and His timing.
He knows when conditions are perfect, when everything converges together to form the most ideal environment, to bring about his perfect plan.
Most of the times He Is waiting for us to mature. Although to Him it doesn't feel like waiting because He is not subject to time, to us if feels like forever!
That's why He allows us to go through the wilderness, so that we might develop the right character to be able to sustain the blessings.
We need time to ripen, like a sweet fruit, picked at its peak, that we might yield the best nectar.
When everything is in the right place, at the right time, that's when Chronos and Kairos intersect and things manifest!
If we don't align with His timing and His purpose we might miss the KAIROS moment, the window of opportunity, just as Joash did!
2 Kings 13:14-19 AMP
14 Now Elisha had become sick with the illness by which he would die. And Joash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over him and said, “O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” 15 And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. 16 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” And he put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. 17 And he said, “Open the window to the east,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” And he shot. And Elisha said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram (Syria); for you will strike the Arameans in Aphek until you have destroyed them.” 18 Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground,” and he struck it three times and stopped. 19 So the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Aram until you had destroyed it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times.”
Joash only struck the ground three times instead of striking it as many times as he could.
Elisha's last prophecy, the word of The Lord, did not come to pass, because Joash missed the moment, missed the opportunity, missed the mark!
Weather it was lack of faith, lack of enthusiasm, lack of confidence, or pride, he did not accomplish what The Lord wanted him to!
Elisha asked him to shoot the arrows at the ground through the window, although many believe that he asked him to pound the ground with the arrows, which doesn't make any sense.
Those arrows were a prophetic act, a proclamation of victory and he should have shot all the arrows in his quiver, not just three!
He should have shot until the prophet told him to stop!
Shooting those arrows required, obedience, and faith.
It required focus and effort
It required a strategic moment or "window" of time that once passed, it was gone.
Just like a KAIROS moment, once passed, it is gone!
Spurgeon says this:
“It is a fact that God has purposed all things both great and little; neither will anything happen but according to his eternal purpose and decree. It is also a sure and certain fact that, oftentimes, events hang upon the choice of men. Their will has a singular potency.”
In order to accomplish God's will on the Earth, we need to be obedient.
When He asks to do something it is our cue that a Kairos window of opportunity is opening up, that the appointed time is now and it is time to shoot our arrows and complete the assignment!
"My child be watchful, be sensitive to My leading. I Am directing your steps, but you are the one that has to move. If I have told you to do something, obey Me because I know your future, and I have placed all the pieces in the right place so that you may walk in My plans for you.
Everything is set up for your victory! I know it doesn't look like it, but trust me, once you take the step of faith and obey my commands, you will see that it was Me ordering your steps.
Trust Me My child. I only want the best for you! Don't be like Joash who was supposed to destroy the Arameans, but instead only defeated them three times because of his lack of obedience!
Don't miss the mark, shoot my child , shoot those arrows!
Declare the victory, prophesy those promises! Keep going, don't give up, for I Am with you!"
Says The Lord our God!