Kairos – Everything Has Its Time

NEHEMIAH WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL

How can understanding God’s appointed times and seasons help us recognize our place in His plan?
Do you know not only what God is commanding, but when to act on those commands?
In what ways are believers called to lead and redeem the time during the days that Scripture describes as evil?

Kairos – Everything Has Its Time

Not only is there a specific time for every purpose under Heaven.
Just as importantly, there is a specific Divine purpose for every time.

As we move into a brand new year, it is vitally important that we grasp our Divine purpose – and that we complete it in due season.

To do this, we must be able to correctly locate ourselves in history, according to the prophetic time clock contained within the pages of the Bible. 

To that end, Christians should not be surprised by the national and global events that are happening today… as for those who have eyes to see (Matthew 8:8), you will discover that everything that is occurring today has been written down in the Bible thousands of years ago. These times were foretold, by Jesus Christ, by the Old  Testament prophets, and by the New Testament apostles.

And so, while we recognise that the days in which we are living are “evil”, we should also rejoice that God has entrusted us to be the ones who will bring Kingdom leadership in the midst of these times. To do that, we must be able to correctly discern our place in God’s plan, relative to our own fullness of time.

Ecclesiastes 8:5 (AMPC) says that “Whoever observes the king’s command will experience no harm, and a wise man’s mind will know both when and what to do.” This becomes our first and foremost task if we are to lead effectively – we must know the King of King’s commands and have the wisdom to apply them correctly. This includes both the “what” and the “when”.

The Greek word translated as “time” in the above Scripture is “kairos” (καιρός). It means “season, era, occasion, period, appointed time, and opportune time”. God’s “Kairos timing” for the opportunities that He presents to us has been orchestrated by Him to align with the circumstances of our lives. 

In other words, His “kairos timing” for our lives, is our exact time to step out in faith and act upon
our Divine destiny. This also means that every Divine appointment has a specific timing allocated to it. 

Acts 17:26 shows us that not only individuals, but even entire people groups have their destiny, consisting of their sphere of influence and appointed time, allocated to them by the LORD (“And He made from one common origin all nations of men to settle on the face of the earth, having definitely determined [their] allotted periods of time and the fixed boundaries of their habitation (their settlements, lands,and abodes”). Understanding this helps us to grasp that the part that we have to play in God’s plan is extremely significant, not only to us, but also to others.

We must take great care not to run ahead (i.e., try to “force” our destiny on our own terms through works of the flesh) or to fall behind (become inattentive or insensitive to His voice), but rather to discern and then walk in the “kairos timing” of the LORD in every area of our lives.

Many lessons are learned, and many valuable character attributes are formed, as we learn to neither run ahead nor lag behind God’s perfect Kairos schedule, because He knows us better than we know ourselves.

Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, please grant us wisdom to discern the times, and the humility to obey Your commands. Help us to recognize our place in Your purpose and to redeem the season You have entrusted to us so that we may lead faithfully and bring glory to You as we advance Your Kingdom. Amen.

This devotional is written by Pastor Steve Harris, the founder of Global Influencers, an organization that trains and equips leaders and emerging leaders to establish anointed communities that transform nations by restoring Kingdom culture from grassroots to government in the villages, cities, regions, and nations of the world. He is also the Content Development Assistant in the Nehemiah Entrepreneurship Community.