"Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain."
- James 5:7
There is a time and season in which God releases or executes a powerful move of his Spirit. There are certain elements of his sovereign will that come into play. It would be presumptuous on our part to assume that we can turn revival on or off simply by what we do. Yet on the other hand, it would be fatalistic on our part to take the position that it is all up to God and we are required to do nothing.
Jesus made a very clear announcement that there was a sovereign aspect to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in these last days. Just as it occurred on the day of Pentecost, God came down. He sent the Promise of the Father (Joel 2:28). But notice it took the disciples being in position in the Upper Room waiting in prayer with a spirit of expectancy.
God always seeks to make right certain conditions. He is the one who sets the stage for things we desire to see come to pass. Such was the case in the life of Queen Esther, whom he used at an "appointed time" in the kingdom to prevent the enemy from decimating the nation of Israel. Galatians chapter four tells us: "When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law" (Gal. 4:4). There are times and seasons for things to be brought forth, especially when it comes to ushering in a move of God.
All waves come by a sovereign element, but
they are caught by the readiness and
preparation of the heart.
Jesus mentioned, in Luke chapter nineteen, that Israel missed their time of visitation (Luke 19:44). That means there was a season prepared to bring about a wave of his presence to the nation, but they were completely unprepared to catch that wave. Things that are fixed by the Father are not necessarily just going to happen automatically. All waves come by a sovereign element, but they are caught by the readiness and preparation of the heart. There are quickenings to make us aware of what is coming while at the same time we must be positioned to catch it. We must be alert to the prophetic word of God and the prophetic anointing of his Spirit. Both of which are necessary in ushering in the fullness of God's prophetic moves.
Ecclesiastes says, "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" (Eccl. 3:1). In other words, God has fixed the schedule to his workings according to his own sovereign plan. That is exactly what he told Habakkuk: "For the vision is yet for an appointed time" (Heb. 2:3). But notice what he also added to that statement: "...though it tarry, wait for it." One translation says, "...though it linger, remain confident." In fact, the very next verse says, "...the just shall live by his faith" (Heb. 3:4). There is a place where our faith must hold fast to what we know God has spoken concerning what he wants to do.
There is a real revelation to be had in this fact that if we follow God's plan we will be able to access his purposes. I remember back around the turn of 2011, I was spending some time before the Lord searching direction for where the Lord was taking us and I heard the Spirit of God say, "A shift is coming. A change is about to take place. There is some turning that is about to happen and it is going to affect everything. Not just what is in the natural, but what is in the spiritual realm as well." Then he said this: "There is a sovereign element about it where I will begin to stir up things in your heart to catch what my Spirit is about to do and you will have to be in position to catch the flow." Here was the most sobering part of what he said: "Some will not catch it! They are not going to be in position for the things that I want to do." You can only imagine how focused I was to stay on top of being in position for these changes. All I can say is I have watched over these past few years God do exactly what he said he was going to do. The changes, both in the natural and spiritual, have occurred just as he promised. We are still watching him maneuver the ship, but thankfully, we have purposed to stay positioned, with confidence, that his plan is being worked out and the full blessing of heaven is on its way!
