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Timing can be everything. A person's ability to strike a chord at the precise moment can be the very thing that defines a musical piece of art. Your life is often defined by your timing in turning a moment into something extraordinary. God has given you the power of being able to provide a resounding contribution to the world around you as a defining moment. All you need is the precision of yielding to the purpose you were created to fulfill in what I call the perfect timing.
Galatians chapter four says, "But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons" (Gal. 4:4, 5). God is not only a God of purpose, but he has provided us with the power to activate his perfect timing in carrying out his perfect plan.
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PERFECT TIMING
UNDERSTANDING HOW TO PERFECT A MOMENT IN TIME
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"Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee."
- John 17:1
Throughout our ministry, we have experienced some amazing times in the presence of God that really stand out in my mind. When I take a moment to reflect upon each of them I am eternally grateful for the opportunities we were given. Can I somehow recapture those moments? Not in any real sense of the word because I can't duplicate all the conditions that made those moments so special. However, there is one thing I can do, I can draw the most I possibly can out of every situation I find myself in so as to recreate new opportunities, new adventures, and new experiences with God. After all, none of us know for sure what can really happen if we take the time to seize the moment.
Moments in time are not necessarily the same as seconds on a clock. There are two distinct words that define time. One is chronos and the other is kairos. Chronos is where we get our English word chronology. It has to do with the passing of time or how we calculate time. There are events or happenings that occur within a time frame we call the past, present, or future. Chronos has to do with our ability to date time.
The one defining characteristic about chronos is that it is forever changing. What we consciously consider the "present" suddenly passes and becomes redefined as the "recent past." Kairos, on the other hand, has a completely different meaning. It relates more to a sensation in time. It provides something that chronos cannot provide. It gives us the ability to capture time in a moment, in a memory, or as an opportunity. The reason why both are so vital is because what defines a moment, whether it is simply the passing of time or a specific moment in time, houses the purpose of God.
" By our learning how to yield to him
in time, we create an opportunity for eternal purposes to become present realities."
I like something Dutch Sheets once said. He defined a kairos moment as: "A passing instance when an opening appears which must be driven through with force if success is to be achieved." There are points in time that become like a window of opportunity. They are openings into the purpose of God where all the conditions are perfect for something heavenly to take place; for instance, when Peter went up upon the housetop to pray. He stepped into a moment that suddenly exploded with purpose!
Having within us the power of the Holy Spirit, we actually carry the potential of making perfect a moment in time. Think about it, how could any of us possibly know what might happen if we were to take any given moment in time and surrender it to the purpose of God! I believe there are windows in time that are constantly presenting themselves to us filled with purpose, but because we are unfamiliar with how to perfect moments in time they pass us by.
This is one reason why we have to earnestly seek to know what a moment in time can hold. God exists in eternity, and while we know that time and eternity do not mix, God has created spaces in time where we have the opportunity to discover his eternal purpose. That is one of the great mysteries of the incarnation of Christ. He is our bridge-builder between time and eternity! By our learning how to yield to him in time, we create an opportunity for eternal purposes to become present realities.
According to Second Corinthians six, Paul tells us, "I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2). NOW does not just mean the moment Paul penned these words. It is a reference to the timeline that spans an entire dispensation. So in reality, any moment of time held within the entire church age could actually be defined as NOW! Since this is true, then God's timing is always present! That means a perfect timing is to make the most out of a NOW moment.
The book of Romans gives us a very similar thought. It says, "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed" (Rom. 13:11). So what do we mean by the phrase, "high time?" What are we to make of all of this? It is simply another way of saying the perfect time, the exact time, the critical time, the opportune time to make a NOW moment explode with purpose. Think of what would happen if every believer on the planet earth took one day, a specific day, and poured their entire heart, mind, soul, and strength into it, allowing God to do in that moment whatever he might purpose to do. I can only imagine the magnitude of such an eruption of power that would invade this world! In the same way, imagine what we miss out on by thinking that the entire idea of perfect timing all rests on God alone, when really we are the ones who hold the power in our earnest pursuit to effectively make perfect a moment in time!*
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PRAYER
Father, I ask you to help me make the most of every moment. Help me discover your purpose in time. As each day passes bring me deeper and deeper into what a moment in time can hold. I want my life to count. I want to learn how to make every moment count. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
CONFESSION
I am my own determiner to what a moment can mean. I can yield precisely to the very purpose God has planned for every moment of every day of my life. Christ in me is that determining factor and as I give myself to him fully and completely, I can and will seize this moment for his glory.
DEFINING MOMENTS...
Sometimes conditions have to be set in place before we can truly discover the perfect timing. But very often, the perfect timing awaits our ardent and earnest effort to make perfect a moment in time. Redemption is constant, and so therefore, it is not defined by nor is it confined to time. It exists in God's eternal now. That is why we do not have to wait for it. All we have to do is learn how to yield precisely to it, capturing all that the moment we have holds for us. No matter which way we look at it, it is really not up to us to wait on God to give us the perfect timing, but rather that we pour ourselves out to make perfect this moment in time!
In His Grace,
Pastor David
Faith Harvest Church
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