Shirley
An appointed time
Dictionary.com defines appointed as: pre-determined; arranged; set:
Merriam-webster.com defines appointed time as: chosen for a particular job or officially fixed or set
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Last week two words have kept ruminating in my mind, the words: appointed time. The first time I came across this word was in 2018 in a season where I had been diligently seeking God on my singleness and praying for a way out of it. Yes, I was very committed(laughs). It was the only thing that I thought about, dreamt about, focused on. And after seeking for days on end (praying and talking to God about it, fasting; reading the word and just spending time in His presence Jeremiah 29:13, Isaiah 55: 6, Mathew 7:7-11), the answer finally landed. It came in two on one Saturday morning. To begin with, for the first time in my life I had this ability to carry my singleness with grace and joy ; I received a new lens with which to see my season clearly. For the first time I was able to see the many gifts and blessings that I had been ignoring in my season because I was so set on life going the way I had decided it had to go. It was like all this time my father in heaven had given me a present and I had put it in a hidden corner and refused to unwrap it because I did not like how it looked on the outside, but I finally unwrapped it that Saturday morning in 2018. For the first time in the 34 years of my life I began to be fully present; to enjoy and to maximise my singleness. The second revelation came in the form of Habakkuk 2: 2-3 provides:
Then the Lord Replied: ” Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will prove false. Though it linger, wait for it;it will certainly come and will not delay.”
This above verse gave me comfort but I did not understand its meaning fully until this year. Although the verse stillgave me comfort and the understanding that I needed to put my vision down and that even if it would tarry, that it would eventually happen. After that I was able to return to my life and enjoy it. Nevertheless, this year I have fully grasped the meaning and understanding of an appointed time. Looking bcak I realise that I had heard , reda about it and even expereinced it in different seasons of my life but my spiritual awareness was too dull to fully appreciate the power and movement of God during an appointed time.
You see for the first half of this year, I have witnessed something I have never seen before or maybe I had seen it but never really stood in the moment, received it and understood it. You see for the last three years a friend and I have been praying for God to move in two very different and distinct ways. For three years we prayed and came into agreement for our hopes and dreams (Mathew 18: 19-20). And as we waited, we have been intentional about self-development through growing in our faith, drawing closer to good, self-reflection and letting go of destructive pattens. Further, in the last three years we experienced moments which looked like the dream was finally coming to life and then it would lead to nowhere. However, because of the growth we had been going through we choose not to see it as a thing to be disappointed about, and instead as an experience that we could learn from as we continued to prepare for something that in our ‘now’ seemed impossible and too far out of reach, and as I write this down in 2024 we are both standing in an appointed time for some of the things we hoped and prayed for. It has been three years and it is finally here. It does not mean that it has been easy or without difficulty but we are both standing at our own individual appointed times , and to get to this point I have seen the hand of God in ways that have absolutely blown my mind away. I had seen God in the waiting, but now I have seen Him move in the appointed time, and I have learnt a couple of things about God and life that I felt this compulsion to share.
Firstly, we serve a God who is methodical, strategic, has foresight that can see further than we will ever be able to see. Not only that, He is not bound by the time space time continuum like us. He can see the end from the beginning. He can criss- cross times zones. He is not bound by now, past or future. He goes into the future and sets things in motion and returns and creates us for such a time as that, and proceeds to put us in our mother’s womb with the necessary kind of gifting and personality for the different appointed times we will experience . Further, He is the great timetabler; He not only allocates our time here on earth but the different seasons we will walk through (Genesis 8: 22 and Ecclesiastes 3:1-11) ensuring that it will all be for a purpose. Our lives do not just happen. We are not here by a fluke or mistake; it does not matter that those who brought us into this world wanted us or do not want us or even if they planned for us or not. We are set apart. Everything is meticulously panned and pre-destined according to different appointed times. God does not waste anything even the things that are hard, hurtful and painful, and that we cannot and will never understand (Isaiah 55:8-9). So much so that even His words cannot be wasted. Whatever He speaks must be accomplished here on earth and in heaven, its purpose will come to pass no matter what (Isaiah 55:10– 11). So yes, there are times, we will pray for something and receive it, and there are also other times that the answer may be ‘no’ or it will be for us to wait for the appointed time. Indeed, the greatest lesson I have learnt from all this and hope that I will never forget is the fact that this life is not our own. For those of us who are set apart our lives have been pre-destined. Nothing in our life just happens, our lives move according to God’s purpose and predestined design. We are not a mistake or a blip, or something that life just happens to, our God is in control. Further, for the purpose of His glory there are certain seasons in our life that He has set for an appointed time, and when they happen in His time there is supernatural grace, protection and kingdom purpose.:8
Secondly, that even in an appointed time you will face some barriers and challenges but it is in these moments that you must trust and have the confidence that the One who opened the door will sustain you. Trust God and leave it all in His capable hands, and as a result you will not only be able to walk in confidence, but exist in a realm of rest that is not bound by what is going on around you. However, the caveat is that you must ‘let go of control’. There is no other way around it. You must give God the wheel. This is because in seasons of appointed time we cannot take credit for anything. The season is set up in such away where all you can say is’……………but God’. So, to save time and peace of mind do not try to earn it, to control it, or to make it work in your own strength, instead release control. This is because an appointed time is a supernatural season where God often bends the rules of what is normal (Ask Sarah, or Mary, David, Noah, Moses, Joshua, and the list is endless). Therefore, you cannot navigate supernatural seasons with physical strength or with ‘I’ philosophies, you must remain steadfast in the spirit. You can only thrive in an appointed time if you rely on spiritual strength and so God must be elevated to throne of your life. You must feed your spirit with His word and worship Him. You must seek the Lord and His presence if you want to receive, enjoy and grow in your faith, and add to the faith of others. I can assure you because I have tried (yes tried), that if you try to sustain yourself in this season with your own strength, the good thing your prayed for can be the very thing that will destroy you or be the source of anxiety, or lack of peace and rest, or misery or disappointment. To avoid this, return to the feet of God where this promise was birthed and He will sustain you.
Lastly, we must be available andbe able to recognise the appointe time(whatever it is we are praying or hoping for). In order to do this we must see it and recognise God in the moment, and in order to do this we must have grown in our walk with God. Secondly, we need to be open to fully receive it knowinbg that it is a gifft that we could never earn or even be worthy for but God. It is true not everyone knows how to receive, and that’s I why we need the Holy spirit.
In conclusion, whether you are in a waiting season or are currently in an appointed time may we cling closely to our father in heaven so that He may strengthen us and sustain us. May our father in heaven enable us to grow in character and in faith that our lives will be a testament of His power and love in our lives.
Bible verses
Genesis 17:21
But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.”
Genesis 18:14
Is anything too difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”
Genesis 21:2
So, Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him.
Psalm 75:2
“When I select an appointed time, It is I who judge with equity.
Exodus 9:5
The Lord set a definite time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.”
Acts 7:17
“But as the time of the promise was approaching which God had assured to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt,
Ephesians 1:10
with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him
Mark 1:15
and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-6
There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven— A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away.
Luke 1:19-20
19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”
Habakkuk 2:2-3
The Lord’s Answer
Then the Lord replied:
“Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.
Psalm 102:13
You will arise and have pity on Zion; it is the time to Favour her; the appointed time has come.
Daniel 8:19
He said, “Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of the indignation, for it refers to the appointed time of the end.
Romans 11:36
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Isaiah 14:24
The Lord of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand,
Ephesians 1:11
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
Habakkuk 1:5
“Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.
Daniel 11:35
And some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time.
Daniel 11:27
And as for the two kings, their hearts shall be bent on doing evil. They shall speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for the end is yet to be at the time appointed.
Psalm 139:16 ESV / 3 helpful votes
Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.