kairos time

I can't remember if I've talked about the difference between "kronos" time and "kairos" time in this blog, but it's an important enough reality that it's worth repeating if I have.  These are two Greek words used in the New Testament.  Kronos refers to time as we normally think about it.  It is the passage of time that can be measured by a clock or a calendar.  Kairos, on the other hand, refers to a special time - the right time, a critical time, God's timing.  You may be familiar with the Scripture, "at the right time (kairos) Christ died for the ungodly".  But why is it important to know the difference between these two kinds of time?  Here's one good reason.  We will never develop patience if we are more focused on kronos time then kairos time, and without patience we will never see the fulfillment of God's promises to us.  The author of Hebrews tells us that it takes both "faith and patience to inherit the promises (6:12)."  Once we understand the importance of God's timing it becomes much easier to exercise patience.  It is this awareness that has helped me so much over this past year as I have sought to draw near to God. At times I tend to doubt or get discouraged, thinking, "I've done my part to pray and seek Him out -  why has He not responded and fulfilled His side of the bargain ('Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.")?"  When these thoughts rise up within me I have to remind myself, " . . . in due time (kairos) He will raise you up (I Pet. 5:6)."

For those of you who have seen the film Braveheart, you may remember the scene at the beginning of one of the battles where William Wallace is instructing his men on the proper timing for raising the long, pointed stakes that are intended to impale the first onslaught of their enemy's cavalry. William's rag-tag army seemed desperately out-manned and out-gunned by the far superior, professional forces of the English.  But William was depending on the element of surprise and proper timing to overcome those odds.  If those spears or stakes were raised too soon, the English cavalry would simply veer off and come at them again from a different direction.  But if William's men were patient enough to wait until the horses were almost upon them, and then raise those spears, the mounted knights would not be able to stop their momentum and their doom would be ensured.  In the early days of the use of guns, when the guns could not shoot very far and were not very accurate, you may have heard the expression, "Don't shoot until you can see the whites of their eyes" -  same idea as Wallace's with the spears.  The tendency, in the heat of the battle when the adrenaline is flowing, is to jump the gun and thereby lose your advantage.  It takes well-trained soldiers to wait until that critical moment (kairos) to spring the trap on the enemy.  In Braveheart, as the heavily armed cavalry is gaining speed and quickly closing the gap, you hear Wallace shouting out to his men, "Not yet! Not yet!"  Your own heart is racing as you observe this very tense scene, wondering and hoping if these men will get the timing right and be able to successfully halt this terrible onslaught.

I think this can give us a clue as to why it is so important to wait for God's timing.  The most often used title for God in the Scriptures is not Savior or Redeemer, but rather "the Lord of Hosts (Armies)".  He has a divine strategy for overcoming our enemy and it behooves us to develop a keen ear to his commands.  If we fail to hear His voice at the critical (kairos) time we will lose our advantage over the enemy.  It is one thing to know the will of God but it is just as critical to know when to carry out that act of obedience.  Jesus knew that he had come into the world to die for our sins, but more than once he would say to his disciples, "my time (kairos) is not yet," and he would evade those who sought to kill him.  But when the time was right, he submitted to his captors willingly.  How did he know the right time?  He lived his whole life doing that simple (but not easy) thing James tells all of us to do - "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."  The closer you are to the Father the more clearly you will hear His voice and discern the right timing in the carrying out of His commands.

Because of a prophetic word I'd received years ago (see my July 14 and 29 blog) I was hoping this Fall would be a breakthrough time for me, because it was in the middle of the Jewish (sacred) calendar year, which begins in the Spring with Passover.  But nothing noteworthy happened this Fall, so obviously I was not hearing the Father's voice clearly in that regard.  I could pout about it and let discouragement  get me down. Or I could continue to exercise patience and perseverance in my pursuit of God, knowing that no one who puts their trust in Him, and continues to seek Him, will ever be put to shame or let down.  Did Jesus ever promise that following him would be easy, or that the Father would answer our prayers when we wanted them answered?  It has been said that anything that comes too quickly or easily is either not worth very much or will not be properly valued.  There are a few things that we will go through "hell and high water" for in the physical realm.  Why should we be surprised if it's not the same in the spiritual realm?  Are we willing to pursue Him, and wait on Him for the right (kairos) timing to carry out His will in our lives?

   This is what the LORD [YHWH] says -
      the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel -
   to him who was despised and abhorred . . .
         the servant of rulers . . .
   "In the time of my favor [kairos time] I will answer you,
      and in the day of salvation I will help you . . .
                                                                               (Isaiah 49:7-8)