Promises will be fulfilled at the appointed time

Published 12:08 pm Saturday, December 4, 2021

I try very hard to be on time and keep appointments that I have made. I realize that when other people are involved, sometimes unforeseen circumstances can keep that from happening. It is still my desire to be conscientious and keep my word if at all possible.

God Himself has appointed times and seasons. One of the reasons I do not fear death nor worry about when I will die is that I believe that the Word of God is very plain — “It is appointed for a man once to die . . .” We all have an appointment with death and although I think you can do things to hasten that day, because God has all foreknowledge, He knows when that time will be. His times and appointments always come to pass.

There are other appointed times and seasons mentioned in the scriptures. Ecclesiastes 3:1 states: “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” I believe that can be personal or it can be for a city or a nation. Although God created within eternity a period where earth and all that goes on is confined to what we call time, He also has appointed certain things to happen at a particular point in time. A season is a longer period of time within which many events can occur. 

Read further in Ecclesiastes 3 for some of the different times and seasons that are mentioned — a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up (harvest), a time to weep and a time to laugh. Solomon concludes those verses by stating that God “has made everything beautiful in its time” (verse 11).

I was meditating on the birth of our Savior the other day and thinking about the amazing event from the perspective of the different “actors” who were involved. What is so amazing to me is that no matter what part that individual or group played, the timing for each player was coordinated by God to culminate at just the right time. 

For instance, the wise men very likely did not visit Jesus and His parents in the stable but perhaps for as long as 1-2 years after His birth. They had a long journey to make from a distant land and yet because of their diligence to study the ancient Hebrew writings as well as the constellations, they showed up in Jerusalem at just the right time to fulfill their role in history. They followed the star that indicated that a King had been born and came to worship Him and bring Him gifts (Those extravagant gifts actually sustained Him and His family while they lived in Egypt, escaping the wrath of King Herod).

Think about those lowly shepherds who were likely the ones watching over the lambs that would be used in the temple sacrifice. In Egypt, shepherds were considered the lowest strata of society and I don’t think they were much better thought of in Israel. And yet it was to them that the angel came and announced the birth of their Savior. They were likely some of the first people to see this new born baby sleeping in a manger meant for the very animals they were tending. 

God exalted the lowly shepherds, who then heralded to many others that they had seen the Lord’s salvation! Don’t you know that whatever shame they may have been carrying vanished that glorious night when Jesus was born? Their appointment with the glory of God and the long awaited Savior changed their lives forever!

Mary, a very young girl, engaged to Joseph, a simple carpenter, was chosen by God to carry the Son of God in her womb and then raise Him to become her Savior. What if she had not believed or yielded to the voice of the angel that made the announcement to her? What if Joseph had not heeded the dreams he had to take Mary as his wife and raise Jesus as his own son? Each person played such an important role in the fulfillment of many prophecies concerning Jesus being born at just the right time, in just the right place, with just the right set of circumstances. 

The likelihood of all of these different prophetic pieces (over 300 of them surrounding His birth and life) being fulfilled in a timely manner is astronomical! God had every piece perfectly timed to come together for the greatest event the world would ever know, yet only a handful of people were chosen to participate in the actual event. Each person had a different role to play, but each one was significant for the whole story to unfold the way God had planned for it to happen.

We could go throughout Biblical history and cite other examples of the divine times and seasons ordained by the Lord. Abraham had amazing promises given to him throughout his life and yet in God’s sovereignty, some of them took many, many years to be fulfilled and even when Abraham tried to “help” God out (Ishmael), God came through with His specific, divine plan and Isaac, the son of promise was born at God’s appointed time. Daniel was a student of Hebrew prophecy and knew that the time was coming when God had spoken in His word that deliverance would come. He never wavered from the promises that God had spoken but continued to pray and remain steadfast. It is probably his godly influence in Babylon years before that gave those magi the ability to understand the times and seasons from which they concluded the time that the Hebrew king would be born!

God has spoken to many, many people about this city and has made some amazing promises and declarations to those who have prayed and remained steadfast. There is an appointed time for these promises to be fulfilled! I recently met with one of the small groups that are specifically praying for a mighty outpouring of God’s Spirit in our city. The word that the Lord spoke to us was very simple. He said to keep on keeping on! In other words, don’t lose heart, don’t become discouraged because we are not yet seeing what He has spoken and promised. 

For those of you who have been contending for this city and region, do not lose heart or quit now. God will fulfill every promise He has made — in His perfect timing. I continue to be encouraged by what I think are positive signs that we are moving in the right direction. More and more people have shared with me how long they have been praying for our city and I am sure there are many, many more whom I have never met, who remain faithful to pray. 

All the prayers from the past generations are filling up the prayer vials, along with those who are currently praying. Together, there will coming a tipping point and when that happens, nothing can stop what the Lord is planning on doing right here in our midst.

One of the main things I am seeing that I believe will be necessary to sustain anything the Lord desires to do in our city is a true love and sense of unity among those in places of leadership. When that piece of the whole is strong, then whatever the Lord begins will be able to be sustained. Although spiritual leaders must lay down their differences and personal agendas, so must those who are in leadership in other spheres of influence (education, government, sports, media, family and any other expression that effects our community either for better or for the worse). It is time for us to lay down our own preferences to find out what would be best for our whole community. 

Do your part to see our city fulfill our complete destiny that our God planned for it from before time began!