Luke 1:20
“And now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you won’t be able to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly come true at the proper time.” TLB
What does this mean? It means there is a time appointed for a specific task. I like the part of the sentence which reads “for my words will certainly come true at the proper time.“ There is time for everything under the sun, and God has appointed certain times for the fulfilment of certain promises.
I kind of trust people, and believe what they say. Normally when people change their words and say things contrary to what they previously said, a war emerges in my mind; a battle about what was previously said and what is being said now.
We sometimes equate our human experiences with people who change their words to God; but His ways are not our ways. There is a time for every word of God concerning my life. For every promise of God, there is an appointed time.
Jesus was first promised in Gen 3:15, but it’s fulfilment took many years before the appointed time came in which time “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.“ (John 1:14, KJV)
Isaiah had visions about Jesus, and when the appointed time came, He was crucified and died for our sins. Jesus told us He will come and take us to be with Him, so that where He is, we can be also. This is a promise we are still waiting for. It’s been a long time since Jesus said this and some are saying “Where is the promise of his coming?” (2 Peter 3:4)
“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3:8)
There are also personal prophecies and promises from God that we are patiently awaiting its fulfilment.
Sometimes, because we lack knowledge, we might think that God has not kept His word because of a delay, but this is because there is an appointed time to every promise. When God promised Abraham a child, Sarah took matters into her own hands and ask Abraham to have a child with her maid; it was like God has delayed in His promises, but God’s time was not yet up.
In John 7 when Jesus’ brothers asked him to go to Judaea He said His time was not yet up but went later? In John 2 Mary asked for his help when the wine at the wedding got finished. The Lord’s response was to say His time was not yet up.
At the appointed time, God’s promises will be made manifest.
I have shared my story with many friends about how I struggled many years ago in a little town in England, and how I threw my Bible away and went into “Job” mode and repeated certain scriptures from the book of Job concluding that God was a liar and had not kept his promises to me 😂😂😂(I was a new believer then). I knew that night was my end, so I decided not to sleep but God is so full of mercy. I only realised when it was morning; which means I had slept and didn’t know when that happened. I quietly 🤦🏾 went to pick my Bible and picked my word for today quiet time guide and did my quiet time. In fact I was so blessed I later joined some people going for choir rehearsal just to go and watch them sing.
What I didn’t know at the time was that, the “vision was for an appointed time” as said in Habb 2: 3-4. Have all Gods promises come to pass in my life? No, but I am waiting for them to be fulfilled.
Have we received promises from the Lord, and are we watching and praying for their fulfilment? Wait for it, for it shall surely come to pass, though it tarries. I am a living testimony of this.
“For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith.” Habb 2:3.
Father give us grace to waiting till the appointment time.
Amen
Chara-Joy 🌸 