My Appointed Time

 

God operates on a plane far beyond our comprehension. His ways, His thoughts, are not just different from ours—they are infinitely higher, as unreachable as the heavens above the earth. We are often left bewildered by His actions, but God knows exactly where and how to strike when He decides to intervene. Your wealth, appearance, or status? Meaningless to Him. When He seeks you out, no earthly shield can hide you.

The most profound moment in any life is when God disrupts it. And let's not pretend that disruption is always gentle. Often, it shakes us to the core, leaves us reeling in confusion, and at times, grips us with pain. We seldom understand what He's doing, or why.

The Scriptures warn us, “Do not despise the Lord's discipline, and do not resent His rebuke." The truth is, God doesn’t just ask for our attention—He takes it, by any means He chooses. Many come to God not through peaceful revelation, but through deep suffering. Pain, loss, sickness—they become the instruments that pull us to our knees. How many of us cried out to God for the first time in our most broken moments, uttering a desperate, "Oh Lord"?

For some, it took tragedy—the death of a loved one, a crushing diagnosis, the shattering of relationships. Others were brought low by addiction, unemployment, or hunger. And in those moments of deep agony, that was when the turning point came.

Paul—once a murderer, blinded by divine light—fell to the ground, his world turned upside down by God’s intervention. And through that blindness, he saw clearer than ever before. He says: “even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief.” God broke his heart, humbled him, and when he accepted the chastisement, He was sent forth to serve.

The same light that blinded Paul shines on all of us, often in the form of divine insight. Suddenly, life changes. You loose the taste for the things that once consumed you—the parties, the drinking, the pride. Slowly, God strips them away, revealing the emptiness they left behind.

Every soul has its appointed time, its moment of revelation. Don't fret over those who remain blind, for you too once walked in darkness. In His time, God will open their eyes as He did yours.

Ecclesiastes warns, "Guard your steps when you go to the house of God... be more ready to hear than to offer the sacrifice of fools." Focus not on others, but on your own soul. Work on yourself. Follow the cross.

Why wait for catastrophe to knock you down? Look within yourself now, and make the decision to change while there is still time. Don’t wait for pain to force your hand—turn from your wicked ways, willingly.

God allowed me to experience pain because I was stubborn, arrogant, foolish, and hypocritical. Yet through that pain, I found clarity. The suffering breaks me, but I hold on to it, knowing it's shaping me. Though it hurts, I embrace it. The very Word that convicts me, I treasure. The same discipline that humbles me, I hold dear.

I welcome His correction, knowing it is rooted in love. As Hebrews reminds us, “For the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He chastens everyone He accepts as His son.”

There is an appointed time for everything, and a season for every event under heaven; including the moment to encounter God. In the end, the ultimate truth is this: Fear God and obey His commandments. This is the essence of life and the fundamental duty of humanity.