Genesis chapter 18
Today we are walking in; Understanding Yah’s Timing: Keys To Unlocking Your Shift
Habakkuk 1:11
Then shall his mind change H2015, and he shall pass over, and offend, imputing this his power unto his god.
CHANGE
Today we look to the word- CHANGE- H2015- haphak- a primitive root; to turn about or over; by implication, to change, overturn, return, pervert:—become, change, come, be converted, give, make (a bed), overthrow overturn), perverse, retire, tumble, turn (again, aside, back, to the contrary, every way).
The Torah Testifies…………….
Genesis 35:2
Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that werewith him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change H2015 your garments:
Leviticus 27:10
He shall not alter it, nor change H2015 it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change H2015 beast for beast, then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy.
Leviticus 27:33
He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change H2015 it: and if he change H2015 it at all, then both it and the change H2015 thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
The Prophets Proclaim………
Jeremiah 2:36
Why gaddest thou about so much to change H2015 thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.
Zechariah 3:4
And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change H2015 of raiment.
Malachi 3:6
For I am the LORD, I change H2015 not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
The Writings witness……………
Job 14:14
If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change H2015 come.
Psalm 102:26
They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change H2015 them, and they shall be changed:
Proverbs 24:21
My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change H2015:
The Joining of the Seasons – What Time do you Keep
There are two different New Testament Greek words for time, chronos and kairos. (The word chronos refers to the general process of time or chronological time. The word kairos refers to the right time, the opportune or strategic time, the now time.)
Often chronos and kairos different phases of the same process. Kairos, in many ways, is an extension or continuation of chronos. As the processes of Yah’s plans unfold, chronos becomes kairos. The new is connected to the old and. in fact, is often the result of what happened in the old. Kairos, the opportune time, is literally born of chronos, the general time. When we’re in a nonstrategic general season of life’s daily routine, plodding along in the chronos time, Yah doesn’t totally start over with a kairos season. His overall agenda does not change. He simply takes us through one phase of a process in which our perseverance and faithfulness have allowed Him to shift us into the next phase a strategic season. He changes the time and season, transforming chronos into kairos.
This should be a great encouragement to you. Perhaps you’re in a chronos time where you don’t feel like anything exciting is happening. This season of your life may even be tedious a time of ploughing, standing, believing and persistent praying. You must understand that all of that is part of a bigger picture. The chronos season, however frustrating, is not unimportant. If you press on, doing what is necessary in these general times, the process will shift into a kairos season of reaping. Galatians 6ÿg says, “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time (kairos) we shall reap if we do not grow weary.”
Story
When complimented on my homemade chicken soup, I said, just consider what goes into the making of the soup. The seasonings themselves doesn’t taste good, neither does the celery and carrots nor the chicken broth nor the other ingredients. However, when I mix them all together and put them in the pot, they come out just right.”
Much of life in the chronos season seems tasteless, even bad, but Yah is able to combine these ingredients of our lives in such a way that a shift occurs resulting in a banquet.
Life is a series of changes a process of going from the old to the new from chronos to kairos. Growth, change, revival all are processes. Life is connected. Not understanding this, we tend to despise the chronos times of preparing, sowing, believing and persevering. Our preference is to always live in the kairos times of fresh and strategic opportunities. It is important to realise, however, that our actions and attitudes in the chronos times are what determine whether or not Yah can shift us into the kairos times. It is in the chronos times that the necessary ingredients are added.
The old and the new – are inseparably linked – different but related. The new doesn’t come in spite of the old; it comes because of what we did during the old. Understanding this will enable you to not grow weary or lose heart in doing good during the chronos times.
“Our actions and attitudes in the chronos times of preparing, sowing, believing and persevering are what determine whether Yah can shift us into the kairos times of fresh and strategic opportunities.”
Often, as we continue working through difficult times, a mind-set comes to us that life will always be this way. We begin to believe that the kairos time is never going to come. If we’re not careful, we lose our expectation and our faith begins to waver. We’ve prayed so long, ploughed so long, believed so long and held on for so long that we begin to live with a “so long” mentality.
Disillusionment then sets in and our faith is gone. Yah wants to shift our thinking from becoming discouraged during these times to realising the necessity of chronos seasons. We’re not losing or wasting time, we’re investing it. And if we do so faithfully, the shift will come. Knowing that we are cooperating with Yah and giving Him what He needs to bring the new, we can rejoice over, rather than despise, small beginnings. We won’t despair about prayer meetings that go on for several years with little apparent fruit. Our faith is based only on the truth of Yah’s Word and obedience to it.
Biblical Examples of the Joining of the Seasons
Let’s look at some biblical examples to help us see this concept more clearly. Abraham received a glorious promise from Yah that he would have a son through Sarah and that his descendants would be in number as the stars in the sky. He then moved into a 24-year chronos season of having to persevere and walk by faith. After this, as recorded in Genesis 18:10Open in Logos Bible Software (if available), Yah appeared to him and said, in essence, that a divine shift was about to happen:
“I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (The word for “time” is eth, the Hebrew counterpart for the Greek word kairos strategic, or opportune, time.)
After so many years in the chronos season, Abraham and Sarah laughed at this prospect. Abraham even tried to get Yah to fulfil His plans through Ishmael. But true to His word, Yah created the shift; He changed the times and the seasons. Because Abraham had walked with Him even though he didn’t do it perfectly through this long and sometimes tedious season, Yah changed it to a strategic, opportune time. Abraham and Sarah moved from chronos to kairos. The new sprang forth from the old, and Isaac, the son of promise, was born.
Another example can be seen in the process the Israelites went through in their journey to the Promised Land. Israel was in a difficult chronos season of having to persevere and wait in Egypt. Suddenly, the shift sprang forth. When the time was right, Yah, in His great wisdom and power, moved quickly and said, in effect, “I am changing the season.”
As a part of the process, Yah came to Moses, who had ended up on the backside of a desert for his own 40-year chronos season, and told him He was about to shift things through him. Moses essentially said, “Shift them with somebody else, not me.” But Yah made it clear to Moses that he was the one to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt, and Yah brought about the divine shift for Moses and for the nation of Israel.
In a sad turn of events, these Israelites weren’t able to lay hold, by faith, of this kairos season, and they lost it. They ended up in another chronos season, wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. The next generation, who would eventually go in and possess the land, also had to wait through this difficult chronos period. Suddenly, Yah came to Joshua and said that in three days they were to go across into the Promised Land.
Yah was creating the divine shift. The wandering time was over, and He moved the nation into a new phase. He quickly brought them from chronos into kairos. If we have been in a long chronos season, our tendency is to think that it’s not possible to shift quickly into a kairos time. But it is imperative for us to be prepared to change when Yah says He’s bringing the shift. We have to move with Him, or we will miss what He wants to do. If we don’t understand the ways of Yah, we can become so confused and frustrated that we aren’t able to reach out in faith and change. Like the first generation of Israelites that came out of Egypt, we end up in the wilderness and never reach the promise.
However, if we comprehend the ways of Yah, this will decrease the frustration during the waiting time. We can move into peace and rest, knowing that Yah is in control and we are walking with Him.
Saul, who later became the apostle Paul, received a divine visitation from Yah on the road to Damascus. When the Lord revealed Himself to Saul, he experienced a dramatic conversion a kairos time. He then shifted into a routine chronos season where, for 12 to 13 years, Yah was transforming him and bringing great revelation. When the time was right, as recorded in Acts 13, the Lord declared that Paul was to be separated for the work to which he was called. This chronos time became kairos time as Yah released Paul into the fullness of his ministry. The routine time wasn’t wasted. It was all a part of the process of training and preparation for what Yah was going to launch him into. Chronos shifted into kairos, and the world has never been the same since.
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