#destinymoments
Be careful to not miss your timing when it comes to purpose and destiny. I contrast two examples given in scripture about timing, Daniel and the first generation of Israelites that came out of Egypt. With Daniel, the Bible in Daniel 9:2 says “he understood by the books the number of years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolation of Jerusalem”. So he decided to pray and seek God for the redemption of Israel back to their land (chapter 9). Daniel’s prayer and the answer that came was fulfilled in Ezra 1 when King Cyrus let the Israelites go back to rebuild the city. But the interesting part of this is that Bible scholars have argued that the timing of the captivity of the Israelites into Babylon and their release to go back to Jerusalem was less than the prescribed 70 years. It is said to be somewhere in the range between 62 and 68 years. This implies that God in his sovereignty was so pleased with Daniel and his resolve to seek God on behalf of Israel that he cut back the prescribed number of years He had intended for Israel to stay in captivity and brought to fulfilment the promised release earlier than the initial time He had said He would.
In contrast to this, Numbers chapter 13 and 14 gives the account of the first generation of Israelites who even though their journey from Egypt to Canaan should apparently have taken less than a year, they ended up spending 40 years in the desert (1 year for each of the 40 days that the spies spent spying Canaan and brought back a bad report, Number 14:34). God punished them such that that generation died in the desert and it was their children that entered Canaan i.e. everyone below the age of 30 except for Caleb and Joshua, who being amongst the spies had brought back a good report of faith in God.
The key is understanding the times, your timing and God’s plan in that time. Be like the men of Isaachar who, understanding the times knew what to do otherwise you will miss it. However, having said all this, even though you may you have missed it, God is a restorative God for as long as you still have breath in you God can still restore your years. Moses is a very good example of this, even though he was called to redeem the Israelites, he initially thought it would happen in his own strength when he killed an Egyptian. Because of this he ran and was in hiding in the desert for 40 years (and it is said by Bible scholars that the redemption of the Israelites was delayed by these 40 years) when God called him back to fulfill his purpose. The key is passing the test of character as Jesus did in Mathew 4 and resisting the temptation the enemy sets before you, time after time and God himself will bring you into your inheritance. Revelations 21:7 says “he that overcomes shall inherit all things and I will be His God and He shall be my son”. This inheritance is not only when you go to heaven but is right here on earth as you journey into all that Jesus died for you to have. So seek God for your timings and correct perspective of where your life is right now.
As promised, find below the second part of Tony Evans “Detours to destiny – the pattern of detours”
Seek God for your timings and correct perspective! Oh for grace to seek and trust him! Amen!
Amen indeed! Grace is definitely present
Still blessed by this word even today. God is a restorative God and in his sovereignty he will restore the lost years. Powerful word!
thanks so much Comfort!