God's Amazing Time Zone

Friends,

I’m sure you’ve heard of time zones.  You’re probably especially aware of the one for the part of the world in which you live.

If we’re not careful, our familiarity with these same time zones can be dangerous, especially when we’re moving with God.  Here’s a reality we need to remember:

The Lord says: “My thoughts and my ways are not like yours. Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, my thoughts and my ways are higher than yours (Isaiah 55:8-9, CEV). 

God doesn’t think like us.

Even about time.

While our thoughts center on time zones, years, months, days, all the way down to seconds, His are much bigger.  In fact, He has an entirely different time zone.  It’s called GAT, which stands for God’s appointed time.  If you’re not aware of it, you’ll be in a rush and miss something He’s trying to reveal. 

Here’s a great example of God’s appointed time in action:

Moreover, He called for a famine upon the land [of Egypt]; He cut off every source of bread. He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold as a servant. His feet they hurt with fetters; he was laid in chains of iron and his soul entered into the iron, Until his word [to his cruel brothers] came true, until the word of the Lord tried and tested him. The king sent and loosed him, even the ruler of the peoples, and let him go free (Psalm 105:16-20, AMPC).

Joseph, the person referenced in the passage cited above, spent a long time on a journey.  God shared the vision when he was 17 years old, but the completion didn’t happen until he was 30 years old.  That’s 13 years of waiting, and I don’t care how you frame it, that doesn’t sit well if you approach time from our standpoint.

But it makes perfect sense to God.

That same timeframe is how long it took to develop Joseph’s character.  It’s how long it took to refine his family members.  It’s how long it took for the environmental conditions to form for Joseph’s wisdom to be received.  And this, friends, is how God’s appointed time works.  He looks so much farther ahead than we ever will to ensure we become who He needs to thrive where we will reside.

Now for the big question of this blog post.  How do we embrace God’s appointed time?  Here are two keys:

✅ First, remember He’s omniscient.  

That’s fancy language, and it means God is all-knowing.  He knows you.  He knows the purpose for which you were created.  He knows when the people who will be blessed by your purpose will be ready to receive.  And He knows when you, your purpose, and people who will benefit from it will collide.  Keeping His omniscience in mind will help settle us when we get in a rush, feeling like we’ve been waiting too long.  With this reminder, we can boldly declare: “All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come” (Job 14:14, KJV).

✅ Second, remember He’s omnipotent. 

That means He’s all-powerful.  It also means our specific circumstances, that make us want to fast forward to get to the destination, are not all-powerful.  Within the scope of God’s omnipotence is an allowance, a measured amount of testing.  This testing will not overwhelm us because it’s catered to our level of maturity.  And who’s behind it all?  God.  He’s looking at the circumstance, weighing it against who we need to become, and prohibiting it from being destructive.  It will only be developmental, causing us to become more like His perfect child, Lord Jesus.  When we remember His omnipotence, we can confidently say, “We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose, and he has always known who his chosen ones would be. He had decided to let them become like his own Son, so his Son would be the first of many children (Romans 8:28-29, CEV).

Friends, this is how we embrace God’s appointed time.  We remember that He’s omniscient and omnipotent.  He has the wisdom and power to assign appointed times.  When we yield to His timing, we can slow down in our rush to get to the next destination and really enjoy the journey.

I’ll be back soon with another blog post.  In the meantime, I’d love to hear your thoughts as well.  Let me know how you embrace God’s appointed times in the comments below.

And, if this conversation spoke deeply to you, don’t miss the first part of it here: [SHIFT] Podcast (S2, E14): Slowing Down in Rush Hour. 

Until we connect again, let God take great care of you, according to His appointed times.  Have an incredible day!

For the King and His Kingdom,

Reginald Hinton Jr.

Scripture quotations marked (CEV) are from the Contemporary English Version Copyright © 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.