The Appointed Time

“For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end [fulfillment]; it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait [earnestly] for it, because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day.” (Habakkuk 2:3 AMPC)

An appointment is a fixed time of meeting or occasion where something was previously planned to occur at that particular time, date, and place.

We know from the Bible that God is beyond time…..seeing as He created it, (Genesis 1:31, Psalm 90:2, Psalm 93:2, Psalm 102:24-27, Isaiah 57:15) yet He appoints times in the lifespan of humanity and faithfully keeps His appointments (Leviticus 23:1, Ephesians 1:4, 1 Peter 1:20, 2 Timothy 1:9).

Often, we do not understand the “how,” “what,” “when,” or “where” in which these appointments are brought to fruition, but they come all the same.

Case in point:

I came home this past Tuesday to a wonderful surprise in my backyard. One of my rose bushes had produced a full bloom for the FIRST TIME EVER!

This may not seem like such a “WHOO HOO!” moment for you but hear me out.

In my back yard, I have four rose bushes, of different colors. Two of them are FLOWER-PRODUCING POWERHOUSES that produce BIG beautiful blooms every year, several times over. They are always so beautiful and I look forward to seeing and smelling them in their season. One other rose bush produces more sparingly and the blooms are an average size. But the last bush has not produced a successful bloom the whole time we have lived at our home. It is the smallest bush, with some pretty ‘gnarly’ looking roots poking out of the ground. Several times I have thought to put the poor thing out of its misery but I could never bring myself to go through with it.

Every season that the other bushes have bloomed, this poor plant tried to produce little buds, but they never made it to fruition (meaning the buds died off).

Last year, I determined within myself to give this bush a last chance to produce for its next season. I began paying extra attention to its soil, its base, its water and nutrient intake, and so on. I made sure to decimate any encroaching weeds and was careful not to knock around the exposed roots. I even added some super-rich “rose food” to the soil around it. All of this I did last year during the last blooming season. It was a “do or die” effort.

Well, imagine my great elation at seeing this tiny bush produce one of the biggest blooms in my garden so far! Not only that, but its color is absolutely beautiful! I had been quite busy for several days, so I had not noticed when it started to produce a bud. Yet, it did bud and it did bloom.

Several things immediately came up in my spirit as I marveled at this spectacular flower.

First, I was reminded of the significance of the year 2018. This is the year of NEW BEGINNINGS! It is the year of new beginnings for things that have been sown in the past. Where once you have sown and not seen the harvest, this year the harvest will come and be greater than what you ever envisioned.

Secondly, the month in which this flower bloomed is so significant. May is the fifth month of the Gregorian calendar, and the biblical meaning of the number five is GRACE. Also, according to the Hebraic calendar, the day my flower bloomed was the first day of the month of Sivan. This month represents the giving of the Torah to the Israelites at Mt. Sinai, after God delivered them out of 400 years of bondage in Egypt. In the New Testament, this month commemorates the giving of God’s Holy Spirit to believers and followers of Jesus Christ waiting in the Upper Room in Jerusalem. Two common themes I see hidden in these stories are PREPARATION and WAITING. You see in both the Old and New Testament instances, the people had separated themselves to God, per His instruction (preparation through consecration) and they waited to see God fulfill His word in its APPOINTED TIME!

Thirdly, it spoke to me personally through a prophetic word I received in 2013 where God called me His flower and said that I was planted for His purposes to bring beauty, love, comfort, and HOPE – hope to people as they see me bloom and as they experience the beautiful fragrance of my life. He also said for me to not be afraid to bloom and that He would provide the perfect conditions for me to do so.

There is soooo much we can learn from this one little flower’s story. We will dig deeper in the next few days to come, but for this post let’s dig into the aspect of appointed times.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 and 11 says:

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven…[God] has made everything beautiful in its time.”

When I asked the LORD about the flower He said to me that it came in its appointed time. Though I had desired to see the rose bush bloom in previous seasons, it was not time for it to do so. It’s previous unsuccessful blooms did not negate the purpose God had for that plant. They may have swayed me at times, even to the point of almost “plucking up” the plant, but God was never moved by what I saw going on in the life of that rose bush. He knew its end from its beginning and its beginning from its end.

If God pays attention to flowers in such a manner, imagine the attention He pays to your life!

Jesus said, “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:6-7)

He went on to say,” “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Luke 12:22-31)

Here’s a few more examples of how much notice God gives to our lives:

·         God told the prophet Jeremiah that He knew him and had called him to be a prophet before he was even born. (Jeremiah 1:5)

·         Jesus SAW Nathanael before he ever saw Nathanael (John 1:47-48). Try to work that out in your reasoning, lol.

·         The Lord saw Gideon hiding in the winepress and sent an angel to declare purpose and destiny over him (Judges 6:11-13).

·         God saw Hagar walking aimlessly in the desert trying to escape her circumstances and sent and angel to meet her right where she was at (Genesis 16:6-16).

We can go on and on with Biblical stories of how God takes notice of our lives, but I hope you get the point.

You are not just some “blip” on God’s radar. You are not a “happen-stance” that God had to figure out what to do with. You are a unique creation of a marvelous Creator. You are so special to God that He gave His only begotten Son to take away all of your sins and bring you back into a close relationship with Him (John 3:16, 2 Corinthians 5:18).

Think on this: God orchestrated the past two years of a rose bush’s life in order to speak life into you and me.

HOW GREAT IS HIS LOVE AND CARE FOR US!!!!!!

For each of us, God has appointed times throughout our lifespan that causes us to marvel, just as I marveled at the bloom of that beautiful rose in my yard.

He has some marvelous things in store for you. And He is inviting you to lean in, to draw closer to Him, to see what He sees. Join Him in the vision. Join Him in the Secret Place. Join Him in the process. He is waiting to AWE you with WHO HE IS and WHO YOU ARE in Him!

He already sees you and He thinks good thoughts about you. He has made good plans for you (Jeremiah 29:11). Join Him in seeing those plans fulfilled in your lifetime.

So I encourage you to not give up on yourself, on God, and on the process. Just like with the rose bush, there are times we feel like something in our life has died or not prospered the way we expected, but that does not mean it is hopeless. God is in the business of NEWNESS. He is all about giving people a FRESH START and a NEW LIFE. Because He sees beyond the outside. He sees the heart. He sees that inside of you is a beautiful flower waiting to bloom. And He is just waiting to bring that bloom to the forefront. He doesn’t look at the unsuccessful buds you’ve produced in the past and say, “Well that one was a big disappointment. Might as well get rid of it!” THANK GOD for His mercy, grace, and longsuffering!!! He sees the potential in you that even you may not be aware of.

And I know and believe that everyone who sees you bloom, in your appointed time, will do as I did to that flower growing in my back yard. They will marvel at the beauty of your bloom, at how far you have come. They will KNOW it was God who brought this to pass in your life.

So do not give up waiting for the appointed time of your bloom. Trust God in the process. Trust God even when everything around you looks the complete opposite from the purpose He has for your life. Hold fast to your confession of faith, without wavering (doubting, complaining, worrying), because He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23).

GOD IS FAITHFUL! ALWAYS!!!

“For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end [fulfillment]; it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait [earnestly] for it, because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day.” (Habakkuk 2:3 AMPC)

God bless you and keep you🌺