Greetings n the name of Jesus, Amen. Today’s topic, Waiting for Your Time and Season is central to life’s success in any field.
We shall rely on two major Bible references for this study.
One is Eccl 3:1, which paraphrased, says there’s a season and time to everything. I encourage you to read, Eccl 1:1-11 for a full understanding of the subject of time and seasons.
The second scripture is, John 3:4. This event took place at a wedding ceremony in Cana of Galilei, where Jesus, His disciples and Mary, His mother were present.
Jesus Warned: Don’t Step Ahead of Time
On this occasion, the guests ran out of wine. Concerned, Mary, the Lord’s mother urged him to save the day by performing a miracle of abundance, but Jesus cautioned in John 2 verse 4: My hour has not yet come, paraphrased. Please read the entire reference, John 2:1-11, you would see that he went ahead, nevertheless, to rescue the occasion by performing what turned out to be his first and the beginning of the miracles in his ministry.
Our main concern here is the emphasis Jesus placed on time and seasons.
John The Baptist Waited For His Time.
John The Baptist, generally known as the forerunner of Jesus, taught us a lesson on time and seasons.
In Luke 1:57-80, we read the story of John The Baptist. In verse 80, we are told that he was in the wilderness, growing in spirit and wisdom, while waiting for his manifestation to Israel.
In other words, he understood the importance of waiting for the right time.
Why You Must Wait For Your Time
There are several other Bible characters who taught us the lesson of waiting for the appointed time before manifesting the grace of God in our lives .
We shall look at a few of them.
But let us first look at why you should wait for your time. Time opens the door to your season.
When you step out at the right time,you unlock the door to your season and you succeed. Jesus and John waited for the times appointed for them to manifest the glory, which God gave to them,otherwise they would not have succeeded in their assignments.
During the time of waiting, you study to get the formal education and the required spiritual power, knowledge, wisdom and understanding, with the experience to carry out your assignment.
At the age of 12, Jesus went to the temple to listen to the Rabbis and learn the law.We go to school for several years to be trained as lawyers,doctors, engineers and acquire the knowledge and skills we need to become fully fledged professionals, before we’re given the certification and degrees that qualify us to work.
No medical student goes out to work as a doctor.No trainee goes out to work until they are qualified to do so. They have to wait for their time and seasons.
Waiting gives you the opportunity to grow. It’s necessary to learn how to cope with the tricks of your trade from your boss,mentor,or teacher before you step out.
That was what the Disciples of Jesus did. They were under the tutelage of the Master until the time recorded in Matthew 10, when they graduated and were finally sent forth to preach the preach the gospel to others .
John The Baptist did the same thing. He was in the wilderness, learning, waxing strong until he became powerful enough to carry out his assignment.
Today,we know about internships that doctors, lawyers and other trainee professionals go through before they graduate from the university.
That’s part of waiting.
Bible Characters Who Waited For Their Seasons
Apart from Jesus and His disciples and, John The Baptist, Moses waited in the court of Pharaoh where he learned the wisdom of the Egyptians, that was central to his success as the leader of the Israelites.
His deputy, Joshua waited and learned under Moses before he succeeded him at the appointed time.
Elisha learned as a faithful servant of his boss, Elijah and later took his mantle after he was counted loyal, tested and faithful to succeed him.
He didn’t try to topple his boss, or quit to start his own prophetic ministry like many people do today because they are overambitious.
Wilderness Experience: A Training For Your Season
Jesus went to the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights to be tested. Then, as soon as he left, he faced serious temptations from the devil.The wilderness experience helped him to overcome these temptations, because it’s a fire anointing.
Wilderness experience is part of what great and successful folks go through to equip them for lasting success.
Lessons From KFC, Steve Jobs, Ali Baba And Obaigbena
Steve Jobs co-founded of Apple with two colleagues was a good lesson in corporate turnaround.
He lost a board room battle and was ousted from Apple.. He did not go to a corner and begin to whine. He set up Pixar and later acquired Apple, then went on to turn it around and became an investment, innovation icon before his premature death.
KFC founder, Colonel Sanders earned the reputation of the most successful late starter. After a string of failures, he founded KFC at over 60, when his peers had retired, and turned it into a global brand.
Chinese billionaire, Jack Ma the founder of Ali Baba was even rejected at a job interview at KFC. After several struggles with unsuccessful job searches, he ultimately started online giant, Ali Baba in China. Today, his inspiring success story is encouraging millions of young people around the world.
Here in Nigeria, Arise TV founder, Nduka Obaigbena first suffered a setback when his This week magazine failed at his initial attempt at publishing back in the ’80s.
Undeterred, he went ahead to start Thisday daily, a leading newspaper in Nigeria and subsequently, Arise TV which is now one of the successful TV stations in Nigeria.
These men, like the Bible characters, went through wilderness experiences, which trained and prepared them for enduring success.
Wilderness experience, therefore, is a vital part of waiting which precedes any type of lasting success in life or ministry.
Ladi Ayodeji is a Bible -based Motivational Speaker, Counselor, Author, and gospel minister. He can be reached on 09059243004.