The Season of Stepping into Your Purpose

The following is derived from chapter 8 of my new book, Discovering Your Destiny.

One of the vital things to remember in walking out our destiny is that life is lived out in seasons. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” Just as there are seasons in the natural, there are seasons in our walk with God and in fulfilling our divine purpose. Understanding this can help us to keep in step with what God is doing in our lives and keep us from unnecessary frustration along the way.

Sometimes, the right action to take is determined by what season we are in. If King David would have been doing what was appropriate for the season, he would have avoided his greatest failure.

It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
-2 Samuel 11:1 (emphasis added)

The next few verses describe how David fell into temptation and committed adultery with Bathsheba. This was followed by the murder of Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband. If David had been doing what was appropriate for the season, this would have all been avoided. The problem was not that David stayed home. It was that he stayed home “at the time when kings go out to battle.” The season demanded battle, but David chose to rest.

The Bible says that the sons of Issachar “had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do” (1 Chronicles 12:32). Because they knew the season, they knew what the appropriate action was. Different times require different responses. Different seasons have different purposes. If we will be diligent to understand the seasons we walk through, it will be immensely helpful in our journey of discovering and fulfilling our destiny. Just as knowing who we are and who we are not gives us insight to make wise decisions, so does understanding what season we are in.

Understanding Kairos Moments

In the New Testament, there are two Greek words used to describe the concept of time. One is chronos and the other is kairos. Chronos refers to time in the chronological sense. Kairos describes specific points in time that are significant for the purposes of God. It speaks of God’s appointed time to act or accomplish a purpose. It is a fullness of time juncture, where things come together and destiny is released.

God has a due season—an appointed time—for certain things to take place in our lives. It is important that we understand this concept so that we can grow as He intends in each season and anticipate His appointed times. Below are some examples of things that come at the kairos moment—God’s appointed time.

1.Reaping a Harvest

Galatians 6:9 says, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” When you are doing the right thing but not seeing any measurable results, it can become frustrating. Paul exhorted the Galatian church not to lose heart or give up on the good things they were doing, because a harvest was coming—in due season. There is a season of sowing and a season of reaping.

No farmer plants seeds one day and expects a harvest the next. But in our microwave society we can often expect things to happen without proper cultivation and time. In God’s kingdom, there is a process of planting, watering, and nurturing until a harvest is finally reaped. This principle applies to various areas of our lives: spiritually, relationally, financially, and otherwise. It certainly applies to the walking out of our destiny as well. We must remember that everything we are doing in this season is sowing into the next. And we must continue to walk in obedience to the Lord and trust that He will bring a harvest into our lives at the proper time.

2. Fulfilling Prophecies

When the angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias in the temple, he prophesied of the birth of his son, John the Baptist. Zacharias doubted the message and became mute because of it. Gabriel said this: “…you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time” (Luke 1:20, emphasis added). The original Greek word for “time” in this verse is kairos.

God has an appointed time for prophecy to come to pass. Samuel prophesied that David would be the next king of Israel, but it was many years later and after much testing that his word came to pass. It happened in the Lord’s time. Abraham was given the prophetic promise of a son that would become a nation, but it also took many years to be fulfilled. Many other examples could be given. This tells us that we must seek the Lord for His timing, and not try to force something to happen because it has been prophesied to us.

3. Being Promoted

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (1 Peter 5:6). God calls us to humble ourselves, and trust that He will promote us at the right time. On the path of fulfilling our destiny, it is God who elevates us along the way. If we try to promote ourselves, we will be getting ahead of God’s timetable and putting ourselves on dangerous ground. This is one of the divine paradoxes of Scripture: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12).

It may sound strange, but it is actually God’s desire to exalt us. However, it is not our job to exalt ourselves. Instead, we must walk in humility and trust that God will promote us in due season according to His own time, plan, and purpose.

4. Stepping into Your Calling

The Bible says that John the Baptist “was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel” (Luke 1:80). John had a powerful calling, but it would only be effective at the right time. There was an appointed time for him to step into his true destiny, but until that time he was in the wilderness being prepared and trained for his ministry. As we receive a revelation of destiny, our tendency is often to want to step right into it and begin to fulfill the calling. This is a natural response, but it is not in line with the ways of God. Once we are called, we are launched into a season of training.

When you examine the lives of the men and women of faith in the Bible you will see this pattern: calling, preparation, and fulfillment. The process looks different with each person, and there are no formulas to fulfilling destiny, but the pattern remains true. When we receive God’s call, we must submit to His process and trust that He will release us into the fullness of our calling at His chosen time.

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