Ask Sheryl ~ When will 'It Is Time' mean 'IT IS TIME?'
I received an email from a subscriber to my newsletters asking when will 'It is Time' mean 'IT IS TIME?' and although I will respond to the letter personally, I know that others have this same question. I have found myself asking the Lord the same thing, and so in this 'Ask Sheryl' I feel led to address this and share what I believe the Lord has been showing me, and also what I heard this morning in my time with Him.
Aligning Ourselves With God's Event Calendar
I feel it is important that every one of us realizes that we see the things happening around us every single day, and each of us, in our own way, asks the question, When does 'It is Time' mean 'IT IS TIME?' I am not one who believes God gets offended with us for questioning things. I know many will tell you that you shouldn't even ask or don't even question, but personally, I believe David in the Bible and many others questioned the Lord on things, and He never got offended by it. I have found that He just loves to spend time with us and hear our voices. Now, does that mean He loves to hear whining? No, He didn't like it with the Israelites, and of course, that is not what He desires to hear from us. But asking a question is not whining. It is simply something one of His children has been pondering because they don't know, so they decided to ask, and He is good and will always answer. Maybe not always to our liking, but our Father does answer us if we ask.
THERE ARE EXAMPLES THROUGHOUT THE BIBLE...
Although we may not want to hear or accept it, the Bible clearly tells us that people waited and waited for God to move on their behalf.
- The Israelites waited and watched as Pharaoh made things even harder on them while Moses went to him over and over saying, 'Let My People Go'.
- Noah and his family built a boat in obedience to God for a date they were never given. For over 100 years, they lived in a depraved world where Giants were literally eating people, and yet God kept them safe the entire time as they built their own vessel to escape in.
- Esther was prepared to be Queen for a year and then was chosen by King Xerxes to be his new Queen above all the other women. While she was Queen, Haman was promoted and wanted to kill all of her people, including her uncle Mordecai.
My point is like Noah who built the Ark for over 100 years and then was shut in the Ark for a week before God started the rain, (which the people had never seen before and the reason the people didn't believe him) Esther too came into a time when the people were on God's Event Calendar.
THE EVENTS CALENDAR IS NOT THE SAME AS OUR CALENDAR...
I think it is easy in our humanness to think that God works on our calendar, but that is simply not true. God works on an Events Calendar that was planned out from the beginning of time. Remember that the book of Isaiah tells us that He knows the end from the beginning...
- Noah's Deliverance was an event foretold by the naming of his Grandfather 'Methusalah' which means 'When he dies it will come'.
- The Israelites Deliverance was an event foretold over 400 years before it happened and God had to raise up Moses who could have been slaughtered 'but God', yet it was literally prolonged because he killed a man and ran away for 40 years.
- Lot's Deliverance was an event brought on only through the prayers of his uncle Abraham and the cries of the people. Lot's entire family should have been delivered but his son's in law & daughters didn't believe him and laughed at him and his wife disobeyed God and became a pillar of salt.
- Egypt's Deliverance from the famine to come was pre-planned which we know from Pharaoh's dreams and God had already raised up Joseph who went through terrible difficulty and trials to save a people that would have perished without His intervention.
- The Deliverance of the Jews in Esther's day was an event planned so far in advance that God had to move Queen Vashti out of the way so that King Xerxes would need a new Queen many years in advance.
GOD IS NOT LIMITED BY TIME...
God does not live in time like we do. Time was created for man to live in but not to limit Him.
2 Peter 3:8 AMPC
Nevertheless, do not let this one fact escape you, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.
We are also told that He already knows the end from the beginning...
Isaiah 46:1 AMPC
Declaring the end and the result from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure and purpose,
When God is speaking to us through His prophetic voices He could be in the future doing so. Just that statement reminds me of that Kim Clement song that says, 'You're somewhere in the future and you look much better than you look right now.' Kim Clement prophesied that we should see ourselves as in the future as God sees us and not in the time frame we live in now.
OUR SUFFERING OR HIS GLORY?
Romans 8:18 AMPC
[But what of that?] For I consider that the sufferings of this present time (this present life) are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us and for us and conferred on us!
I've known about God's planned turn around since before 2017 which means I'm on the verge of 9 years now with all of this. I've walked through many trials financially, but found that God always provided and today has brought me to a better place where I fully trust Him. I've gone through difficult health issues that even sent me to the hospital when I had the mini stroke, but I've also seen God healing me of things I've had for years. I almost lost my husband to a devastating health issue that changed our lives for almost 2 years now. The sad reality is it was hard on him but it was also so hard on me that I got to the point at times where I did not feel I could take care of him anymore. I also went through the devastating loss of 2 of my children who at the ages of 22 & 18 decided their mom was nuts to believe any of this stuff and walked away from our entire family saying they reject Jesus now. We made mistakes as parents but thankfully God forgives us and one day I believe He will change their hearts as well. I've cried out to God daily for almost 2 years now to see them come back to God because coming back to us won't change a thing if they have hearts turned against us and walk in unforgiveness for the failures that we've made a long the way as parents but that has not happened yet and the 2 year anniversary is November 23rd. Oh, yes, I remember the day. I've prayed and yet watched several family members die but found myself grateful because at least I know they knew Jesus but we have several family members even now that are sick or hospitialized that do not know Jesus at all and of course we feel the weight of all of that.
Did I share all of that with you to make anyone feel sorry for me? No, beloved, I'm simply letting you know that I too have had all the questions that others do but I have come to find that until we grasp that God doesn't do THINGS in our time frame, nor even for the reasons we think He should, we will continue to question Him and be disappointed every time we don't see what we are expecting (like the Ark door finally closing).
GOD IS NOT MOVED BY NEEDS AS MUCH AS BY FAITH...
God is not moved by need. The entire world needs because of the fall in the Garden of Eden. He isn't moved by tears although Jesus did say He was touched by the feelings of our infirmities (Hebrews 4:15). Fro countless American's and even people from other Nations the tears flowed when Charlie Kirk was martyred but God was not moved by our tears or lack of understanding. No, dear ones, the only thing that moves God is faith.
Luke 18:8b AMPC
However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find [persistence in] faith on the earth?
IF WE DIE DAILY THE TIMING WILL NOT AFFECT US...
1 Corinthians 15:31 AMPC
[I assure you] by the pride which I have in you in [your fellowship and union with] Christ Jesus our Lord, that I die daily [I face death every day and die to self].
I have to die daily because just like you when I wake up and I'm still in pain or when I check my bank and I get concerned about paying something I too hear a very real enemy telling me that there is no God and that He has abadoned us yet because of what I've been doing now for years (Prophecy Fulfilled Newsletters) I have seen it with my own eyes and I know that God is doing amazing and miraculous things around this earth.
Choose to be a Joshua who after serving Moses even while the Israelites complained for 40 years was chosen by God to be their next leader.
Choose to be a Caleb who saw the same thing and yet was still ready to go in and take the land even if it meant killing Giants at 85 years old.
Choose to be a Joseph that no matter what you personally go through or how long it takes you understand that God's ways are not your ways, nor His toughts your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8) and that like Joseph you realize that what happened to him wasn't really even the fault of his brothers but that God had a plan all along and he was never out of God's sight or hands (Genesis 45:5), but like Esther was being prepared for such a time (Esther 4:14). For an event that was never on his or her calendar but was always on God's Calendar.
Finally beloved, choose to be an Esther that not even the fear of death would hold you back from what God has called you to do in this time.
And in closing I just want to say He is a good God and He is teaching you to trust Him. If you don't understand tell Him so. If you don't know what you are called to do in this time I encourage you to simply sit at His feet like Mary (Luke 10:39) did and listen, because He is speaking to us all loudly through His prophetic voices and yet not one of them has been given a time or date but He also wants you to learn to hear Him for yourself.
John 10:27 AMPC
The sheep that are My own hear and are listening to My voice; and I know them, and they follow Me.
Sheryl York 🕊️
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