By Rev. Keith Howard
Kairos Moment – For Such A Time As This
“The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you.’” — Genesis 12:1–2
There are moments when God calls us forward without giving us the entire map. He gives a command, but not every detail.
He gives a promise, but not the timetable. He reveals the next step, but not necessarily the destination.
These are often Kairos moments—God-appointed opportunities that require us to trust His character before we understand His plan.
Abraham knew this journey well.
God called him to leave what was familiar and travel toward a land that God would reveal. Abraham could not see everything ahead of him, but Hebrews 11:8 tells us: “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.”
Notice those words:
He obeyed and went.
Abraham’s faith was not merely something he believed in his heart. His faith moved his feet.
When God Says, “Go”
Genesis 12 records a defining Kairos moment in Abraham’s life.
God told him:
Leave your country. Leave your people. Leave your father’s household. Go to the land I will show you.
God was asking Abraham to exchange familiarity for faith.
That is rarely comfortable.
We naturally prefer certainty. We want God to show us the destination before we begin the journey. We want confirmation before commitment, explanation before obedience, and guarantees before surrender.
But sometimes God simply says:
“Go.”
The question then becomes whether knowing Who called us is enough when we do not know everything about where He is leading us.
Abraham teaches us that genuine faith does not require complete information before obedience. It requires confidence in God.
The Promise and the Waiting
God promised Abraham that he would become the father of a great nation. Yet there was an obvious obstacle: Abraham and Sarah had no child.
Years passed.
The promise remained.
But the fulfillment seemed increasingly impossible.
I remember receiving a word from God, praying faithfully, and then watching circumstances seem to move in the opposite direction. I know some of you can relate to that experience.
Waiting can test what we truly believe about God.
When the answer does not come quickly, questions begin to arise:
Did I misunderstand God? Has He forgotten me? Why is this taking so long? Should I do something myself?
This is where the distinction between Chronos and Kairos becomes important.
Chronos watches the calendar.
Kairos trusts the God who controls the calendar.
We measure how long we have been waiting. God sees what He is producing while we wait.
Don’t Manufacture What God Has Promised
One of Abraham’s greatest lessons came when he and Sarah attempted to help God’s promise along through Hagar.
Genesis 16 reveals the consequences.
God had promised. But waiting became difficult. So human reasoning attempted to accomplish what only God could fulfill.
That temptation remains with us today. When God seems slow, we may try to force a door open. When His answer hasn’t arrived, we may manufacture one. When His timing doesn’t match ours, we may substitute our plan for His.
But a Kairos life requires more than recognizing God’s promise.
It requires trusting God’s method and God’s timing.
Psalm 27:14 says:
“Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”
Waiting is not inactivity; biblical waiting is active trust. We keep praying. We keep studying God’s Word. We keep serving, obeying, and preparing.
We refuse to abandon God’s truth simply because His timetable differs from ours. Biblical waiting is active trust. We keep praying and studying God’s Word.
We keep serving, obeying, and preparing. We refuse to abandon God’s truth simply because His timetable differs from ours.
God Does His Greatest Work in Impossible Places
By the time Isaac was born, Abraham was one hundred years old, and Sarah was beyond the natural age of childbearing.
From a human perspective, the situation was impossible.
But impossibility is not a limitation for God.
Romans 4:20–21 says of Abraham: “Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.”
What a description of mature faith:
Fully persuaded.
Abraham’s confidence ultimately rested not in circumstances but in God’s character.
This is where God desires to bring us.
Not merely to say:
“I believe God can.”
But:
“I trust God even when I cannot see how.”
Our circumstances do not determine God’s faithfulness.
His character does.
When the Promise Is Tested
Then came Genesis 22.
God told Abraham to take Isaac—the promised son—and offer him as a sacrifice.
Imagine the tension.
Isaac was not merely Abraham’s beloved son. He represented the fulfillment of God’s promise.
Yet Abraham obeyed.
Why?
Hebrews 11:17–19 reveals that Abraham trusted God so completely that he reasoned God could even raise Isaac from the dead.
Abraham had moved from trusting God for the promise to trusting God with the promise.
That is a deeper level of discipleship.
Sometimes we become so attached to what God has given us that the gift begins competing with the Giver.
Our ministry. Our position. Our plans. Our dreams. Our relationships. Our accomplishments.
Even things God has legitimately entrusted to us must remain surrendered to Him.
The question becomes:
Do I want God’s blessing more than I want God Himself?
Abraham raised the knife, and God stopped him.
God provided a ram.
Abraham called that place:
“The LORD Will Provide.” (
He discovered again that obedience never takes us beyond God’s provision.
Biblical Proficiency Produces Spiritual Discernment
We live in a world filled with competing voices. Culture speaks. Politics speaks. Social media speaks.
Fear speaks. Our emotions speak. Our circumstances speak. But disciples of Jesus Christ must learn to recognize the voice of God through the truth of His Word. We cannot navigate Kairos moments successfully while allowing the world’s narrative to shape our thinking.
Romans 12:2 tells us: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
This is why biblical proficiency matters. We search the Scriptures like the Bereans. We seek wisdom from God. We learn to understand the times. We test what we hear against God’s Word. And we remain rooted in Christ. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Therefore, genuine disciples do not simply ask:
“What does the world say?”
We ask:
“What has God said?”
Get Out of the Boat
Abraham’s journey also points toward a principle Jesus later demonstrated through Peter.
Peter said:
“Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” — Matthew 14:28
Abraham had to leave Ur.
Peter had to leave the boat.
Esther had to approach the king.
Every generation of disciples eventually faces a moment when faith must move beyond comfortable Christianity.
God has not called us merely to occupy pews.
He calls us to follow Jesus.
There is a significant difference.
A spectator observes.
A disciple follows.
A spectator applauds faith.
A disciple exercises faith.
A spectator asks, “What will this cost me?”
A disciple asks, “Lord, where are You leading me?”
And when Jesus says, “Come,” the authentic disciple steps toward Him.
The destination is not adventure.
The destination is not recognition.
The destination is not ministry success.
The destination is Jesus Christ.
Union With Christ
At the heart of genuine discipleship is not simply doing more things for God.
It is living in union with Christ.
Jesus said in John 15:5:
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
Abraham’s journey teaches us to trust God.
But Jesus reveals the fullness of what that trust becomes.
We abide in Him.
We receive our identity from Him.
We allow His Word to shape our thinking.
We depend upon His Spirit.
We participate in His mission.
And fruit comes from that union.
This is the transformation God desires:
Recognize.
Respond.
Rededicate.
Remain.
Reproduce.
We recognize God’s Kairos moment.
We respond in faith.
We rededicate ourselves to His calling.
We remain in Christ.
And then our lives reproduce as we help others become authentic disciples of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps You Are in the Waiting Season
Maybe you are somewhere between God’s promise and its fulfillment.
Do not despise that place.
God may be doing some of His deepest work in you there.
Abraham waited.
Joseph waited.
Moses waited.
David waited.
Paul experienced seasons of preparation.
Even Jesus waited until the appointed time before beginning His public ministry.
Waiting does not mean God has forgotten you.
Sometimes the waiting room is God’s classroom.
He is developing perseverance.
Deepening dependence.
Removing self-reliance.
Correcting motives.
Strengthening character.
Teaching obedience.
Preparing us for what He has already prepared for us.
So don’t abandon your assignment because the fulfillment has not arrived according to your timetable.
Remain faithful. Remain teachable. Remain prayerful. Remain in His Word.
Above all:
Remain in Christ.
When God’s Kairos moment arrives, may He find us spiritually awake, biblically grounded, fully surrendered, and ready to obey.
Abraham discovered that the God who calls is faithful.
We can trust Him too.
He is still calling men and women to leave comfortable places and walk by faith.
And perhaps today He is saying to you:
“Trust Me. Follow Me. Come.”
Will you go?
Reflection Questions
- Where is God asking you to trust Him without knowing every detail?
- Are you waiting on something God has placed upon your heart?
- Have you been tempted to manufacture an answer rather than wait for God’s timing?
- Is there something God has given you that you now need to surrender back to Him?
- Which voices are shaping your thinking most—the world’s narrative or God’s Word?
- What practical step would help you become more biblically proficient?
- If Jesus is saying, “Come,” what would getting out of the boat look like for you?
Faith trusts God’s character when His timetable is unclear. A genuine disciple does not need the entire map before obeying—only confidence in the One who says, “Follow Me.”
“By faith Abraham, when called to go… obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” — Hebrews 11:8
Prayer
Heavenly Father, King of the universe,
Thank You that Your timing is perfect and Your promises are trustworthy. You see the beginning and the end, and nothing concerning my life is hidden from You. Teach me to trust You as Abraham learned to trust You. When You say “Go,” give me courage to move. When You say “Wait,” give me patience to remain faithful. When You say “Surrender,” give me grace to release what I am holding. And when You say “Come,” give me faith to step out of the boat and move toward You.
Forgive me for the times I have allowed fear, impatience, culture, circumstances, or the world’s narrative to speak louder than Your Word. Renew my mind through Scripture. Give me a hunger to become biblically proficient, wisdom to understand the times, and discernment to know what You would have me do. Lord Jesus, keep me abiding in You. I do not simply want to accomplish things for You; I desire to know You, remain in You, become more like You, and participate faithfully in Your mission. Awaken those who have become spiritually disengaged. Call us off the pew and into authentic discipleship. Bring those who have wandered back into wholehearted devotion. Raise up men and women who are rooted in Your Word, filled with Your Spirit, courageous in obedience, joyful in service, and completely surrendered to Your will.
Equip us.
Encourage us.
Empower us.
Then send us into the world to reach others and make genuine disciples of Jesus Christ.
May we always remember that the destination is not the blessing, the promise, the platform, or the ministry.
The destination is Jesus.
And whatever You accomplish through our lives, may all honor, praise, and glory belong to You alone.
In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
To God Alone Be The Glory
https://beaconlightmin.com/esther-courage-for-such-a-time-as-this/
