The Appointed Time

But the woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her.  2 Kings 4:17

The Lord our God is on schedule. Sometimes to us it may seem as if the Lord operates on a cause and effect sort of basis and that much of His schedule depends upon whether a person does the right of the wrong thing first. Eighteen times in the Bible the Lord speaks of an appointed time, and seven (of course it is!) of those usages are prophecies. Other instances of prophecy don't use that exact wording but use phrases even more exacting such as, "prepared for the hour and day and month and year..." God's schedule goes all the way to the end times and He is on time and on target as we like to say. 

Today, we use the verse in regard to a young woman who had not known a man, and one week before the appointed time she may have felt some concern. For us the week before Christmas Day is one of delightful anticipation with just a bit of rushing about to get every gift purchased for the big celebration of our Lord's birth. Mary also faced the one week prospect of our Lord's birth, though we must admit that she was more intimately involved than any of us. And her concern? It might have been a concern for where the blessed event would take place. As we know now, the event occurred in a stable and the holiest of babies was laid in a feeding trough for animals. What an honor for the beasts! What a chance for us to trust that is exactly what the Lord our God wanted in time, place and space. 

Amen! Welcome, Lord Jesus!

Bucky