I didn’t expect God to speak to me during the Scripps National Spelling Bee this year, but He did.
As I settled in to watch the finals on Thursday night, I was just expecting to enjoy watching a group of amazing kids spell incredibly difficult words. I love spelling, so I try to give my guess before they show it on the TV screen (I’m usually close, but also usually wrong).
The first round of the finals began:
frailejo’n, Stakhanovite, jabiru, Tophet, alloeostrophe, scuppaug…
I got excited when Dr. Bailley gave the next word: kairos. I knew that one! I had heard it during my studies at Northwestern College. It had something to do with time, I thought, but as he read the definition, I was completely convicted:
A time when conditions are right for the accomplishment of a crucial action: the opportune and decisive moment.
Alice went on to spell “kairos” correctly, but I was stuck on that word for several minutes.
It hit me because I think we miss our kairos so often. We let that moment go by and waste our opportunity to do something significant. And then we do that over and over again, because of fear or uncertainty.
It hit me because this is my kairos. Our children are grown, I don’t work outside the home, I have the time and the talents and the desire to accomplish several crucial actions. I don’t want to waste any more opportunities.
On Thursday night, it felt like God was saying, “Do I have to spell it out for you? It’s time.”
“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (John 13:17 NIV)
Is it the kairos for you in any area of your life? How can focusing on God help you to “seize the day” and take crucial action?