Right place, right time

Ecclesiastes 9:11 
"...It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time."

I don't believe in coincidences.  I don't believe whatever will be will be, but I do believe in divine-incidences; God ordained moments that we could not create by our own will or effort.  It is my understanding that there is no Hebrew word for coincidence, but there are two words in the bible I want to look at today; the Hebrew word QARAH and the Greek word KAIROS.'

In the verse above, that world CHANCE doesn't really refer to 'luck' but simply means 'an occurrence or happening', but the next phrase 'in the right place at the right time' is QARAH.  It's isn't just a lucky break that you happened to be somewhere but implies a God-ordained moment in time.

QARAH literally means 'right happening'.  It was first used when the servant was sent out to find a suitable wife for Abraham's son, Isaac.   The servant heads off to find a girl and when he arrives at the city of Nahor, he prays to the God of Abraham. In Genesis 24:12 (MEV) it reads

Then he said, “O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, please let me have success this day and show kindness to my master Abraham.

(in the KJV that is rendered God speed) 

That word success is QARAH. He is praying "let me have 'right happening' in this matter".  

In the Greek, the word KAIROS means 'an opportune moment'.  It refers to a time when God acts, or a moment when time stands still and God intervenes.  

Both these concepts make me think of our English phrase to be 'in the right place, at the right time'.

This is not just a coincidence, but it is a supernatural direction and organisation that places a yielded believer in just the right time and place for an important connection, a special encounter, divine protection or other supernatural outcome.

I've heard many great testimonies that illustrate what I mean. Let me share a few.  A friend of mine who had a heart issue, and had gone to hospital and was scheduled for surgery.   The time of the appointment was confirmed and 'it just so happened' that at the exact moment she was supposed to go into surgery, one of the top specialists in that field was visiting and was able to participate in her surgery.  Prior to that, my friend had been praying over the situation, the appointment and the operation!  She was in the right place, at the exactly the right time.  No it wasn't a coincidence; as she yielded her ways to the Lord, he put things in motion to make this connection for her.

Secondly,  I recently heard of a lady who travelled a lot and was on business abroad, staying in a hotel.  She was supposed to go for breakfast at a certain time, but ended up spending a little extra time that morning on her bible reading and prayer time with the Lord, as she felt she needed to.  There was a shooting in the hotel right at the time she should have been going down to breakfast. When it happened she was in the right place at the right time because she yielded to the Holy Spirit's leading to stay a little longer in prayer that morning.

In a similar vein to that, another man staying in a hotel in Indonesia had been praying about being in the right place and the right time, and as he walked through the hotel lobby a terrorist bomb went off, right at the moment he walked behind a pillar.   There was not a scratch on him.

My final testimony isn't so grand, but I remember as a child going to a big theme park that had a crazy new ride I really wanted to go on. When we arrived the queue for the ride was 3+ hours.   My dad said we could queue if I wanted to, but that would mean we wouldn't get to do much else. He suggested that we could pray though. So we did.  We prayed and then off we went to enjoy the day.  Towards the end of the day, we were walking by that exact ride when an announcement came over the park tannoy that said the daily show was about to begin and that to ensure you got seats, you should head to the venue for that.  Literally everyone left!  We looked at each other and went to see of there was any more rides on the rollercoaster!   The operator beckoned us with a handful of others, and then we actually got to ride it twice as there was no more people waiting. I know that's not a deeply spiritual thing, but as a child, it was through these simple things, I learned the stuff that has shaped me into the believer I am now.  God made it so that we were in the right place and the right time!

Today my challenge to you is to allow God to direct you every day - ask him to put you in the right place, at the right time and yield to his voice as guides you; whether that's the route you take to or from work, or who you speak to at church, follow his leading and watch for this kairos moments.  

God's grace is so much bigger than we allow for in modern thinking  When we allow God's grace to not just save us, but work for us, it makes way for qarah moments, God appointments.

Whether it's a big or small thing, pray that you will have those 'God moments' where you are in exactly the right place at the right time!