Is This Your Kairos Moment?

        Chronos is a Greek word for “time,” defined as a sequence of moments, emphasizing the duration of time. It is linear, measurable time, like a calendar or clock.

        Kairos, on the other hand, is an ancient Greek word referring to an appointed time for a special purpose. It can also mean “opportunity”, “season,” or “fitting time.” It is the significance of the moment for action, a particular event, or opportunity, a point in time that can change the course of a life.

        Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 states that there is a Kairos, a right time for everything – a time to come alive and to pass away, to plant and to dig up, to construct and take down, to prepare for battle and to surrender, to embrace and to let go, to battle and to be calm.
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        Zacchaeus in the Bible had a Kairos moment. Jesus was coming to Jericho and Zacchaeus, a tax collector hated by the Jews for collecting taxes for the Romans, wanted to see this famous Rabbi. Being short of stature, he climbed up into a sycamore-fig tree to see Jesus better.

        Zacchaeus could have jostled with the crowd to get closer to Jesus. But I believe his decision to climb that tree was a Kairos moment for him. It resulted in Jesus noticing him, visiting his house, and salvation coming to him and his family because he repented for his wrongdoing and said he would give half his possessions to the poor, and pay back four times anyone he had cheated.

      Jesus told him, “’...Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost’” (Luke 19:9-10 NIV).

        The woman whose bleeding never stopped had a Kairos moment. The problem had been ongoing for twelve years. She’d spent everything she had on physicians and still the bleeding continued. I believe her Kairos moment came when she kept saying to herself, “’If I could only touch his prayer shawl I would be healed’” (Matthew 9: 21 TPT).
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        The Scripture says, “Just then Jesus turned around and looked at her and said, ‘My daughter, be encouraged. Your faith has healed you.’ And instantly she was healed! (Matthew 9:22 TPT).

        And lastly, blind Bartimaeus. It was a normal day for him as he sat along the roadside just outside Jericho begging. Suddenly, he heard a commotion and asked what was happening. When he was told it was Jesus, he shouted for the Man from Nazareth to have mercy on him.

      The crowd told Bartimaeus to be quiet. He could have listened to what they said, but he knew his Kairos moment had arrived. The Scripture says after being told to be silent, he yelled all the louder.
Further proof he knew it was his Kairos moment was that he threw off his cloak – his source of protection from harsh weather, his blanket at night, and what he probably laid on the ground for people to toss their coins onto.

        By throwing down his cloak, he was tossing off his most valuable possession, in faith that Jesus would heal him. When Jesus asked him what He could do for him, Bartimaeus answered, “’...Rabbi, I want to see’” (Mark 10:51 MSG).

     Jesus told him, “’On your way...your faith has saved and healed you’” (Mark 10:52 MSG). The Scripture further states, “In that very instant he recovered his sight and followed Jesus down the road” (Mark 10:52 MSG).

     It is important to recognize our Kairos moments and seize them by faith. Saul in the Old Testament had a Kairos moment when he was looking for his father’s donkeys and ended up at the prophet Samuel’s house, where he was anointed to be the first king of Israel.

        Father God, help us to recognize the Kairos moments You bring to us, seize them by faith, and allow You to use them to take us deeper into the marvelous plan You have for each of our lives. In the precious Name of Jesus, Amen.