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Chronos and Kairos–The Mysterious Right Time

By Anita Mathias




Koine Greek has two words for time, Kairos and Chronos. Chronos was clock time, chronological time. Kairos was special: “the right time,” God’s Time.

Jesus highlights the difference when he tells his disciples.  “The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right,” John 7.6. In fact, there are constant references throughout the Gospel to his kairos time, as when Mary tries to hurry her miraculous baby into action in the marriage of Cana, and he restrains her, “My time has not come.”
Kairos. Chronos. I have many ideas, many things I want to do. I can’t do all of them right now. So, I am learning to wait for Kairos, the right time, God’s time.
How? Hands wide open, ready to receive, ready to work.


But not fists closed in the act of grabbing.
                                            ~ ~ ~
Roy and I own a small business. We are champing at the bit to expand it as we have lots of exciting ideas, but though the kairos time to expand is very close, each time, I pray about it, I sense it is not yet at hand.  
Roy took early retirement in August 2010, after 21 years as a mathematician–all-consuming work. We are still recovering: there is still some sorting out in the garage; still about ten boxes not unpacked since we moved here from America in 2004. Our investments should be looked at; the house could do with a bit more organizing and decluttering. A little more work will make the garden truly a pleasure. The business has some nuts and bolts to be tightened. Roy wants to see to all this…
We talked over our lives with an older and wiser friend, a vicar, who, somewhat to my surprise, said that when one establishes the Kingdom of God (order, tidiness, serenity) in one’s external surroundings, other things fall into place. It resonated with me. First things first. External peace and order facilitates, enables and eases internal peace and order (though it cannot create it).
 So it’s not yet kairos time to expand our business. Soon, however–in a matter of weeks–it will be.
                                                               ~ ~ ~
When it is God’s time, it’s amazing how everything falls into place. Finance connections, friends appear, out of the blue, to help you; there are numerous coincidences–God-incidences.
So it is best to wait for kairos time before you force something through.
And the idea of kairos time explains why sometimes one might wait  and pray a very long time for something to happen–with no apparent results–and then it happens very quickly. For me, the times when things fall into place very rapidly, efficiently, almost magically is a hallmark of God’s activity.
                                    ~ ~ ~
I think of a reflection by Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision.


God answers all prayer.  He does not answer our selfish, materialistic begging.  He does not move into our sinful situation.  He moves us out of our sinful situation into Himself.  God sometimes moves slowly.  Sometimes we don’t lack faith, but patience.  Wait patiently for Him, and He will give you your heart’s desire.

1) If the request is not right, He will answer, “No.”
2) If the time is not right, He will answer, “Slow.”
3) When you are not right, He will answer, “Grow.”
4) When the request, the time and you are right, God will say, “Go.”
That’s when miracles happen.  
                                      ~ ~ ~

 When the girls were young, I desperately wanted to write, and trying to do so with young children, exhausted me, and not that much got read, or written. The state of the house was a constant source of irritation and contention, and in retrospect, I should have prioritized getting the house together, and put my writing on the slow track, as life had decreed it should be.
Now, however, is the kairos time to write. I don’t have many other  demands on me; the girls are quite independent; Roy does not need support from me in what he does; in fact, having retired early, he is able to run the house and the girls, and even help me.

So now, in the kairos time to write–I just have to shrug off distraction–and get down to it.
                                                                                               * * *
So how does one know if it’s the kairos time, the right time to pursue or achieve one’s heart’s desire?
You put first things first. You seek the kingdom of God in your life—what your life would look like if God were ruling it. If your heart’s desire is not appearing, you accept that it is not yet the right time for it, and continuing preparing, and waiting and praying and working towards–patiently.

And give us grace, Lord, for this is easier said than done!!

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Comments

  1. Anita Mathias says

    June 20, 2012 at 10:26 pm

    Thanks, DJV, Paul and Mollie.

    Paul, I don't review fiction. Have more of “a non-fiction mind.” Sorry:-)

    Mollie and DJV, am so glad it connected:-)

  2. Miss Mollie says

    June 20, 2012 at 2:47 pm

    A “timely” post that again speaks to me and where I am at in my life. Three years when I started this writing journey in earnest, I could feel success. Yet, I know, now, I have much to learn, mostly waiting on God, taking on Jesus' yoke, being obedient, living by the Spirit.
    And writing, writing, writing.

  3. djv says

    June 20, 2012 at 7:01 am

    Hi
    Really a great insight into Gods timing; I have to confess that as I get older I am becoming less patient with what I want to achieve ,it seems that the years are melting away and I am frustrated by the lack of chronos, maybe it is systematic of a mis-spent youth however to relax and allow Kairos to beat the rhythms of life is perhaps the surrender I need; how so often we only perceive and appreciate Kairos in hindsight.

  4. Paul says

    June 19, 2012 at 11:31 pm

    Hi Anita~

    It appears we are fellow aficionados of the chronos-kairos ideas. I've loved them since I first heard them explained.

    If you're interested, I did an online explanation of kairos as part of my book marketing. You can see it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsyqkfTZ-L0

    And if you do book reviews, I'd be happy to send you a review copy of my novel “The Kairos.” More information is available at http://www.CarpeKairos.com. I'm humbled that virtually all Amazon.com reviewers have awarded it 5-stars.

    Blessings on your openness to kairos moments, Anita!

    Paul Hartman
    [email protected]

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anita.mathias

Writer, Blogger, Reader, Mum. Christian. Instaing Oxford, travel, gardens and healthy meals. Oxford English alum. Writing memoir. Lives in Oxford, UK

Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford # Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford #walking #tranquility #naturephotography #nature
So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And h So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And here we are at one of the world’s most famous and easily recognisable sites.
#stonehenge #travel #england #prehistoric England #family #druids
And I’ve blogged https://anitamathias.com/2020/09/13/on-not-wasting-a-desert-experience/
So, after Paul the Apostle's lightning bolt encounter with the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus, he went into the desert, he tells us...
And there, he received revelation, visions, and had divine encounters. The same Judean desert, where Jesus fasted for forty days before starting his active ministry. Where Moses encountered God. Where David turned from a shepherd to a leader and a King, and more, a man after God’s own heart.  Where Elijah in the throes of a nervous breakdown hears God in a gentle whisper. 
England, where I live, like most of the world is going through a desert experience of continuing partial lockdowns. Covid-19 spreads through human contact and social life, and so we must refrain from those great pleasures. We are invited to the desert, a harsh place where pruning can occur, and spiritual fruitfulness.
A plague like this has not been known for a hundred years... John Piper, after his cancer diagnosis, exhorted people, “Don’t Waste Your Cancer”—since this was the experience God permitted you to have, and He can bring gold from it. Pandemics and plagues are permitted (though not willed or desired) by a Sovereign God, and he can bring life-change out of them. 
Let us not waste this unwanted, unchosen pandemic, this opportunity for silence, solitude and reflection. Let’s not squander on endless Zoom calls—or on the internet, which, if not used wisely, will only raise anxiety levels. Let’s instead accept the invitation to increased silence and reflection
Let's use the extra free time that many of us have long coveted and which has now been given us by Covid-19 restrictions to seek the face of God. To seek revelation. To pray. 
And to work on those projects of our hearts which have been smothered by noise, busyness, and the tumult of people and parties. To nurture the fragile dreams still alive in our hearts. The long-deferred duty or vocation
So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I have totally sunk into the rhythm of it, and have got quiet, very quiet, the quietest spell of time I have had as an adult.
I like it. I will find going back to the sometimes frenetic merry-go-round of my old life rather hard. Well, I doubt I will go back to it. I will prune some activities, and generally live more intentionally and mindfully.
I have started blocking internet of my phone and laptop for longer periods of time, and that has brought a lot of internal quiet and peace.
Some of the things I have enjoyed during lockdown have been my daily long walks, and gardening. Well, and reading and working on a longer piece of work.
Here are some images from my walks.
And if you missed it, a blog about maintaining peace in the middle of the storm of a global pandemic
https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/  #walking #contemplating #beauty #oxford #pandemic
A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine. A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine.  We can maintain a mind of life and peace during this period of lockdown by being mindful of our minds, and regulating them through meditation; being mindful of our bodies and keeping them happy by exercise and yoga; and being mindful of our emotions in this uncertain time, and trusting God who remains in charge. A new blog on maintaining a mind of life and peace during lockdown https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/
In the days when one could still travel, i.e. Janu In the days when one could still travel, i.e. January 2020, which seems like another life, all four of us spent 10 days in Malta. I unplugged, and logged off social media, so here are some belated iphone photos of a day in Valetta.
Today, of course, there’s a lockdown, and the country’s leader is in intensive care.
When the world is too much with us, and the news stresses us, moving one’s body, as in yoga or walking, calms the mind. I am doing some Yoga with Adriene, and again seeing the similarities between the practice of Yoga and the practice of following Christ.
https://anitamathias.com/2020/04/06/on-yoga-and-following-jesus/
#valleta #valletamalta #travel #travelgram #uncagedbird
Images from some recent walks in Oxford. I am copi Images from some recent walks in Oxford.
I am coping with lockdown by really, really enjoying my daily 4 mile walk. By savouring the peace of wild things. By trusting that God will bring good out of this. With a bit of yoga, and weights. And by working a fair amount in my garden. And reading.
How are you doing?
#oxford #oxfordinlockdown #lockdown #walk #lockdownwalks #peace #beauty #happiness #joy #thepeaceofwildthings
Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social d Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social distancing. The first two are my own garden.  And I’ve https://anitamathias.com/2020/03/28/silver-and-gold-linings-in-the-storm-clouds-of-coronavirus/ #corona #socialdistancing #silverlinings #silence #solitude #peace
Trust: A Message of Christmas He came to earth in Trust: A Message of Christmas  He came to earth in a  splash of energy
And gentleness and humility.
That homeless baby in the barn
Would be the lynchpin on which history would ever after turn
Who would have thought it?
But perhaps those attuned to God’s way of surprises would not be surprised.
He was already at the centre of all things, connecting all things. * * *
Augustus Caesar issued a decree which brought him to Bethlehem,
The oppressions of colonialism and conquest brought the Messiah exactly where he was meant to be, the place prophesied eight hundred years before his birth by the Prophet Micah.
And he was already redeeming all things. The shame of unwed motherhood; the powerlessness of poverty.
He was born among animals in a barn, animals enjoying the sweetness of life, animals he created, animals precious to him.
For he created all things, and in him all things hold together
Including stars in the sky, of which a new one heralded his birth
Drawing astronomers to him.
And drawing him to the attention of an angry King
As angelic song drew shepherds to him.
An Emperor, a King, scholars, shepherds, angels, animals, stars, an unwed mother
All things in heaven and earth connected
By a homeless baby
The still point on which the world still turns. The powerful centre. The only true power.
The One who makes connections. * * *
And there is no end to the wisdom, the crystal glints of the Message that birth brings.
To me, today, it says, “Fear not, trust me, I will make a way.” The baby lay gentle in the barn
And God arranges for new stars, angelic song, wise visitors with needed finances for his sustenance in the swiftly-coming exile, shepherds to underline the anointing and reassure his parents. “Trust me in your dilemmas,” the baby still says, “I will make a way. I will show it to you.” Happy Christmas everyone.  https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/24/trust-a-message-of-christmas/ #christmas #gemalderieberlin #trust #godwillmakeaway
Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Gratitude journal, habit tracker, food and exercise journal, bullet journal, with time sheets, goal sheets and a Planner. Everything you’d like to track.  Here’s a post about it with ISBNs https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/23/life-changing-journalling/. Check it out. I hope you and your kids like it!
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