Finding Kairos by Connie Inglis

When I first read the prompt for this month I felt like I had little to say other than, "Yes, without question, I feel God's pleasure when I write." End of blog post.

But the longer I pondered it, the more ideas the Spirit put in my head to the point that so many thoughts were spilling over that I wasn't sure how to connect them all. Isn't that so typical of the way God works? To first inspire us in some way, and then to ask us to WORK it out? To use the gifts and abilities He's given us to bring His inspiration to fruition? For me these are two sides of the same coin and do relate to the topic at hand. I believe we can feel His pleasure no matter if the coin is heads--His inspiration in our mind--or tails--getting our tails in gear and doing the work. (A little side note. The nickel grabbed my attention because of the beaver and the English idiom: busy as a beaver. I know, I'm quirky that way.)

The first idea that the Spirit gave me was this: Actually feeling His pleasure depends on me, on my emotional state. God's pleasure, on the other hand, does not depend on me, on us, because His pleasure in us NEVER changes. His delight in us, His love for us, is constant and unconditional. Zephaniah 3:17 says it so well (This is a picture of my granddaughter. She too delights in running):

The longer I think about this, the more overwhelmed I become at how out-of-this-world ineffable that truth really is. Which also means I can feel His pleasure in enjoyable times, like when I am writing, but also in painful times, in times of struggle. HIS pleasure is always waiting for me, wanting to be felt.

Then the Spirit reminded me of the beautiful word picture of this in Luke 15: the parable of the lost son. The father's love for, his delight in his lost son does not waver. Each day he goes out and watches and waits and when his son returns home, the father shows delight in his son, throws his arms around him and then throws him a party. The son feels his father's pleasure. How like our Father is this picture? We, like the son, and like Eric Liddell, can run to Him and for Him and feel His pleasure. It waits for us. (image is of Rembrandt's work, "The Return of the Prodigal Son.")

So, if God delights in me always, if He finds pleasure in me as His child, then I believe He truly desires that I seek and find that place where I am "feeling His pleasure" anytime--all the time. This is where the Spirit reminded me of what it means to be in kairos time in contrast to chronos time.

I was introduced to kairos vs chronos time a few years ago when I read Mark Buchanan's book, The Rest of God: Restoring your Soul by Restoring Sabbath. We are familiar with chronos i.e. chronological or sequential time that is measurable. Buchanan states that, "Chronos is the presiding deity of the driven." Kairos, on the other hand, has no English equivalent. Wikipedia defines it as, "a time lapse, a moment of indeterminate time in which everything happens." Buchanan calls it, "the scent of eternity in our hearts," and Madeleine L'Engle in her book Walking on Water calls it, "Real time. God's time. That time which breaks through chronos with a shock of joy..." And then she says, "the artist at work is in kairos." I think Eric Liddell would have said that when he ran he was in kairos time. It is often when I am creating, whether with words or paints, that I sense God's delight, a taste of eternity--kairos time.

I hope this blog makes sense to you--that you get the connections I was trying to make. And that you are reminded once again of how much God loves you and delights in you and that His desire is for us to feel His pleasure often, whether we are running or writing or cleaning up kid messes or caring for a parent with dementia. And when we feel His pleasure we are given a little taste of eternity, we are in kairos time. 

What Does Jesus Want to Do? -- Janet Sketchley

“Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” John 5:19, NIV*

Mark Buchanan raises this issue in Hidden in Plain Sight, and I find it one step more immediate than “What Would Jesus Do?” (In His Steps, by Charles Sheldon).

After all, Jesus isn’t me, isn’t in my shoes, so I can only guess at what He’d do. The Holy Spirit is right here with me, so I can ask. But I need to ask, and to obey.

For me, this brings it from the theoretical to the practical. “What would the Father/Son/Spirit do here?” is something I can acknowledge and then go my own way.

“Father/Son/Spirit, what do You want to do through me?” will have an answer I need to obey.

© Janet Sketchley, 2009
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For devotionals, reviews and conversation, stop by Janet Sketchley's blog, God with Us: Finding Joy.