There are times when we are minding our own business, and suddenly there is a strong conviction to act on something. You feel it so strongly in your spirit, urging you to forgive the person who hurt you or to give someone a call. In some instances, it’s a dream or a vision you have always had, and all of a sudden you know it’s time to make a move. It’s called a grace period and will not be with you forever. The scripture says, “Today if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:15)
That scripture is not just talking about salvation… And those thoughts are not just God giving us nice thoughts… God doesn’t ask us to do something and not give us the ability to do it. With that urging, you will feel faith rising, you will have the faith, the determination, the strength, and the favour to do what you couldn’t do before.
It’s a grace period and it’s not going to last forever. Too often we hear the still small voice but we put it off. “I know I need to forgive but I will do it later. I know I need to get in shape and take care of my health, I will do it soon. I feel this new passion to start a long-time dream but I will do it one day” I know I need to change my lifestyle but I will do it another time.
The interesting part of it all is that God will not force His will on you. If you don’t do what He wants you to do now, you may not have that grace period again or you may have to do it in a hard way. Don’t take that grace period for granted, where God is making a way and where things can turn around forever.
That grace period doesn’t stay around forever, there is a limited time when God gives you this opportunity to come up higher. When you have faith in it, that is the time to act. Don’t talk yourself out of it, don’t make excuses, “Later I will get serious”. You are not always going to feel what you feel.
And if that moment runs out, God may allow you with another opportunity, He is merciful. However, you don’t know how long that’s going to be. You don’t have time to go around the mountain again and again, like the Israelites… They turned an eleven-day journey to the Promised Land into 40 years because they missed the grace period; complaining, and talking about how big their obstacles were. (Number 14:34)
When God brings something to light that you need to deal with, be it a bad attitude, jealousy, saying hurtful things and weaknesses, you wouldn’t have felt that conviction if the grace to address it was not available at that moment… And without delay you have to address it within that grace period.
All of a sudden you know, you can overcome that depression, you know lack and struggle is not your destiny, you feel faith rising… Those are not just encouraging feelings, you are coming into a special season, a favour that God has strategically designed for you.
If you step into the favour that God has strategically designed for you, doors will open that you couldn’t open, and bad habits and addictions that have held you back will be broken. The obstacle may be big but our God is much bigger, He would not have opened that door if you didn’t have the favour to go through it.
This is where the Israelites missed it. They had been in slavery for many years. As God brought them out, they were headed toward the Promised Land. They made it through the desert, fought off enemies along the way, and finally came to the land flowing with milk and honey.
They were camped next door to the Promised Land. This is what they had been dreaming about, all they had to do was go in and take the land, God had already promised them the victory. This was an opportunity of a lifetime. A grace period comes along with the favour to accomplish, the power to overcome, and the strength to defeat the opposition.
The Israelites didn’t recognize that God won’t give you the opportunity and then not give you the grace to do it. They said, “Moses, these people are too big, we will never defeat them, we felt like grasshoppers compared to them, let’s go back to Egypt”. They turned around and went back into the desert. (Numbers 13:33)
And God did not like their action. He told Moses they were never going to enter the Promised Land. Moses told the people what God said, how they were limiting their destiny, being weak and intimidated. The scripture says, they turned back again and went back toward the Promised Land.
They said to Moses we have done wrong, now we are ready to enter the land God promised”. You may think that Moses would say, “Great, I’m glad you changed your mind, let’s go in”. Moses said to them, “Do not enter the land now or you will be crushed by your enemies”. What happened? The grace period was over. That’s why it’s so important not to put off what you know God is telling you to do. (Deuteronomy 1:41-45)
TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!
Time is of the essence, the longer you wait, the less passion you will feel and the less likely you will be able to do it. Don’t put it off, there is a grace period. It’s not months, it’s not years, it’s a passing opportunity. Unless you grab hold of it, stretch your faith, and make the changes, then you will miss your grace period.
The grace period will not last forever, you can’t keep putting it off and expect it to be there in a year. When you feel it, you have to stir your faith up, “Father, thank you that this is a new day, I am stepping into a new level of favour, wisdom, determination, discipline, creativity, anointing, and every force that’s trying to stop me is being broken”. You will see yourself doing it at the right time
You can do the right thing at the wrong time, and miss your grace period. Timing is critical. When God says do something, you need to do it. It may not make sense now, but God knows things that we don’t know. When He says “Forgive”, you may think of a thousand reasons not to, just do it, God knows what’s best for you.
When He says, “Take that step of faith”, your mind may tell you, “What if it doesn’t work? What if the contract doesn’t go through? What if the economy slows down”? If there is no risk, it doesn’t take any faith. If there is no chance you may fail, then you don’t need God’s help. At the level you are today there is no way you could have gotten there on your own so take that step when He asks you to.
In the scripture, God told Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh and tell the people, they had 40 days to repent or God was going to destroy the city. Interestingly, God put a period on it. He didn’t just say repent whenever you feel like it, just as long as you do it. He said, “You have 40 days to make things right”.
When Jonah told the people, the first thing they did was fall on their knees, the king took off his royal robe, put ashes on his head and declared a citywide fast. They didn’t wait a week, they didn’t wait 20 days, they said immediately, “God, we are sorry for the way we have been living and God spared the city”. (Jonah 3:1-10)
I wonder, if there’s something you could change in the next 40 days, and you would see God’s favour in a new way? Maybe God is saying to you: you have 40 days to get your priorities in order, 40 days to forgive that person, 40 days to pursue your dreams or 40 days to get serious in your relationship with God.
There is a period of grace. It was 40 days for the people of Nineveh, I don’t know what it is for you, but what I know is that the grace period doesn’t last forever. Listen to that still small voice, that knowing on the inside. That’s where you are going to have divine empowerment, the favour to do what God is asking you to do. Take that step today!!!
If you will do this, I decree and declare, that new doors are being opened, freedom from whatever has held you bound, restoration in relationships, healing, promotion, breakthroughs, and the fullness of your destiny, in Jesus’s name.
The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”’!
