Have you ever had one of those “God rattling moments?” Minding your own business, but with a click of a remote control to change a channel, you hear someone say something and that one thing they said just ushers you into a different time zone and space? You begin to think of the implications of their statement and trying hard not to think about what they said? The statement, “We may not have chosen the time, but the time has chosen us,” was no different. Why did I hear this? It was official-I become unsettled within me.

I think of this statement in grandiose situations and not so much grand-but each situation having the potential to change the course of history when it comes to time choosing the moment. Moses-had it grand Oholiab-not so grand. Paul, Grand; Simon of Cyrene-not so grand. Esther-Grand; The Slave girl-not so grand. For each of these characters, time had chosen then in their various capacities and they had a choice to respond.

Let us consider a few examples:

Nehemiah-Arise and Build: Nehemiah is known for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem-a significant accomplishment. We have a book in his honor to prove the contribution he made to history.. His task was to arise, motivate, and engage the people to rebuild the walls of a city that was once known for its strength. He faced opposition-but the cause drove him on and he finished rebuilding the walls. In light of the statement we are considering, what walls do you have to rebuild? A broken relationship? A broken home? A broken community? You may not have chosen this time, but has time chosen you to rebuild the broken places?

Joiada-The Repairer: No book was written in his honor. He did not know he would play a significant role in repairing a fortress for a nation, but here was Joiada. What is said of him is simple. “The Old City Gate was repaired by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam…they laid beams set up its doors, and installed its bolts and bars.” I can imagine Joiada refusing to do this menial work because he wanted to be like Nehemiah. However, in 52 days, Joiada is known as a man, who prior to this, wondered how the walls would be repaired, as a repairer of the Old City Gate. What area is God calling you to repair? Not necessarily rebuild, but just repair something and bring it back to its rightful place? Has time come knocking for repairs?

Simon of Cyrene-The Cross Carrier: Of all the characters in the Bible, Simon of Cyrene is probably the only character that makes me draw back because he found himself in a predicament. I can safely say that Simon did not choose this time, but time came calling and chose him. Matthew 27:32 states, “Along the way, they came across a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross.” Take a deep breath and think-he did not choose this, this was forced upon him. He could have flashed his human rights card and declared war of the soldiers, but in an instance, the severity of time choosing could not allow. What a privilege to carry the cross of Christ! An experience no other person in history can attest to but Simon. Yet in our present world, there are crosses that are being forced on us to carry and we are fighting tooth and nail not to carry them, instead of realizing that time has chosen us for this moment. It may not be grandiose, but it’s a call from the Master of the Cross.

I think of men and women who could have chosen a different path for their lives, but because time has chosen them, they cannot seem to run from it. They have sacrificed a lot to be the voice of a generation. I think of pastors who put their lives on the line for people and the same people are ungrateful and hateful, yet time has chosen them to hold that one hand that needs them. I think of when natural disasters happen and the world is at a standstill-wondering what to do, yet countless teams go and help out the afflicted. They leave their comfortable homes to sleep in tents so that they can hold that hand that is crying out. I think of people who serve nations, like the firefighters of September 11, 2001 who never saw the calamity that was about to take place. Yet, when time came calling, they had to respond and many lost their lives to save others. Time called them.

It’s not like people sign the dotted line and say, “I want to be born in this era, and I want all cards to fall according to what I want.”No! Its realizing that we may not have chosen the time, places, homes, we are currently connected to, but time is no respecter of all these things. When time chooses us, we need to brace ourselves for misunderstandings, lonely places, questions, but most of all, a back of steel, cause we will need it. Could it be that someone needs a deliverer? A cross carrier? A rebuilder of broken walls? We should not be afraid to face the future-we can change it because time is beckoning us!

The question remains, when time comes calling, will we be ready to respond accordingly?