Knowing The Times
The Requirement for God's Commission
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Just as You commissioned and sent Me into the world, I also have commissioned and sent them (believers) into the world (John 17:18 AMP)
There is a rhythm in God’s heart—He calls, He sends, He empowers. From Abraham leaving his homeland to Paul crossing seas, God’s story has always advanced through sent ones. When Jesus said, “As You sent Me, so I send them,” He invited us into that same divine rhythm. Each believer becomes a continuation of His incarnation, God’s presence moving through human vessels for divine purpose. Before Jesus left the world, He prayed not only for His disciples but for all who would believe through them. In that prayer, He drew a straight line between His mission and ours. We are not wanderers but witnesses, not spectators but those entrusted with continuation. Every generation inherits both His love and His mandate—to go, to reveal, to reconcile.
And so, throughout history, we have seen men and women across every walk of life record exploits and do great things in furtherance of God’s agenda. This movement was never limited to preachers or those formally called “men of God,” but included the obscure and the renowned, the seemingly irrelevant and the visibly anointed. The genealogy of Christ tells us as much. Jesus, often styled “the Son of David,” could just as easily have been called the son of seventy-two others. Between Adam and Abraham stretched twenty generations; between Abraham and David, fourteen more; and between David and Christ, another forty-two according to Luke’s account.
The point is this: God’s plan runs through people. His work is generational and He writes redemption’s story not through angels, but through human lineage, through those who said yes to His purpose in their time.
Scripture is clear about God’s agenda. He has a plan for individuals, for families, for communities, cities, and nations. Each forms a subset of His larger desire, that all would be saved and come into the fullness of relationship with Him. His agenda unfolds in parts and pieces, seasons and series, for He places emphasis on different things at different times. The fulfillment of His purposes in any generation depends on the presence of available, willing, yielded, and trained people.
Among Israel, the sons of Issachar embodied such discernment. “From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.” (1 Chronicles 12:32)
The same question rests upon us today, upon our lives, our churches, our communities, and our nations: Do we know what to do?
The sons of Issachar stand out in Scripture as a rare kind of tribe. They were not many, only two hundred leaders, yet their insight guided a nation. While other tribes brought soldiers and swords, Issachar brought something different, discernment. They carried a prophetic intelligence, the ability to read the rhythm of heaven in the noise of history. They knew when to move, when to wait, when to speak, and when to bow. Discernment is the first half of their gift. It is the grace to see as God sees, to recognize what He is emphasizing in a particular season. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for knowing how to read the sky but not the signs of their time (Matthew 16:3). Daniel, too, understood “by the books” that the time for Israel’s return had come, and he turned that revelation into intercession (Daniel 9:2-3). Esther recognized the divine setup of her moment—“for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14)—and stepped into risk that rescued a people. Discernment without delay births destiny, it is the product of God’s commission.
Direction is the second half. It is what turns revelation into momentum. Proverbs 3:5-6 urges us to trust in the Lord so He may “direct our paths.” Habakkuk shows what to do when vision comes: “Write the vision, make it plain… that he may run who reads it” (Habakkuk 2:2). To know what God is saying is discernment, to act upon it is directional obedience. The Issachars married both—understanding and action—and thus became a compass for Israel’s future.
Every generation needs its own Issachars, men and women who interpret divine timing and translate revelation into faithful leadership. Paul spoke of this when he called believers to renew their minds so they could “discern what is the will of God” (Romans 12:2). James called it wisdom from above—pure, peaceable, willing to yield (James 3:17). In a world of noise, God still looks for those who carry quiet clarity. They are the ones who steady nations, guide churches, and anchor movements. As Isaiah declared, “wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times” (Isaiah 33:6). My prayer today is that God will raise in our day a company of Issachars, people who can read the season, hear the Spirit, and know exactly what to do.
The world hums with motion yet lacks melody, so many voices, so little clarity. The trumpet sounds, but its note is uncertain, and the people hesitate (1 Corinthians 14:8). We scroll through noise, consume endless words, and mistake motion for meaning. But movement without direction is drift. Like Israel in the days when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25), we are in danger of exchanging revelation for preference and conviction for commentary. We build platforms but neglect altars, we master performance but lose presence. Martha’s busyness has replaced Mary’s posture, we are “anxious and troubled about many things,” while the one necessary thing—listening at Jesus’ feet—sits waiting (Luke 10:41–42).
For us today, God’s word to Haggai still echoes: “Consider your ways” (Haggai 1:5–7). What then is the path? It is discernment, alignment and obedience. “Look carefully how you walk, not as unwise but as wise… understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:15–17). Let the mind renewed by grace test and approve what pleases God (Romans 12:2). Seek first the kingdom and its righteousness, and the scattered pieces of life will find their order (Matthew 6:33).
We are commissioned to write the vision clearly and let it steady our steps. To let our purpose be plain enough to run with and simple enough to obey. As we move, we listen for the quiet guidance that comes when our hearts are still—the inner whisper that says, this is the way, keep walking. Clarity is found in nearness to Christ. When our soul aligns with divine wisdom, confusion loses its grip. Where we see dimly, restraint fades, but where understanding dwells, peace and stability take root. In every season, wisdom becomes the weight that anchors us, and knowledge the light that steadies our times. May the Spirit who guided Issachar guide us now, to see, to know, and to do what pleases the Lord in this hour.
The call is simple, it is for us to yield. God’s agenda does not need our polish, it needs our yes. Heaven is not waiting on better conditions but on willing vessels—hearts tuned to His cadence and hands open to His assignment. We are not spectators to a story unfolding without us, we are the continuation of the commission, sent as He was sent, carrying His life into our homes, workplaces, cities, and nations.
Let us ask, then, for understanding. Ask God to uncover your assignment, to show you where your name is written on the roster of this hour. Let the noise and clutter fall away until purpose stands plain. Alignment is not a feeling; it is a posture, ears tuned before words are spoken, obedience preceding explanation, and movement born of trust. This is how the Church regains her clarity, how the scattered find their center, and how the times, once shaken, begin to steady again.
Prayer for Alignment
Heavenly Father,
Teach us to see as You see and to love what You love. Silence the noise within us until only Your direction remains.
Deliver us from distraction, and draw us into the center of Your will. Let our lives move to the rhythm of Your purpose, yielded, willing, and awake.
Make us instruments of Your sending, carriers of Your presence, interpreters of Your moment.
As You sent Christ, so send us now, into families, cities, and nations, to do Your will on earth as it is in heaven.
In Jesus’ name
Amen.
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