Understanding Our Times – Part 2
The Bible in 1 Chronicles 12:32 says the sons of Issachar had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.
“And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.”
In Part 1, we talked about how the sons of Issachar had the spiritual understanding to know what needed to be done and the right time to do it.
I am reminded of a very telling story about the life of Henry Ford. Henry was a brilliant man whose motor vehicle invention ushered in a new transportation era worldwide. While he was very ingenious with his invention, he was also very opinionated and stubborn about certain aspects of it. He had his mind made up that all his new motor vehicles would be black and only black. In fact, he was so set on this opinion that when he was asked about other colors, he replied with his famous statement “I don’t care what color they are, as long as they’re black”.
In the meantime, other companies were catching up with Henry’s invention and manufacturing their own version – in many beautiful colors which were selling like hotcakes. Henry was faced with a dilemma: he could stubbornly stick to his ‘opinion’ and lose out on many sales, or he could adjust his attitude and learn from his experience. He chose to adjust.
Although Henry was stubborn at first, he knew the right time to adjust his thinking and correct his course of action. This adjustment is the reason Ford Motor Company is still No. 1 in the world of transportation today.
As the sons of Issachar, it’s not enough to know what to do, or even how to do it, we must also know the right time! Although Henry Ford had been a forerunner and developed this amazing motor vehicle, he stood ready to lose much of the rewards of his labors because of his stubbornness. He refused to change for a season, and it nearly cost him his lead in the motor vehicle business.
As we await His return, it is increasingly important to know what to do, AND the right time to do it. We must put every aspect of our own opinions far behind the prompting of the Spirit and be found doing the right thing AT THE RIGHT TIME.
