BE INSTANT!
Ready When God Calls
There is something about obedience that does not always give you time to get comfortable.
Sometimes God calls you when the timing isn’t convenient.
Sometimes the assignment comes when you don’t feel ready.
Sometimes the door opens before you’ve had time to prepare the speech, organize the plan, or figure out exactly what you’re going to say.
And sometimes obedience simply means:
Go.
That was the heart of a recent livestream:
“Be Instant!”
The message came from 2 Timothy 4, where Paul gives Timothy a solemn charge to preach the Word and to be “instant in season, out of season.”
In other words:
Be ready.
Not just when everything feels right.
Not just when the audience is there.
Not just when you feel confident.
Not just when circumstances are favorable.
Be ready when God says go.
Preach the Word
Paul’s charge in 2 Timothy 4 is serious.
Preach the word.
That is not a suggestion.
It is a charge.
A messenger doesn’t create the message. A messenger carries the message entrusted to him.
That means there is an urgency attached to the assignment.
There are people who need to hear truth.
There are people who need hope.
There are people who need to be reconciled to God.
And there are moments when we have to stop waiting for the perfect conditions and simply obey.
In season.
Out of season.
Ready.
Love Makes Us Fearless
But how do we become instant?
How do we obey when fear wants to stop us?
For me, the answer keeps coming back to love.
John 15 speaks about abiding in the love of Christ, keeping His commandments, and experiencing the fullness of joy that comes from remaining in Him.
Then 1 John 4:18 gives us this powerful truth:
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear…”
The more deeply we know the love of God, the less room fear has to govern us.
Fear says:
What if they don’t understand?
What if I fail?
What if nobody receives it?
What if I make a mistake?
Love says:
Obey Me.
When my relationship with Jesus becomes more important than people’s opinions, obedience becomes possible even when I am afraid.
I don’t have to be fearless to obey.
I have to love God more than I love my fear.
Stay Clean
We also talked about spiritual authority.
Authority is not something I want to treat casually.
There is a difference between saying spiritual words and actually walking in fellowship with Jesus.
I believe there is a call to remain clean before God—to maintain unbroken fellowship with Him and to keep our hearts surrendered.
Before I want authority over anything around me, I need to allow God to deal with what is happening within me.
The closer I walk with Jesus, the more clearly I recognize what belongs to Him and what does not.
And when spiritual warfare comes, I don’t want to operate from panic.
I want to operate from position.
Luke 10:19 reminds us of the authority Jesus gives His disciples over the power of the enemy.
That authority is not an invitation to become arrogant.
It is an invitation to remain dependent upon the One who gave it.
Pursue What Matters
Second Timothy 2:22 gives another important instruction:
“Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace…”
There are things we are called to flee.
And there are things we are called to pursue.
You cannot spend all your energy running from something and never intentionally run toward God.
Kingdom living requires pursuit.
Pursue righteousness.
Pursue faith.
Pursue love.
Pursue peace.
Pursue Christ.
You Were Planted Somewhere on Purpose
One of the things that came strongly through this livestream was the question of purpose.
Why are you where you are?
Why are you surrounded by the people you’re surrounded by?
Why has God placed you in that particular city, workplace, family, neighborhood, church, or community?
We often think our assignment begins when we arrive somewhere “important.”
But what if God has already planted you exactly where you are?
What if the people around you are part of the assignment?
What if the ordinary place you’ve been overlooking is actually part of your Kingdom territory?
I believe God purposefully plants His people where they can bear fruit.
The question isn’t always, “When will God move me?”
Sometimes the question is:
“What am I supposed to do where God has already planted me?”
Intercession Is Part of the Assignment
This message also brought me back to the importance of intercession.
Prayer is not passive.
There are battles we may never see with our physical eyes.
There are people whose names God places on our hearts.
There are situations that require us to stand in the gap.
Job 22:30 speaks of God delivering one who is not innocent through the cleanness of the hands of the righteous.
That passage reminds me that intercession is not merely about asking God to bless me.
Sometimes my assignment is to stand before God for someone else.
To pray when they cannot pray.
To believe when they are struggling to believe.
To keep standing when they have become exhausted.
That is Kingdom work too.
Don’t Wait for Perfect Conditions
Perhaps this is what “Be Instant!” means to me in this season.
Don’t wait until everything makes sense.
Don’t wait until you feel qualified enough.
Don’t wait until the circumstances become comfortable.
Don’t wait until you know exactly how the story ends.
Be ready.
When God says pray—pray.
When He says speak—speak.
When He says go—go.
When He says wait—wait.
When He says stand—stand.
Being instant doesn’t mean being reckless.
It means being available.
The Purpose Cannot Be Stopped
Near the end of the livestream, Job 42:2 became part of the conversation:
“I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.”
No purpose of God can be restrained.
That truth gives me courage.
Because the assignment does not depend entirely upon my ability.
It depends upon God.
He is the One who calls.
He is the One who equips.
He is the One who opens doors.
He is the One who sustains.
My responsibility is to say:
Yes, Lord.
A New Season Requires a Ready Yes
I am beginning to understand that this new season isn’t simply about receiving revelation.
It is about responding to revelation.
God can give you a word, but eventually that word requires a response.
He can reveal an assignment, but eventually you have to move.
He can open a door, but eventually you have to walk through it.
And sometimes the greatest spiritual preparation is simply keeping your heart in a place where you can say:
Yes.
So I am learning to be instant.
Not because I know everything.
Not because I have everything figured out.
But because I know the One who called me.
Settled.
Kingdom-minded.
Ready.
And willing to obey.
Scriptures from “Be Instant!”
- 2 Timothy 4:1–5
- John 15:7–12
- 1 John 4:18
- 2 Timothy 2:22
- Luke 10:19
- Job 22:30
- Job 42:2
The New-Season Thread
Settle It! taught me to establish what I believe.
The Way of the Kingdom challenged me to live according to the King’s way.
Be Instant! reminds me that Kingdom living requires readiness.
Because once it is settled…
Once I know whose Kingdom I belong to…
I have to be ready when the King calls.
Charnette Kay ⚔️
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