KYS-WK-3 When The Season Has Not Fully Come

One of the greatest challenges that we have as Christ followers is living with unfulfilled visions. As a person who is prone to seeing my life for what it can be, and less of what it currently is – I am well familiar with seeing my life for what it can be, and battling the frustration of living under my potential. Last week we looked at Solomon’s words in Ecclesiastes 3 -

Ecclesiastes 3:1 NASB95

1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—

When we talk about seasons, we’re talking about all the wild, unpredictable ways God grows us. Some seasons feel like seed in the ground — which is basically God saying, “Trust Me,” while you stare at dirt hoping something magical happens. Then there are fruit-bearing months, where you can almostsee progress… kind of like when you start working out again and convince yourself you see abs on week two. Then you’ve got the harvest season — the hard-working, sweat-dripping, “sleep-is-a-theory” season. And right after that comes the pruning season — where God looks at the parts of your life you actually like and says, “Yeah… that’s gotta go.” But let’s not forget the most overlooked season: the resting season. The fallow-ground season. The “eat some pizza and take a nap because the angel told you to” season — the Elijah-special. That moment where God gently says, “Your spiritual gift right now is horizontal.”

Every one of these seasons has a purpose. And honestly? The season is never the problem. The real trouble comes when we completely misread the season that we are in.

Let me tell you a story about a man who spent most of his life stuck between calling and fulfillment. Before he became the legendary Union general… before he saved the nation… before he became President… Ulysses S. Grant was considered a failure. Not by a few people. By everyone. In his 20s he showed promise—brilliant at West Point, courageous in the Mexican-American War, respected by officers above him. Everyone assumed he was destined for greatness. But then the season changed. “As Ron Chernow notes in his biography Grant,

Grant went through seven straight years of humiliation:

· He was stationed at a lonely outpost on the West Coast and sank into isolation.

· He fought depression and homesickness.

· Rumors of alcohol misuse circulated, and he resigned under pressure.

· With no income, he tried farming—failed.

· Tried real estate—failed.

· Tried selling firewood on the side of the road just to feed his family.

· At one point, he was so broke that he pawned his pocket watch for $20.

Here was a man who knew—deep in his bones—that he was capable of more. But the fullness of time had not yet come. He was living in that agonizing space where your gifting is real, your calling is real, your vision is real… but the season is not. Then—suddenly—history changed. The Civil War erupted. The nation was bleeding. Leadership was collapsing. And for the first time in his life, everything finally aligned with the moment. But, he didn’t become someone new— the season caught up with the man God had been forming all along.

Galatians 4:4 NASB95

4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,

1 Peter 5:6 NASB95

6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,

There are moments when you sense the next season approaching, yet it hasn’t arrived. You’re pouring into what’s ahead while still living in what is. Scripture calls this the fullness of time—a divine moment that’s not yet complete.

1. The Meaning of “Fully Come.”

In Galatians 4:4, the phrase “fullness of time” comes from the Greek word plērōma (πλήρωμα) — “that which fills up, completes, or makes whole.” It’s a picture of the last piece that completes a puzzle. God waited until every prophecy, culture, and condition aligned before sending His Son. Not one detail was premature. So, hear me out, God’s timing is never late—it’s layered.He prepares people, places, and purposes until everything fits together.

2. The In-Between Season: Pouring Into What’s Next

There are other times when you’re investing in a future season that hasn’t fully opened yet. And let me tell you, that is not wasted effort—it’s called leadership investment. Farmers prepare the soil long before they see sprouts.

So, today, maybe you are working hard to invest in a season you are not yet seeing fulfilled.

· The College Student Who Works Two Jobs While Finishing Night Classes

· The Young Couple Saving for a House

· The Athlete Training in the Off-Season

· The Parent Raising a Toddler

· The Worship Leader Practicing Alone in a Bedroom

· The Entrepreneur Building a Business at the Kitchen Table

· The Person Battling Addiction Who Shows Up to Meetings Every Week

Many lose heart in the in-between, mistaking preparation for stagnation, but faithfulness now is the foundation of fruitfulness later. Just because the door hasn’t opened yet doesn’t mean God isn’t building the house. The in-between is not punishment — it’s preparation.

“Waiting on God requires the willingness to bear uncertainty… lifting the heart to God about it whenever it intrudes on one’s thoughts.” — Elisabeth Elliot

“Those who do not hope cannot wait; but if we hope for what we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” — Charles Spurgeon

3. “Due Time” — The Kairos of Reward

1 Peter 5:6 NASB95

6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,

Peter, in his epistle, calls it “the proper time”— or in the Greek that word is kairos. Kiaros is defined as “the divinely appointed moment of fulfillment.” But kairos only comes after faithfulness, after humility, in the daily surrender and obedience. Look at these faithful men of Scripture who had to walk through seasons of surrender and faithful obedience before realizing the “proper time”.

—.Moses 40 years in Midian as a shepherd before God sent him to deliver the nation of Israel

—Abraham 20 years of waiting before receiving his son of promise, Isaac.

—Joseph 15 years of slavery and prison before seeing the fulfillment of his vision.

— .David 17 years between anointing and coronation as King of Israel

Each one of these men lived faithfully in humility and surrender during the waiting season between vision and realization.

4. The Filling Process

So, why do we have to wait? While you’re waiting, God is filling something:

Your Character — learning humility and endurance.

Romans 5:3–4 NASB95

3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;

Your Calling — refining vision and motive.

“Then the Lord answered me and said, ‘Write the vision and make it plain… though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay.’”

Habakkuk 2:2–3 NASB95

2 Then the Lord answered me and said, “Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run. 3 “For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.

— Proverbs 19:21

Proverbs 19:21 NASB95

21 Many plans are in a man’s heart, But the counsel of the Lord will stand.

Your Capacity — stretching faith to handle future weight.

“Enlarge the place of your tent… lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.”

Isaiah 54:2 NASB95

2 “Enlarge the place of your tent; Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not; Lengthen your cords And strengthen your pegs.

Colossians 1:11 NASB95

11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously

He strengthens before He stretches. He develops before He deploys. He shapes the vessel before He pours out the oil. God fills before He fulfills.If He gave it too soon, it would crush you.

5. Stages of Leadership Development

God places in front of each of us five stages of development.

→ Root of identity and humility.Christ Character

→ Recognizing what God placed within you.Gift Identified

→ Practicing the gift—often clumsy or immature.Gift Expressed

→ Refined through correction, obscurity, and trial.Gift Matured

→ Pouring into others—fruit reproduces fruit.Gift Multiplied

In each of these stages, we must discern whether God is filling us or releasing us.

6. The Leader’s Posture in the In-Between

Humility

1 Peter 5:6 NASB95

6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,

Hope

— trusting the process even when unseen.

— staying pure while you wait.Holiness