Galatians 4:4a But when the fulness of the time was come,

Revelation 12:2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

How many of you believe that this pronouncement of the fullness of time is related to a pregnancy coming full term? That is easy to believe. It makes sense.

Exodus 3:7 And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;

Perhaps it is the travail that indicates the timing required for God to set His will in motion. Pain precedes birth but in God’s timing, pain precedes intercession. If the Exodus was a forerunner of delivery, then suffering precedes the coming of our savior’s conception just as it did when Moses was cast out of Egypt to come to the mountain of God to receive instruction.

Hebrews 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

God in His infinite wisdom pronounced His Son’s coming in a series of prophetic declarations so that man would know of a certainty who Immanuel should be to them, the Messiah.

Just as Jesus birth was not the fulfillment of the prophecies proclaiming His coming, for Bethlehem had not travailed her loss as yet, even His birth was not the fulfilling of time.

Isaiah 62:11 Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.

His work of salvation, the fulfillment of the prophecies would not come until on the cross He declared, “It is finished.”

Proverbs 31:1 The sayings of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him. NIV

I have chosen the New International Version to express inspiration rather than my standard King James because the KJV uses the word prophecy rather than inspired utterance. I want to shy away from thinking about prophecy here because of the wide misconceptions of the prophetic.

Inspiration is a mental or emotional stimulation which by design is intended to direct thought or action. Inspiration without effect is vanity, emptiness as to results. An inspired utterance must be received and recognized for what it is in order to produce a change.

Since I write what I hope is inspired devotionals, it is important to me to deliver what I believe by faith is from God. I have no desire for you to think “That was really smart.” I would love nothing more than for you to think, “Now that was God speaking to me.”

Reception and understanding of inspirational utterances is based on one important issue shared by two or more parties. The speaker and the listener must be acquainted with the quality and character of God in order to discern the voice of God.

John 10:4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

Without knowing His voice any inspired utterance in the Spirit would be heard at best as a distant noise of undetermined origin. Key to understanding is the presence of the Spirit in bother the speaker and the listener.

Many times I have sat in Sunday school or life groups or Men’s Fraternity and said, “Now that is the Word of the Lord.” This is why I can say that.

Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

His Spirit is my witness.