After I was freed from the bars that held me captive—both physically and spiritually—I was forced to move back in with my parents. Because my father expected me to go to prison for 10 years, he gave up my apartment and gave away my dog. I had no money, dog, job, home—nothing in this natural world. (Sounds like a sad country song!) But I did have Christ. And He is always enough. And in Christ, I also had a promise of vindication. But the fullness of my vindication wasn’t immediate, and the months following my dramatic salvation were difficult.
For starters, the economy was in shambles. Freelance writers were not in demand—and the only career path I knew was journalism. I had spent most of my money paying the defense attorney to overthrow the false charges, so I was essentially penniless. Newly born-again, I didn’t know much of the Word of God, and I didn’t know how to pray. My prayer life at that time consisted of, “Help me, God. Thank You, God.”
An Encounter With God
Late one night, after an especially difficult day, I went to the spare bedroom in my parents’ house to pray. My daughter was sleeping across the hall, and my folks were asleep on the other side of the house. I knelt over a chair and began crying out to God for help.
I prayed so long I fell asleep with my head on the seat of the chair. Suddenly, I awoke to the sound of a booming voice with a divine announcement: “Stay calm. Be patient. Your time is coming.” Startled is not a strong enough word for my reaction to the midnight revelation. I looked all around me. I thought it was my dad, but it didn’t sound like his voice. When I saw no one in the dark room, the spirit of the fear of the Lord fell upon me. I slowly got up and went to bed, pondering the incident half the night like Samuel after his first encounter with God.
I didn’t know it at the time, but I had heard the audible voice of God. Some years later, I realized it was God Himself speaking words of life. Nevertheless, I stored those words in my heart for many years while I waited for my ultimate vindication.
Continuing Trials and Tribulations
Getting out of jail wasn’t the end of my trials and tribulations. In some ways, it was just the beginning. God put me on a fast track to perfecting my faith, and I experienced what felt like more than my fair share of suffering. I moved from my parents’ house in Florida to Alabama to make a fresh start. The start wasn’t so fresh. Some neighbors took advantage of me. Some supposed friends stole from me. I had barely enough money to get by and ended up on food stamps while I tried to rebuild my life.
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During that time, I kept pondering God’s words that were stored in my heart: “Stay calm. Be patient. Your time is coming.” I didn’t know how long I would have to stay calm, but I gradually learned to still my soul. I pressed into Philippians 4:6–7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
I didn’t know how long I would have to be patient, but I learned that by faith and patience, we inherit the promises of God. (See Hebrews 6:12.) I didn’t know when my time would come, but I believed it was coming so I pressed into Galatians 6:9, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
My Kairos Time Arrived
Finally, around 2011, my kairos time arrived. Before I tell you how that happened, it’s important to understand the Greek word translated “season” in Galatians 6:9 is kairos, God’s appointed time to act. Kairos means “time as opportunity.” Nearly a decade after the Lord said, “Stay calm. Be patient. Your time is coming,” God spoke again. I was at home in worship when the Holy Spirit whispered four words to my heart that I had waited to hear for years: “This is your time.”
I immediately knew what He meant. I remembered leaning over that chair, praying in faith to a God I barely knew and couldn’t see so many years earlier. I remembered Him speaking eight words at one of my life’s lowest points. Ever since then, my life has been on a fast track of growth in every area. Sure, there are still trials and tribulations, but I’m in my time.
My kairos time hasn’t ended. It started with vindication in the realm of book publishing. I had written and rewritten books for men of God who took advantage of my skills without so much as a kind word. When my time came, I suddenly started getting book deals from multiple publishers. I had labored long to produce television programs for preachers who, again, didn’t care what their success cost me. Suddenly, I started appearing on major Christian television shows. And it hasn’t stopped. Vindication is the story of my life. Little by little, the Lord is repaying me.
Discerning Your Kairos Time
We need to be like the sons of Issachar, having an understanding of the times in our lives and in the world around us. (See 1 Chronicles 12:32.) The devils know their kairos time. The enemy knows his time is short, and that is why you may be experiencing so much warfare. Of course, there is more than one kairos time in your life.
So how do you discern your kairos time for vindication? Well, God could speak to you as He did me. He also could send an angel or a prophet to announce your kairos time. But barring these supernatural events, you can discern by paying attention to what’s going on in your life. For example, you may sense a rumbling.
Before my kairos time for vindication manifested, I had been feeling a rumbling in my life for two years. I knew the winds of change were coming, but nothing vindication-worthy was happening. God was making new divine connections and disconnections. He was changing my natural and spiritual appetites, but there was no spectacular breakthrough moment, so to speak, for a long time. When you sense a rumbling, ask the Holy Spirit what’s happening. He may or may not tell you, but being spiritually curious can yield the fruit of insight.
You can also think back to the prayers you prayed and the prophetic words spoken over your life to discern what God is about to do. When I considered the petitions I had made to God over the years, I started to see how He was answering. Ask yourself, “Are my prayers coming to pass in a different way than I imagined?” Sometimes we pray specific prayers and expect a specific answer—but sometimes God answers in a way we don’t see coming. Vindication may look different than you thought.
What prophetic words released over your life—or other words the Holy Spirit has spoken to your heart—are pointing to the time you are entering? It’s important to keep a record and review the prophecies spoken over your life so you can wait in faith for their manifestation. Most of the time, you have to wage war with them, according to 1 Timothy 1:18. God’s will usually doesn’t just happen without any action on our part. It needs to be bathed in prayer.
Prepare for the Promise
Once you sense your kairos time is near, start preparing to step into the fullness of the promise. What are you doing to prepare yourself…
Spiritually?
Physically?
Relationally?
Financially?
…for that kairos moment of vindication? Do you need to forgive anyone? Do you need to cultivate new relationships?
Remember, you can’t make a kairos moment happen—these are God-ordained times—but you can believe to enter into it. In fact, you need faith to enter into it. Know that God has a kairos time for you. He is not slack about His promises. He doesn’t always fulfill His Word in our lives when we’d like Him to, but He does watch over His Word to perform it (Jer. 1:12). If He said it, and you believed it and prayed it through, it will happen in His timing.
Stay alert. Watch and pray. You can miss a kairos moment if you are not spiritually minded. Set your mind on things above instead of on the things of the earth (Col. 3:2).
Once you’ve discerned it’s your kairos time, quickly get into agreement with God. Surrender your will to the Lord and hold on!
Vindication has come to you!
Jennifer LeClaire is senior leader of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; founder of the Ignite Network; and founder of the Awakening Prayer Hubs prayer movement. LeClaire formerly served as the first‐ever female editor of Charisma magazine and is a prolific author of more than 50 books. She is ordained by Bishop Bill Hamon of Christian International. Her newest book, Vindicated, released this month and is available now at amazon.com.
