Divine Appointments…
A few years ago I heard the phrase ‘Divine appointment’ and it was intriguing to me. I first heard the phrase in a foreign country and we were told to pray that God would cross our path with someone who might want to talk about spiritual matters. I must confess that I was somewhat skeptical. When I looked out upon a city of 15 million that day, I really wondered how God would order the universe in a way so detailed that He would cross my path with someone who wanted to talk of faith.
Well, God began to ruin my small minded view on that first trip overseas and now 8 years later, He continues to ruin me. God is ALL about crossing our paths with those who want to talk about faith. In fact, He loves to do it! The problem is that I am not usually praying in the spiritual realm most of the time. I am usually asking God for the natural things I need like food, clothing, my keys (I lose them all the time) and things on that level. While God will take care of this (his promise to his children in Matt 6) I really think He is more interested in the bigger things. I think the bigger thing He is interested in is souls. We are spiritual beings, created for eternity. I think God wants us to ask Him about the spiritual realm more than the physical. There is a spiritual war being waged around us every minute. Am I engaged, am I asking God about it? Am I equipping myself with the Word and the Good News so that I am ready to participate in the eternal? (Ephesians 6) Too often my lame brain is concentrating more on this world that is passing away, rather than the world that is yet to come. (Rev 7)
So I wanted to share a story of how God jerked me into the spiritual realm while I was in Brussels. I was having a super time with my friend Janee. I so loved being with her and meeting her fiancée. My time was so wonderful with them that I was unable to schedule any time with my friend Nada, who works for Christian Associates. I wanted to meet Nada and hear about the CA work there but I had given that desire to the Lord a few days before and said to God, “If you want me to see Nada, I know you will do it.” So, with that short prayer I went on having a great time with Janee and Hary.
So, Janee and I were spending our last day together in the city. We walked out of the restaurant we were in and who did we ‘bump’ into? Nada!!! I was so thrilled! God ordered the world so that we could meet up in a city of millions of people! This is what I mean by Divine appointments. It is just so incredible how God does this. Nada invited us to join her and a friend that she was meeting for coffee. Well it just so happens that this friend she was meeting wanted to talk about spiritual matters. She and Nada were meeting for this purpose.
Well, 6 hours later our coffee was long gone and our hearts were so full because of the conversation had! Nada’s friend asked so many wonderful questions and intently listened to our testimonies. She told us that she is very open to the teachings of Jesus and that she wants to explore it more. It will be a privilege to pray for her as she and Nada continue to discuss the gospel. I know God will bless her pursuit because Jesus promises ‘that if you seek me you will find me if you seek me with all your heart.’
Isn’t our God so great? After experiencing such a miracle, you want other Christians to experience something similiar. And I believe God wants all of us to experience Him like this all the time. So, I am writing this to encourage you and also to dare you. You may be like I was 8 years ago, somewhat skeptical. That’s ok, I still dare you to ask God for a divine appointment. I dare you to ask God to allow you to share your testimony with someone in the next few days. Or ask God that you can minister to a friend in a special way that is unexpected by you and them. Maybe you can minister through prayer, service, hospitality, something… God can use us in a variety of ways to incarnate the gospel to someone else. So, I dare you to ask God for a divine encounter. Then I dare you to share it by commenting on my blog. If we all started sharing our experiences, I think we will be much more daring and much more encouraged to step out on faith with bold prayers.
So “I dare you to move.” (Hopefully the chorus of the Switchfoot song is playing in your mind now.)