Divine Appointments

My friend, Penny, often uses the phrase "divine appointments."   She speaks of planning her day and then makes the comment about always waiting for divine appointments.  I confess I have not lived my life in such expectations.  I seldom think of divine appointments in the day.  I do admit lately trying to be more conscious of  "Papa's" nudges and interests in my life about such things.  However, for me the process of learning seems difficult since I have not yet developed the habit of such intimacy with Papa.  Bad habits are hard to break.  Living by one's own agenda is so instinctive that listening for Papa's voice in the mix of the activities can be a foreign idea. And, sometimes the divine appointments are missed.

Sunday, I traveled again to speak in a church new Suwon. I can do this trip in my sleep and, sometimes, do.  I expected nothing unusual.  I was alone this day and sat with an empty seat next to me, at least for awhile.  At Pyeongtaek a young man sat down beside me and looked at me with a smile and with such keen interest I could not shake it.  Immediately I felt the compulsion to speak to him, but I hesitated.  I had no idea if he spoke English.  I suspected he might be from India. And, I was listening to a podcast by Wayne Jacobson on my MP3, so, I was very content at the moment.

After several minutes of this I found myself telling God, if this was really one of those unplanned divine appointments, then the stranger would have to make the first move.  Immediately, he did.  With a heavy accent and somewhat choppy English, he interrupted the podcast and asked me where I was from.  A conversation began that would continue to Suwon, about 40 minutes.

He was from Bangladesh, knew some English but was hungry to learn more.  We exchanged emails and phone numbers and then made an appointment to meet again next Sunday on the same Subway to go to  church together where I speak.

Later, at church, a visitor (for lack of a better term) introduced himself  in Korean style.  All visitors come forward and do this no matter how uncomfortable it seems to be. He confessed he was not a Christian but a Hindu from India.  It was his first time in a Christian church.  He had been invited by a student who knew he was grieving over the recent death of a friend who died in a car accident.  I had just spoken on the subject of divine appointments and used my subway story for an illustration.  When he talked about being a Hindu and how it didn't matter what anyone really believed, I saw many faces turn toward me and their lips clearly said, "divine appointment," as they smiled.  I smiled back.

I then went up and welcomed the Hindu, and while shaking his hand I simply told him that Jesus loved Him, died for Him and has the promise of eternal life for all of us.  He smiled and said "yes, sir."  He promised to  be back next week.  He had heard the sermon, and it made him think in different ways about God.

I am not sure about either of these 2 men.  Will they show up next week?  Does it really matter?  I do know that I have clearly experienced "divine appointments" on this Sunday. I was rather amazed at how Papa seemed to move that day in such special ways.  I am not sure what he is up to, but it is fun to be part of it. Thanks, Penny, for sharing your experiences about those "divine appointments."  I do hope I miss fewer and fewer of them in the future.