Divine Appointments

Pastor Tim Howard
July 3, 2009

In my chosen vocation appointments are a common occurrence. People call to set an appointment for a variety of reasons and because I value people, I always try to accommodate their request. At times it is necessary to decline or delegate a request to another Pastor but if it’s at all possible, I say yes. Recently I said yes to one such appointment and I’m so very thankful. With hindsight I can unequivocally say it was a divine appointment.

Divine appointments impact your life and influence you in a significant way. Divine appointments are set up by God and always have a purpose. Divine appointments can happen at church, in a coffee shop, on a college campus, in a mall or virtually anywhere. You definitely don’t want to miss a divine appointment with God or people because when you walk away from a divine appointment you realize something positive has happened.

Believe it or not, the God of the universe wants to set a daily and divine appointment with you. Revelation 3 tells us that he is knocking on the door and wants to talk. I can remember times when my boss would knock on my door and ask me to step into his office. I feared the encounter because I assumed the worst. You may be wondering: Why would the Creator of the world want to see me? Am I in trouble? Did I do something wrong? What does He want to correct?

Let me assure you - His main reason for setting a daily appointment with you is to express His love and to help you navigate life’s journey. That’s why I encourage you to accept his invitation and keep your appointment with Him. Unlike me, He has never missed an appointment and He has never been late. He is willing and waiting to reveal Himself at the appointed time. All you need to do is show up!

God is also constantly planning divine appointments, heavenly convergences or divine bump-ins for you. There is someone he wants you to help, a person who has something to say or some kingdom business to be accomplished. He is your divine dispatcher! One time during a ride-along in a police car, a dispatcher contacted the police officer in command and gave him directions to a specific destination with a specific purpose. After hearing the directives he made an abrupt ‘U’ Turn and obeyed the orders. If you are going to experience divine encounters and divine appointments, you must be willing to alter your plans and obey the divine dispatcher.

That may be difficult for some. A full schedule, lots of plans, goals set in cement and a personality that doesn’t want to alter the day can make change very troublesome. For people like this, divine appointments seem like an interruption, intrusion or inconvenience to their well thought out blueprint for the day. I’m not suggesting we do away with a plan but simply make room for alterations. Some of the greatest things to happen in your life and some of the greatest encounters you are yet to experience will not take place because you plot a wonderful course to follow but because you were willing to follow the directives of the divine dispatcher and alter your day.

Don’t schedule your day so tightly that there’s no room for God to insert an unexpected opportunity to touch someone’s life or experience something out of the ordinary. Those unscheduled and unplanned happenings may open a door to a divine visitation.

The next time you feel like someone or something is interrupting your day and intruding into your plans, ask this question: Could this be a divine appointment in the making?