Divine Appointments

2 Kings 8:5b, "...At that very moment, the mother of the boy walked in to make her appeal to the king about her house and land..."

This morning, in my devotional reading, I read 2 Kings 8. The chapter began like this:

"Elisha had told the woman whose son he had brought back to life, 'Take your family and move to some other place, for the Lord has called for a famine on Israel that will last for seven years.' So the woman did as the man of God instructed. She took her family and settled in the land of the Philistines for seven years. After the famine ended she returned from the land of the Philistines, and she went to see the king about getting back her house and land." 2 Kings 8:1-3.

Here's a woman who has seen great things that the Lord has done. She went from being a barren woman to being a woman with a son. She experienced having her son die and then be raised back to life. She now was being told by Elisha to move to another place because of the severe famine that was going to occur. Without hesitation, this woman did what he instructed her to do. Then, she decided to return to her homeland since the famine was over, but now she needed to find a way to get her house and land back.

What an adventure this woman had already been on!

As I read through these few short verses, I noticed how her faith in God had been grown over the years. She got to experience what it was like to have God open her womb when she knew humanly speaking that she couldn't bear a child. She began questioning God when her son died, and she was upset that this happened. Then, she got to experience what it was like for God to perform another miracle in her life by bringing her son back to life. This woman had began to see God's track-record of faithfulness, so when the time came for her to need to pack up and move, I believe that she knew God was going to take care of her no matter where they ended up having to live.

When I got a glimpse of this woman's life, I thought about my own life. God has shown me a track-record of faithfulness as well. No matter what storm or impossibility came my way, God always came through for me. He never left me in the middle of a mess alone. No matter how things turned out in the end, I can look back and say with full assurance that God was in it.

Well, now this lady was about to enter a situation where she didn't know what was going to happen. She needed to see the king about getting her land and house back, but who knew what the result would be.

The Bible doesn't say what went through this woman's mind at this moment, but I could imagine what would be going through mine. I'd be wondering whether the king would give my possessions back or not. I'd have a lot of "What if...?" questions running through my mind. I'd be concerned that I would be homeless in the end and wonder where to go from there.

As I said before, the Bible doesn't say a whole lot about what this lady felt in her heart. What it shows is how God set up a divine appointment for her.

Verses 4-5 say, "As she came in, the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God. The kiing had just said, 'Tell me some stories about the great things Elisha has done.' And Gehazi was telling the king about the time Elisha had brought a boy back to life. At that very moment, the mother of the boy walked in to make her appeal to the king about her house and land. 'Look, my lord the king!' Gehazi exclaimed. 'Here is the woman now, and this is her son-the very one Elisha brought back to life!'"

Coincidence? I think not!

"'Is this true?' the king asked her. And she told him the story. So he directed one of his officials to see that everything she had lost was restored to her, including the value of any crops that had been harvested during her absence." verse 6.

Doesn't this story mind-boggle you? I know it does me! I read it with such amazement!

The timing for Gehazi to be talking to the king and the timing for the woman to walk in seem so coincidental, but the reality of this story is that God had orchestrated this meeting. I love to call such events "Divine Appointments".

Have you ever had a divine appointment?

Within the last month, I decided that it was time for me to start getting involved in ministry again. I messaged my pastor to see if I could join the worship team when they started the night services up. I also asked about working in the nursery. To my surprise, they had me start working in the nursery that week, and it just so happened that two of their workers were leaving. Coincidence? I definitely would say no! This was God's timing. This was a divine appointment!

Another divine appointment occurred when I got my job at Big 5. I walked in, and before I knew it, I was sent home with hiring papers. I like to share the story of how I got my job with people because it is very obvious that this was not something I did in my own power. I am certainly no sports person, and anyone who knows me knows that to be true. What happened here was a divine appointment.

There are multiple times in our lives where God sets up divine appointments. I just wonder how many of them we miss because we are too busy to notice them or we simply just consider them to be coincidental.

What God did for this lady we read about in the Bible is something that He is willing to do for us as well. I believe He has a lot of "divine appointments" just waiting for us to show up to. I also believe that He has already set us up with many divine appointments that perhaps we just didn't notice because of one thing or another. I encourage you to begin looking for God's divine appointments in your life. I even encourage you to pray for God to set up divine appointments for you! You'll be amazed at what He can do in and through you!

Dear Heavenly Father,

Sometimes I get so wrapped up in my own little world that I fail to recognize the divine appointments You've set up all around me. I pray that You will open my eyes to see in my every day life when You are setting up a divine appointment for me, and help me to not miss it. Help me to recognize it not as a coincidence but as an appointment divinely set up by You. In Jesus' Name.

Amen.