Divine Appointment


Reflections by the Sea © Betsy Ore Glass
March 17, 2010

Now listen, you who say, today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that. As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins. James 4:13-17 (NIV)

It has been such joy to take pictures of the Outer Banks and other coastal communities over the years. Recently, I sat down and looked at all the photos in my collection and realized the desire to use the photographs for inspiration to try my hand at oil painting. The best approach it seemed would be to seek a pro who could teach me technique, mixing and color theory. So, I enrolled in a course that sounded perfect. When the day came to go to class, I took my bare canvas, brushes and high hopes and set out on my new adventure. God took over from the start. Unknowingly, I went to another store with the same name, where another oil painting class was in session, by a teacher whose name did not match the course I had signed up for. After some awkwardness and trying to sort through what had happened, I realized I was at the wrong place at the wrong time…or was I? The teacher said she would be tough, but she would teach me to paint the right way. It wouldn’t be easy and I’d have to listen and pay close attention and she only taught those that were serious. I was shaking at the knees but I sensed this is where I belonged. I had been guided to the right class after all. The teacher welcomed me and everyone in the class was gracious and friendly. I saw amazing work being done by the students and it was clear the teacher took her craft and skills seriously and required nothing short of that from her students as well. It was apparent that this was a divine appointment. God had a better idea of where He wanted me be that morning and He guided me as He has done so many times before. He often changes my direction and puts me on a different path than I had intended.

The phrase, “divine appointment” refers to a meeting which is God inspired. To say it another way, God can lead us without our knowledge to a place, at the right time, to do His Work and Purpose. We have to be willing to be led by the Holy Spirit and then we will be used by God as instruments to bless others or to receive a blessing ourselves. Has this happened to you? The opportunities for a divine appointment are endless. In the Bible there were many, many divine appointments. And the great thing is that God is in control always and He can orchestrate our life to put us where He wants us, doing what He wants us to do, at any given time. When God intervenes with a divine appointment, He uses the faithful to connect with someone else. This week it was an oil painting class. Next week He could put me in the right place at the right time that saves my life! God always has the last word. Be open to God moving in your life as well. Trusting God and being willing to be moved by the direction of the Holy Spirit is when blessings start to flow like water in a fountain.