Divine Appointments (aka Interruptions)

“Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.” -Esther 4:14b, CSB

I plan A LOT! Like my plan has a plan. That is just how I am wired and how I work best. Devise a plan, execute the plan. This is so true that calendar meetings are a real thing for my wife and I; best if done once a week or so. Less often do I have what is probably a healthier perspective, the sort of thing James speaks of in chapter 4 of his letter, where he writes, “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 in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” (James 4:13-17, NIV) Now, understand I do not think planning is evil. In fact, it is wise. But, I know for me, especially in these days my plans are often interrupted. And instead of saying, “Okay God, what is the alternate assignment?”, I find myself frustrated to the point of anger or even tears. I complain, even in my prayers, “When will we get back to doing things the way I had planned?” And this is where studying Esther’s story closely helps. She definitely didn’t plan to be queen. She also did not plan to be the mediator for her people. In her day planner on the eve of Passover in her 5th year of being queen, there was not an appointment with Mordecai and a note, LIFE CHANGING MOMENT. But, that is what happened and it is what God had planned. And so, I want to do more than just lament my lack of maturity here, I want to turn to how to grow. Here is the baby step I hope to take more often in the coming days. When my plans go awry, I will do my best, God helping me, to take a deep breath and say, “What are You up to here?” I think most often the reality is that while I have a pretty defined theology of “Divine Appointment,” I rarely have come to see that often that comes wrapped as an interruption to my otherwise carefully planned activity. Here’s to growing into a more practical theology of finding God at work and entering into His story (especially when He interrupts my plans).

Questions for application:

·        How do I react when my plans are interrupted? What does that say about my sense of control? What does it say about my trust in God’s control?

·        What are the most common ways that God has given you Divine appointments in the past? Were they part of your plans? Unexpected opportunities? A deep prompting or urge? A need that you identified? A dream God gave you? A logical next step? How might this help as you look for Divine appointments in the present or future?

Reflect on a moment in your life where you felt God giving you a Divine appointment but did not respond with a, “Yes.” How will you grow to not miss the next thing God is calling you to do?