Ever had a situation occur when you KNOW only God could have pieced it together with such perfection?

Like that circumstance that “just so happened” to fall into place?  

Or that right person showing up at just the right time?

These are stories we love to tell.  And when we do, we say with a smile, “It was a God thing.”

Because they are faith builders, reminding us that we really do have a sovereign God looking out for us.

One who is putting our pieces together and intersecting our lives with carefully planned divine appointments.

Our God is in the details.  The Bible makes this abundantly clear. 

Just read Psalm 37:23 –

The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.

He delights in every detail.  Who wouldn’t want to serve a God who loves his people like that?

I’ve had many God things occur in my life, and plenty of times when others have shown up for me just when I have needed it.

But one particular day, God guided me to someone else’s front door in a divine appointment of my own.

At the time, I was completely unaware of his hand in it, but looking back, I am so thankful for the part I got to play.

Because this story has a grand ending, and I can sum it all up in two words:  ONLY GOD.

It happened for a dear friend who, at the time, wasn’t my friend at all, as when I entered her story, I didn’t even know her. 

Here is the Reader’s Digest version.

Beginning with appointment number one:  My babysitter. 

After watching my kids one evening, she told me about a child she knew who needed a $600,000 surgery.  And about the family friend who was diligently working to raise every bit of it. 

And then she mentioned how this poor woman was now overcome with the task, receiving close to 100 emails a day. 

As a former project manager and then stay-at-home mom, my first thought was:  I should call this woman and see if she needs help.  So. . .

Divine appointment number two: My phone call the very next day.

At the time of my call, my not-yet friend was feeling heavy, and in the midst of thinking, I wish SOMEONE would help me.

THIS is the exact moment her phone rang, with my, “Hi! I heard you could use some help,” coming from the other end of the line.

Only God could have orchestrated such timing.  Timing that she didn’t forget.

When we met at her home, I organized, and we chatted. At the end of the night, because I sensed her need, I invited her to church. 

To which she said, NO THANK YOU.  Because, as I later learned, at this time in her life, she didn’t trust God, and she didn’t trust his people.  So she wasn’t about to go into his house.

We kept in touch, then six weeks later – don’t ask me why – I felt compelled to invite her to church again.

Divine appointment number three:  Another phone call, again at God’s appointed time.

This time when I called, she had just received news that the people of a local church had given the last of the needed funds through a generous $42,000 gift.  The exact amount she had been working tirelessly to raise.  

Another detail she didn’t forget.

Standing there stunned at the generosity of God’s people – people she hadn’t trusted; her phone rang again.

“Hey there, it’s me.  Wanna go to church?”

This time, she said YES.

Today this woman is my friend.  And here is God’s grand ending to her story. . .

She is a now a die-hard, committed believer, in the trenches, proclaiming God’s truth to people. 

In fact, because her gifts, her people, and her personality are vastly different from mine, she is able to reach people I could never reach, in ways I could never do. 

And I stand in absolute awe of what God has done.

That’s our generous God at work with his bucketful of God things. 

Putting people together in just the right ways to accomplish his mighty purposes.  This time, doing so until my friend could finally see the depths of his love for her.

And now she is showing his light to many other people.

So let me ask you a question. 

Which divine appointment in my friend’s story do you think was most important? 

Was it the babysitter with her choice of discussion topics, the church’s generosity, one of my phone calls, or one of the many other God things that brought my friend to the place where she needed to be? 

The truth is, all were equally important, because one event was needed to spur on God’s desired outcome of the other.

This just proves that we never really know when God might be using us to do something that will someday have a Kingdom impact.

It also proves that each of us has the capacity to make a difference in the life of another. 

And it is evidence that God is actively involved in directing each of our steps.

So with that, I want to say:

Thank you, God, that you guide us to where we need to go, and you direct us in how to get there.  Because only you know what’s around each corner and how you want to use us.  Thank you for letting our lives impact the lives of others, and for all those you bring to impact each of our lives as well.  Praise you for being a good God, and for being in the details.

In the holy name of Jesus,

AMEN.

(There she is on the left & me at right)