Just Such A TimeSample

 A Time From God

I’m a talker. People on trains; fellow passengers on buses. Name the place and I’ll be there chatting. On one such occasion we were on holiday in Australia. On a boat to a desert island, weeks before we were due to plant a church, we found ourselves next to a man who looked visibly sad. Ever the journalist (a euphemism for nosey), I encouraged my husband to talk to him. It turned out our boat buddy was a former pastor – and church planter – who was burned out and openly questioning his faith. As we parted ways, each of us could be in no doubt that God had taken us half way across the world to encourage this man. 

It wasn’t glamorous, it wasn’t expected, but a decision to engage in the moment meant God was able to use my husband. He couldn’t help but feel fulfilled and we are sure a life was impacted.

The Bible is full of examples of unexpected, God-ordained conversations.

I love the story of Lydia. 

Nothing about her conversion was planned by the people in the story. While God was clearly at work, those living out this tale were involved by virtue of things not going to plan. Paul and his group had “expected” to find a place of prayer. It's unclear whether Lydia and her friends were in the place of prayer, or whether the prayer place was not where Paul and company expected to find it, but they happened upon this group of women. Paul and his companions didn’t pray, they talked instead.

What I love is that this apparent “accident” saw someone fully engaged and committed to God bump into a woman whose heart was open to the message Paul brought. Who knows what was going on in Lydia’s life at this time. What circumstances was she dealing with?

What we can be certain of, is that her day was interrupted by a conversation that irrevocably changed her life and the lives of her family. 

Wherever you find yourself today and whatever your circumstances, you aren’t removed from destiny. Why? Because you aren’t removed from people. Perhaps today as you commit to finding your God-given purpose, you can also commit to taking Jesus with you into your world? Perhaps you can step into a new day of initiating conversations and giving the Holy Spirit permission to do something with them? Who knows, perhaps you were born for just such a time – a time for God to work through you.