The God Of Unexpected Divine AppointmentsНамуна

An Unexpected Meeting Can Become A Divine Appointment 

The story in our scripture passage is around a Shunammite lady who had been blessed by Elisha's ministry. Not only was she blessed with the miracle of a child (2 Kings 4:17), but later, the now grown up son, was raised from the dead by God’s power (8:1).

Thereafter, on Elisha's instructions, she had left her home and gone to Philistine territory to avoid a 7-year famine (8:1–2). Now that the famine was over, she had come back only to find, to her dismay, that the house and land no longer belonged to her. It is possible that the land had either been seized by the Government or been encroached on.

In desperation, this lady (with her son), went to the King, hoping for small mercies. Little did she know that God had prepared a Divine Appointment for her, not only through meeting the King, but by 'unexpectedly' meeting Elisha's servant, Gehazi (8:3–4).

When she entered and cried unto the King, he was speaking to Gehazi about Elisha’s ministry. Amazingly, at that very moment, Gehazi was telling the King about how God, through Elisha, had raised her son from the dead (8:4–5)! Talk about 'Divine Appointments'! 

The shocked King in response then asked the lady whether this was true and she affirmed it (8:6). The end result of this Divine Appointment was that she not only got her house and land back but even the income from the land for the past 7 years! I wonder whether any bank has that kind of payback scheme!

In life, God sends many unexpected people across our path at supermarkets, concerts, funerals, social functions etc. We may consider such meetings as irritants to our busy schedule. Could it be, however, that God is sending them to us as a Divine Appointment, either as a blessing for them, or, maybe even for us? 

Illustration: 

I once received a call from an unknown person who wanted to meet me immediately. I agreed somewhat reluctantly, and as we met, he gruffly said, 'I want to know about Jesus'! Sensing that this was a Divine Appointment, I shared the Gospel with him. When I finished, this tough looking guy was more than willing to accept Jesus. He grew in his faith quickly and after attending Bible College, answered a call to the Missions field. Today, having initially been involved in the underworld, he now serves in the Missions world, thanks to an Unexpected Divine Appointment!

Thought: 

Will you be looking for a Divine Appointment today?