The right place at the right time?

Have you ever been thinking about someone, and then all of a sudden you see them? Or you were delayed in traffic, by minutes, and as a result of being delayed you happen upon someone or a situation. Had you been seconds earlier, you might have not discovered that person.

I believe nothing just happens, and that there is no such thing as being at the right place at the right time. Granted their might be fortunate events, and unexpected occurrences which might defy logical explanation, yet I believe in the grander scheme of things. As God sees it, nothing just happens.

Acts 17 indicates that God knows the exact places, boundaries and habitations, and that he knew them ever before we did. A strong sense of predestination tints this verse. Yet our discussion is not that at all. Instead we focus on the sovereignty of God noted particularly in the chronicles of the apostles.

Philip had just finished a powerful ministry in Samaria. Upon his departure he was “lead” by the spirit down a desert road to the coastal city of Gaza. As “fate” would have it, he happened upon an Ethiopian dignitary struggling to understand a piece of scripture. Philip ministered the word to him and saw the gentleman get baptized. Upon ministering, he is then recorded to disappear, and is transported by the spirit elsewhere. Church history traces the advent of the gospel in parts of Africa to the conversion of this Ethiopian.

Can you imagine what would have happened if the Ethiopian was thirty minutes behind schedule, or if he had decided not to be viewing scripture as Phillip passed by. What if Phillip so engrossed in his charismatic work at Samaria had failed to heed the spirit? He would not have found himself lead on the journey to Gaza. The truth is this matter would not even be history. The royal official would have gone on in church obscurity, while Philip would have been none the wiser about the incredible harvest opportunity in Ethiopia that he would have had a key part to play.

Remember this; nothing just happens. Have you prayed for someone lately, and thought that their name just popped into your mind? What about the blessings that you received daily. Have you ever wondered if someone prayed for you down the line to receive them? I believe in divine intentionality. We may not know exactly what God is doing because he is divine, but we can be intentional.
Intentionally, we can pray for favour, strategically we can reach out to the hardened colleague. Proactively, we can stir up the gifts within us for God’s greater glory. As you yearn for God to use you, expect the impossible, believe the unbelievable and do the insignificant. Make small steps, and let the spirit direct your intersections, putting you where he sees fit, in order for his kingdom to be maximally affected.