“And we know that in all things God works for the good, of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” -Romans 8:28
Quite often in our lives, there will be an event or a series of circumstances that we can’t explain how it happened. Most people label such instances as coincidences.
Well, I am done believing in coincidences. I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason. Every event in our lives, both good or bad are working for a purpose God has laid out for us.
What many of us call coincidences are actually divine appointments Holy Spirit has been carefully orchestrating that us as followers get to simply obey and experience.
I want to share with you one of these divine appointments the Lord has been orchestrating for quite some time that came to the apex, the other month in Thailand.
Here is the outline of the events that took place with as close to the date as I can remember:
-December 2012 Manila, Phillipines
-month 4 of my own World Race, my team and I partnered with an organization known as Wipe Every Tear, an anti-sex trafficking organization in the Philippines.
-Here I am introduced to the founder and an amazing Man of God: Kenny Sact. You can read a blog about that month here.
-July 2014 Gainesville, Georgia
-at training camp my squad is introduced and challenged by another great Man of God, Clint Bokelman, who gives a great talk about seeing Jesus in everyone.
-September 20th, 2014 Siem Reap, Cambodia
-My co-leaders and I decide which teams we will be with for part of the next month in Thailand. The Conquerers is one of the teams that we decide I will be with.
-October 12th, 2014 Chiang Mai, Thailand
-I join the team the Conquerers who are doing bar ministry with Lighthouse in Action. (This is also where the full squad is staying for the month)
-October 15th, 2014 Chiang Mai, Thailand
-I hear from our host that Kenny Sact, from Wipe Every Tear, will be in Chiang Mai for a few days of a vision trip to see about expanding Wipe Every Tear to Thailand, and think how awesome it would be to see him as well as have him share with the squad about Wipe Every Tear.
-October 16th, 2014 Chiang Mai, Thailand
-I am out with one of the girls from The Conquerers doing ministry in the bars, when we walk past a restaurant and I happen to glance in and see Kenny sitting inside.
-After catching up, I invite him to come and share with the squad about Wipe Every Tear and encourage them with however he feels lead. As well as invite him to our worship night the following day.
-October 17th, 2014 Chiang Mai, Thailand
-The team leader from the Conquerers happens to overhear that I invited Kenny to come to the worship night.
-I receive a text from my co-leader saying that Clint Bokelman is in Chiang Mai for a couple of days and it would be great if we could have him come talk to the squad, but we have no way of finding or contacting him.
-Clint arrives in Chiang Mai and goes out for a run. On his run he is lead by the Spirit to stop and say hello to two girls who happen to be walking down the alley. These are the only two people he talks to on his hour run. One of these two girls happen to be the team leader of the Conquerers. Not knowing I am looking for Clint, she proceeds to invite him to the worship night and Clint who is in Thailand to see Kenny, declines until he hears from her that Kenny is going to be there.
-That night both Kenny and Clint show up to the worship night without talking to the other one first and lead the squad into a great deal of spiritual freedom.
Over the next two days Kenny and Clint are able to pour into the squad and speak a lot of life and help a lot of the squad step more into their identity as sons and daughters of the King. They are also able to encourage and challenge myself and the other squad leaders.
The Conquerers in return are able to bless Kenny and Clint by giving them the names of the people they have made connections within the bars that month and give Wipe Every Tear a jump start in Thailand. The team is also able to help in finding potential workers for Wipe Every Tear in the form of a missionary couple the team meet earlier that week.
Now this story may not seem like a lot but, to the individuals involved I assure it is. These are only a few of the instances that needed to perfectly line up in order for everything to happen.
The Lord began working two years ago by sending my team to the Philippines to have it come all the way back to have these two men of God speak so much encouragement and challenges into the squad I am squad leading as well as potentially rescue so many girls from the sex trafficking world of Chiang Mai!
The Lord’s plans are so much bigger than ours. Everything we do and say in life can have the potential to do something for the Kingdom if we are willing and obedient. Everything in life both good and bad are working for the eternal glory. This is God’s will: believers bringing kingdom to Earth and positively changing the lives of countless individuals.
So, I challenge everyone and myself to be obedient to Holy Spirit when you feel the little nudges and urges to do and say something and experience some amazing “coincidences.”
There are no coincidences.
(Two amazing Men of God who have blessed me beyond belief: Clint and Kenny)
