A week and a half ago, our team and our squad leader Shannon started our day with prayer before going to sell the items for the hospital. As we prayed, we prayed for our openness for God to give us “divine appointments.” “Divine appointments” are what we call opportunities to talk to others about our faith or whatever God is putting on our heart for them.
I approached a seventy or eighty year old man to ask if he wanted to buy or donate to the hospital’s heart transplant fund. He declined and said that he believed in charity but could not contribute. His name is Robert.
Robert asked me why I was there. I told him that I was a volunteer. He asked what religion I was. I told him that I was a Christian. He replied that he doesn’t “believe in God anymore. God is for young people; when you are old than you know better.”
I told him the reasons that I believed in God’s existence. He invited me to sit down and talk. We started into a conversation about religion, family, and politics. Robert had been Taoist but no longer believed in that. His daughter is a Christian in the United States.
As we were talking for about ten minutes, another forty year old gentleman named Vincent joined us. As we talked more, he started contributing to the conversation as well. Vincent is Buddhist.
After another ten minutes of talking to both of them, my squad leader Shannon came and sat down too. We continued to talk about different types of religion, types of men that they thought Shannon and I should not marry, and politics. We talked about Buddhism, Islam, Taoism, and Christianity. I spent an hour talking to these gentlemen. I did not sell many fish for the hospital that day but I felt like I did what I needed to do for that time period.
I believe that this was a “divine appointment.” I have no idea what kind of impact this encounter had on either of these men. However, I believe that God used this opportunity to open their hearts and minds possibly a little more to Christianity. I think that God spoke his words through me because I was there and willing to be used.
Anyone who knows me probably knows that I do not usually like to debate. In fact, I try to avoid it as much as possible. I also am a shy person and do not generally start conversations with strangers. I find it interesting with all the people who are on my team who tend to be more outgoing, that I was the one God chose to talk to these gentlemen. I feel like I imagine Moses probably did when talking to people.
Moses felt unequipped to ask Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave Egypt. “Moses answered GOD, ‘But why me? What makes you think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?’ ‘I’ll be with you, ‘GOD said…” (Exodus 3:11-12 NIV) “Moses raised another objection to GOD: ‘Master, please, I don’t talk well. I’ve never been good with words, neither before nor after you spoke to me. I stutter and stammer.’ GOD said, ‘And who do you think made the human mouth? And who makes some mute, some deaf, some sighted, some blind? Isn’t it I, GOD? So, get going. I’ll be right there with you- with your mouth! I’ll be right there to teach you what to say.” (Exodus 4:10-12 NIV)
There is a song by “Jesus Culture” that I am listening to as I write this blog called “Where You Go I Go.” The words for the first two lines of the first verse are “Where You Go I Go, What You Say I Say.” If you have not heard it, please listen to it. I am trying to live this way. Please pray for me to continue to be open to “divine appointments.”
