Acts 8:26-40
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
Jerry opened the door to what proved to be a darkroom. Diane was invited to a party by someone who was not going to be there. I met a fourth year seminarian on my first day on campus. C. Peter Wagner wanted to pray for me during a break. Richard reached out to me to have a weekly time of Bible study and prayer. Gary asked if we could be friends.
One of those was not pleasant. Another still begs explanation. The others ushered in remarkable new opportunities for God’s blessings and good things to unfold in my life. The fourth year seminarian was just rude. C. Peter Wagner’s prayer and God’s answer in that moment remain a mystery. But these were not mere happenstance. There are no coincidences with God. These were all divine appointments.
Paul speaks of God’s involvement in the life and affairs of men and women over history.
And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for, “‘In him we live and move and have our being.’” – Acts 17:26-27
The difficult encounter with the fourth-year seminarian thought me to be more gracious and patient with others. The puzzling encounter with C. Peter Wagner and his prayer taught me not to predetermine what God can or will do. Jerry ushered me to photography, the Lutheran Church, and the pastoral ministry. The party to which Diane was invited was where we met. Less than 2 years later we were married.
I’ve experienced other divine appointments as well. A bedside conversion of a man near death. A challenging encounter with a man more worried about getting over his cough than his eternal wellbeing. Both were times and places not of my choosing, and design. God was setting it up.
I confronted the man more worried about his cough than eternity and he began to cry. I shared with him the mercy of God, forgiveness through faith in Jesus, and the hope of eternal life. The other man was pretty satisfied with himself, until I asked (relative to his standing before God based on his good works), “Do you think that’s enough?” He started to cry as well. I shared the gospel with him and he confessed his faith.
Divine appointments are not always so profound. But God does bring us into contact with people all the time who may be ready to hear of Jesus and his salvation. Lord, open our eyes to the divine appointments you set up for us each day!
David Bahn - Reflections 
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