I've got to share one story from our missions trip. Before going we prayed for divine appointments and God answered that prayer big time!
On our last day in the Galapagos we were headed to the airport to fly to Ecuador. It was about a thirty minute bus ride across the island of Santa Cruz. There is only one road and that goes from the main port city to the ferry that takes you to the airport. And there is hardly anything in between. No civilization. But about halfway there we see a man standing by the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. We don't pick up hitchhikers in America, but our bus driver stopped. And this man named Raul got on the bus and sat next to one of our team members.
Long story short, Raul told this teammate he had tried to commit suicide the day before. He tied cinder blocks around his ankles and planned on throwing himself into the ocean because his wife of thirty years had left him.
Raul could have sat anywhere on the bus, but God strategically positioned him next to this particular team member. If he had sat next to me we wouldn't have been able to converse because I don't speak spanish well enough. But he sat next to a teammate that not only speaks spanish. His wife of fifteen years left him and he was suicidal.
So here we are several plane rides, bus rides, and boat rides away from home. And God, in his sovereign GSP, strategically positions us to touch the life of a guy who is hitchiking in the Galapagos. Our teammate prayed with Raul. Raul promised to go to church. And God revealed himself. In fact, Raul said he never felt like God was there for him. But God revealed himself on August 12, 2006. It was a God-ordained divine appointment. It doesn't matter if your hitchiking in the Galapagos. God knows where you are in every sense of that phrase!
Here's the bottom line. We should have never met Raul. We live in different countries. We speak different languages. But God is sovereign. And setting up a divine appointment in a different hemisphere is as simple as setting up a divine appointment with your next-door neighbor when you're omni-dimensional.
Read Acts 8:26-39.
Philip should have never met the Ethiopian Eunuch. They were from different countries. They spoke different languages. But one divine appointment changed the history of a country. The Ethiopian Enuch was the second most powerful person in the entire kingdom. He also doubled as the first missionary to Ethiopia.
Now here is the thing. Divine appointments require a step of faith. When the Holy Spirit told Philip to go south Philip went. We want more information. How far do I go? Where do I turn? Who am I looking for? What do I do when I get there? But the will of God is usually revealed one step at a time.
Take a step of faith and you never know who's path your going to intersect. It might be the second most powerful person in Ethiopian. It might be a suicidal man in the Galapagos.
All I know is this: God is still ordering footsteps.
On our last day in the Galapagos we were headed to the airport to fly to Ecuador. It was about a thirty minute bus ride across the island of Santa Cruz. There is only one road and that goes from the main port city to the ferry that takes you to the airport. And there is hardly anything in between. No civilization. But about halfway there we see a man standing by the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. We don't pick up hitchhikers in America, but our bus driver stopped. And this man named Raul got on the bus and sat next to one of our team members.
Long story short, Raul told this teammate he had tried to commit suicide the day before. He tied cinder blocks around his ankles and planned on throwing himself into the ocean because his wife of thirty years had left him.
Raul could have sat anywhere on the bus, but God strategically positioned him next to this particular team member. If he had sat next to me we wouldn't have been able to converse because I don't speak spanish well enough. But he sat next to a teammate that not only speaks spanish. His wife of fifteen years left him and he was suicidal.
So here we are several plane rides, bus rides, and boat rides away from home. And God, in his sovereign GSP, strategically positions us to touch the life of a guy who is hitchiking in the Galapagos. Our teammate prayed with Raul. Raul promised to go to church. And God revealed himself. In fact, Raul said he never felt like God was there for him. But God revealed himself on August 12, 2006. It was a God-ordained divine appointment. It doesn't matter if your hitchiking in the Galapagos. God knows where you are in every sense of that phrase!
Here's the bottom line. We should have never met Raul. We live in different countries. We speak different languages. But God is sovereign. And setting up a divine appointment in a different hemisphere is as simple as setting up a divine appointment with your next-door neighbor when you're omni-dimensional.
Read Acts 8:26-39.
Philip should have never met the Ethiopian Eunuch. They were from different countries. They spoke different languages. But one divine appointment changed the history of a country. The Ethiopian Enuch was the second most powerful person in the entire kingdom. He also doubled as the first missionary to Ethiopia.
Now here is the thing. Divine appointments require a step of faith. When the Holy Spirit told Philip to go south Philip went. We want more information. How far do I go? Where do I turn? Who am I looking for? What do I do when I get there? But the will of God is usually revealed one step at a time.
Take a step of faith and you never know who's path your going to intersect. It might be the second most powerful person in Ethiopian. It might be a suicidal man in the Galapagos.
All I know is this: God is still ordering footsteps.
3 Comments:
Preach it Pastor! You go boy.
I'm so glad God brought the mission team bus and Raul together to show that he was always there for him. Thanks for sharing. I was truly touch by the story and I will pray for Raul's.
Powerful story PM. I love the thought of God ordering our footsteps before we ever even hit the ground... He foresaw Raul and the bus... and His timing is impeccable! I love it! :)
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