Divine Appointments - A lifestyle

“The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”

            One of my favorite bible verses is Psalm 40:1. It reads, “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry.” Such statement gives me a clearer picture of how much our God cares to hear the plead of His children. Not only how much He cares but also that He is willing to do something about it. However, we often pray so we can be the passive subjects of the blessing rather than the active subjects of such. In other words, you pray so that somebody may be the answer to your prayers rather than you being the vessel God uses to answer other people’s prayers.

The ironic thing is that I’m not sure if the passive subjects of God’s blessings are more joyful than those who are active agents of God, delivering these blessings. But in my experience I’ve found much greater joy with the latter.

Matthew 9:35-38 says, “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘the harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’”

1)   Jesus went: Implies a desire to do God’s will.

     2)   Healing every sickness: Jesus’ method of effective ministry was to meet the primary necessities of the people. Find a way to do the same.

     3)   Saw the multitudes: God provided Jesus a crowd so he can minister. There is at least ONE person that looks up to you –minister to that somebody.

      4)   Therefore pray: The Holy Spirit is the One who convinces of sin, without Him our ministry will be ineffective.

5)   Laborers: Everyone has gifts and talents. How are you using them?

I call them divine appointments. Have you had one of those lately? You know, you pray to God so you may have an opportunity to minister. Well, God is very good at replying those ones on the spot (the “went”). A young lady asks permission to sit at my table where I’m studying scripture at a public library. She is shaking, unable to maintain eye contact for more than 2 seconds at a time, constantly looking down, and with cuts scars on her wrists (the “multitude”). I start a conversation and ask if there is anything I can help her with (the “healing every sickness”). She is confused regarding her beliefs in God, and asks me “as a pastor, what do you believe in?” (the “laborers”). She thanks me for my time, exchange contact info, and we pray. Certainly, God answered someone’s prayer this morning (the “pray”).

Divine appointments are richly blessed, and I urge you to pray so the Lord may grant you one a day. In fact, may divine appointments become your lifestyle. The joy will be indescribable, and you will certainly be blessed beyond measure.

Blessings!

-Pr. Sergio Ochaeta