Divine Appointment

I have been a police officer for almost 15 years and I grew up watching my father do the same job I do now. For as long as I can remember, law enforcement has been in my family. It is hard to explain to individuals that have not done the job but officers have certain instincts that keeps them safe and aware. Some officers are better at it than others but almost every officer gets that "gut" instinct in certain situations. This happens often on duty but it also happens off duty.

Sometimes it's hard to tell whether the feeling you have is real but most officers I know follow their instinct. As a Christian, I get similar feelings. I sense the Holy Spirit leading me in a certain direction and by faith I follow it. There are times I follow that direction and I never know why it happened. Then there are those times that I rejoice for the divine appointment God gave me.

It was late and I wanted to get home quick and go to bed but I had promised my 7 year old son that I would get him a new video game. He loves football and he had rented a game that he really wanted. I decided to head out and drop a movie off at Blockbuster and head to Wal-Mart to pick the game up. I had the plan down. If I went to Blockbuster first and then to Wal-Mart, I would save at least five minutes and get home as quick as possible. That was what my plan was.

As I approached Blockbuster to turn in I heard that voice telling me to get the game first. That didn't make any sense. After all, I had a plan to save time. At first I resisted but the urge was as strong as I had felt in a long time. I figured saving a few minutes wasn't all that important so I drove on to Wal-Mart. I hurried in still thinking I could make this trip fast and to be honest when I got back to my car I had forgotten about the earlier instinct and was focused on driving back to Blockbuster when it happened.

As I got in my car a woman approached me. This was the divine appointment I had.

The woman looked dazed and upset. She asked me if I had any money for gas. I told her I did but I wanted to talk to her about something much more important.

Do you go to church?

Woman: "No, but I'm a Christian. I was saved in 1999."

How do you know that you are saved?

Woman: "I pray every day. I mean I get high every day but I pray."

2 Corinthians 13:5 says, "Examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves"

You need to be sure you are saved. Do you think you are a good person?

Woman: "Yes"

Have you ever lied?

Woman: "Yes"

Have you ever stolen?

Women: "Yes"

Now it looks like you want to leave. I am going to stop there. You just admitted to violating two of the Ten Commandments and when you die, you will face God on judgement day. Do you think he will judge you guilty or innocent?

Woman: "Why are you judging me?"

I am not judging you but God will and you need to make sure that you are saved by His grace. If you are not saved, you will go to Hell. You see Jesus died on the cross for our sins and he raised from the dead three days later. To be saved, we must repent of our sins and trust in Jesus Christ. I'm concerned that your admission of getting "high everyday" of whether you understand true repentance. You must turn from your sin. You must hate what God hates, which is sin. I'm begging you to examine your faith.

At this point, this woman began to cry. She quickly turned around and started to walk off. I only had a couple of minutes with her. I could sense from the beginning that she wasn't going to stay talking to me very long. I frequent this location often and it is not common for people to approach you asking for money. God wanted this encounter to happen. Every divine appointment is a blessing to be a part of.