When my friend called and asked me if I wanted to go to the Bay Area to watch the Cal basketball game I didn’t hesitate to agree to make the trip. Getting some time with this friend, who was the best man in my wedding, is precious. My plan was to leave a little after noon and get down there a early so I could do a bit of random shopping prior to meeting up.
Meetings at work ran longer than I expected, then I realized I needed to drop by my doctor’s office to get some samples of medication. When I stopped at the medical group office they couldn’t find my samples and told me if I just waited for 10 more minutes, then I could be on my way. Anxious to get on the road, but wise enough to know I needed to wait for this medication, I reluctantly slumped down into a waiting room chair. With every passing moment my timeline was getting tighter and tighter; it felt like a constricted noose around my neck. I was excited about having time to explore my destination on my own, and I feel like it was being taken away. When 10 minutes turned into forty, I began to get frustrated.
Then it dawned on me, maybe I wasn’t a victim of the medical office’s poor planning and disorganization. Maybe it was ok that the office was supposed to have the samples ready and made an error. At that point I realized, perhaps this was a divine decision for me to be delayed and that God had an assignment for me.
So, I began to ask God to show me why I was there, and told Him that I wanted to accomplish what He had on His heart. It wasn’t more than two minutes later that a woman I know came in the door to see the doctor. She was looking a bit disoriented. I flagged her down to come to sit next to me. The Lord quickly showed me that she was the reason I was there. After asking about what was happening and listening intently I asked to pray for her.
Immediately as I offered to pray, the nurse said, “Andrew…” I excused myself and walked up to her only to find that it was the wrong “Andrew” – this time I was being distracted by the enemy from loving my friend in praying for healing. I sat down again, and not 30 seconds later another nurse called my name, with my samples. When I returned to the chair, my friends’ name was called and she went to the counter.
At this point I was being tempted to just leave and get on the road, but I realized that God had called me to pray for this woman. So, I waited for her to finish checking in. When she came back, I wasted no time in launching into prayer for her healing.
I prayed for my friend and felt like the Lord said, “OK, now it’s time to get on the road.” Away I went to leave town, ending up having to make two more stops than I wanted to, but I arrived within five minutes of when I hoped to arrive! How did that happen?
The next time you are held up, distracted, delayed or otherwise find yourself inconvenienced, ask the Lord to show you if there’s something that He’s up to that you need to see. Look around you to see who might be on God’s heart for you to love, talk to, pray for or connect with. God works in mysterious ways, be ready for Him to interrupt your plans with His greater plans for loving others through you!