Divine Encounters

How often do you pray before your day begins? If you do pray early in the morning, do you ask God for divine encounters, lives he wants you to connect with, or touch for him? The divine encounters don’t have to occur at a formal event. They can happen in the grocery store, a department store, or at the doctor’s office. That’s where God comes in. When we are willing, he creates the connection.

In New York City this past week, our book, If I Only Had…Wrapping Yourself in God’s Truth During Storms of Insecurity was honored as a finalist in the Religious-Non Fiction category of the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, an international competition. The awards ceremony, at The Harvard Club in mid-Manhattan, was fabulous, and I was humbled to be a part of it.

While it was nice to be on the receiving end of such a great award, I didn’t want this trip to be about me, or the award. I wanted to use the book to reach others, so I brought four copies of If I Only Had.. to give away to whomever the Lord put in my path. Perhaps my journey will show you how to listen for the God connections in your own lives.  

The First Book- On my first morning in New York City, I did some shopping, and ended up at the Nine West Shoe store at 59^th and Lexington. A very helpful young woman waited on me, so my first impression was that the New York service industry had changed a lot since I lived in New York. She then asked me why I was visiting the city. I told her. She seemed interested in the subject of the book, and said, “I could really use a book like that.” I knew she was supposed to receive the first one, but it meant going back to the hotel room to restock, so I’d have a copy with me at the awards ceremony later that night.

The Second Book- After the Indie Awards event, my friend and I had dinner with one of her male friends who lived in Manhattan. He was an extremely intelligent gentleman, with some evidence of faith, but also with one farfetched idea that did not line up with the Bible. He asked to see the book, and couldn’t seem to put it down, so I prayed silently, Am I supposed to give the book to him? After all, it’s designed to reach women. I felt a sense of peace that the second book was supposed to go to this man, and I prayed that it would be used as an instrument to right the faith ship in his life.

The Third Book- The following night my friend and I had dinner at a longtime four-star restaurant, Balthazar, in lower Manhattan. We were served by a delightful blonde, blue-eyed young woman with a bubbly personality. I sensed immediately she was a struggling actress, so I asked her if I was right and she confirmed it. I asked her questions. She was from Vermont, and had loving parents who supported her acting pursuits. She was not only an actress, but also a writer, and had just appeared in a one-woman show she created. She then asked me why we were in Manhattan. I told her, and she immediately latched onto the title of the book. “Wow, I’d love to read that book.” There was no doubt. The third book was meant to go to her. She was either putting on a great acting performance or genuinely happy to receive the book. I don’t know, but I will go with the latter.

The Fourth Book- I had one last book left, but it didn’t look like there would be any more divine encounters before it was time to leave New York City and return home. I was sitting at LaGuardia at my gate, thinking the Lord only wanted me to give three books away. However, I began to talk to a young Asian woman sitting next to me. I found out she was from Northern California, in the IT business, and had a dream of one day moving to Austin, Texas. We discussed the importance of giving back to the world, rather than being consumed with only our careers. Then she asked me why I was in New York City. I told her, and her eyes lit up about the book subject. From our conversation, I could tell she wasn’t certain what she believed spiritually, but I knew the fourth book was going to her and that it was my fourth divine encounter.

Since giving away the four books, I have prayed for all four of the recipients, and have asked the Holy Spirit to speak to their hearts through the pages of the book, and draw them near to God. I have also thanked God for the divine encounters he provided, and for future opportunities to reach many more people for his kingdom. Through this exercise, I realized many of our young adults have fallen away from true faith, and they need us to share our hope found through belief in Jesus Christ. If we don’t do it, who will?

Will you pray today for a divine encounter?

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8). (LBW)