God Out of the Box - by Chuck Ripka

excerpt from Chapter 6

Be Ready. Your next appointment may be a divine appointment

On a busy day in my work as a mortgage loan officer, I might see three customers in my office and take another twenty business calls. Some people will drop in to apply for a loan. Most call to make an appointment. But there are meetings scheduled by man, and there are meetings scheduled by God. The former are simply business transactions. The latter are what I call divine appointments—and I rarely know beforehand when the Lord is setting the agenda.

Randy was my first appointment one hot August morning in Elk River. He arrived at 8:30 and plopped into the burgundy club chair across from my desk. He wore a gray polo shirt and tan Dockers. I also noticed something else—a weariness in his eyes, as if he’d been dragging around an invisible ball and chain for far too long. After we exchanged greetings, he surprised me by apologizing. “Chuck, I’m sorry. I’m kind of out of it. I had to take some pain medication this morning. I have severe back pain.”

Randy explained more about his condition. As he talked, I heard the voice of the Lord: I want you to pray with him for healing. I put down the pen in my hand. OK, Lord, here we go, I thought. At that point, I knew that my meeting with Randy was going to involve more than a loan application. "Randy,” I said, “it sounds like this back problem has been a real issue for you. I’d like to offer to pray with you for healing. Could we do that?”

I’m sure Randy hadn’t expected to hear those words from a loan officer, but he didn’t object. “That would be fine,” he said. I began to pray. In the name of Jesus, I commanded the infirmity that had plagued Randy to leave his body. I asked the Lord to heal him. I asked for a sense of peace to come over his body, mind, heart, and spirit. As I prayed, I saw Randy’s eyes well up with tears. I don’t think anyone had ever prayed like this with him before.

“Randy,” I said when I finished, “have you ever prayed to invite Jesus Christ into your life?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Would you like to do that now?”

He blinked his eyes and nodded. “Yes. Yes, I would.”

We prayed, and Randy was even more moved than before. In just our first few minutes together, we had prayed for his healing and salvation. It was as if pressure that had built up for years had now been released. A dam had broken. I understood why God had me pray so quickly with Randy. He wanted me to have time to hear about the troubles weighing on Randy’s heart. Randy and I said our goodbyes. When we shook hands, he gripped my hand tightly and held on for a moment. Then he was gone.

About forty-five minutes later, my phone rang. The woman on the line was weeping. It was Randy’s wife, Marilyn. “Randy told me what happened,” she said. “I want you to know that I have been praying for my husband for years. I just want to say thank you for what happened in your office today.”

The next day I received another phone call. It was Randy’s son. “I want to thank you so much for what you did for my father,” he said. “What do you mean?” The son told me what had happened the night before. When Randy arrived home from our appointment, he gathered together the family members that were in the house—his wife, son, and grandchildren—in the kitchen. After they all sat down, Randy began speaking in a halting voice. “I just want to tell you guys that I…I need to repent,” he said. “I have not been the spiritual leader of this family that I should have been.” With those words out, he began to weep. I was moved to hear how God had intervened in this family.

Several months had passed when Marilyn called. “Chuck, you don’t know it, but my husband has been diagnosed with cancer,” she said. “We’re at the hospital now. My pastor just left, but Randy is asking for you. When you prayed with him, something happened to his life. No one’s ever moved him like you did. Would you pray with him again?” I had never visited a customer at the hospital before. But soon I was walking down the corridor and into Randy’s hospital room, greeting him and Marilyn. I could see that Randy was weak, but he was sitting up in bed. An IV machine was hooked to his arm. We talked for several min-utes. Then I prayed for peace, for comfort, and for any healing that would be within God’s will.

About two weeks later, Marilyn asked me to visit again. By this time, Randy had been transferred to another hospital. The doctors said he had only a few days to live. When I arrived, we talked about everything that had happened during the past few months, including the amazing reconciliation Randy had enjoyed with the rest of his family. Then we held hands as I prayed once again. Randy held on to my hand after I was done. Soon, Randy would be meeting Jesus face-to-face. I wished I could be there to see it. That, I thought with a smile, will truly be a divine appointment.

I believe that God schedules divine appointments for each of us every day. They are opportunities He gives us to serve Him and the body of Christ. Unfortunately, too many of us don’t keep those appointments. We have lots of excuses: We’re comfortable where we are. We’d rather mind our own business. We don’t want to push our religion on someone else.

When we miss a divine appointment, we waste a chance to help someone else. But we also miss out on a wonderful blessing for ourselves. When I obey God’s direction and intervene in some-one’s life—when I choose to be used—I experience one of the great rewards in life. There is nothing like the feeling that comes from seeing God transform lives and families. Somehow, their newfound joy gets reflected back to me. Once it happens, I can’t wait for God to use me again.

If you want more fulfillment and joy in your life, watch for your next divine appointment. It’s one meeting you won’t want to miss.

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