April 17 2026

Friday April 17

God’s Divine Appointments

Philippians 1:12

Today we are continuing to look at Philippians 1:12. The Apostle Paul is writing back to the church of Philippi from prison in Rome. He is in chains, and he writes, “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.” You can imagine his friends back at Philippi are concerned. Paul is in prison. He might be beaten, like he was when he was in jail in Philippi years ago when he founded the church there. Paul might be hungry. He might be terribly hurt. He might be tortured. Maybe he is even facing death. They could have been so concerned. Yet Paul writes to them this letter of encouragement. He says, “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things that have happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.”

They might have been thinking that Paul is such a great minister. He has other churches and cities to go to. He has churches to plant. He is a church builder. He is a church planter. Now he is in prison. How could God allow that to happen? Yet Paul is saying, “No, no, that is just the opposite. God has me here for a purpose.”

Over the years, I have talked about divine appointments. One of the most exciting things in my life over the years—especially as we traveled, or even in everyday life—is that I believe we should be looking for divine appointments. God has somebody, somewhere in our path, that He wants us to tell about Jesus Christ. Sometimes it ends up being in the strangest places.

I will never forget when I went to visit a man in the hospital. I had his name. He was a friend of mine, and I had known him for years. I looked up his name at the hospital, found his room number, and went to that room. I looked in, and it was not him. There was someone else in that bed. I went back down to the nurse’s station and said, “Hey, listen, I am looking for so-and-so. I know he is here. Here is his name, and this is the room number.” They looked it up and said, “That is the man. He is in that bed. He is in that room.” I said, “No, he is not. I know him. He is not in there.” They said, “He is too. That is the man in that room.”

I went back and looked, and sure enough, the man in the bed had the exact same name as the man I was wanting to visit—but he was a totally different person. I sat there and began talking to him and asked him where he went to church. He said he did not go anywhere. I shocked him by saying, “That is great. That is really good.” He said, “What? You are a pastor. You would expect me to go to church.” I said, “Oh no. One thing I do not have to worry about is that you are not thinking going to church will get you to heaven.” I had the opportunity to witness to him, lead him to Christ, and later baptize him and his wife. A divine appointment. I never would have expected it. I was not in the wrong room—I was in the right place at the right time, on God’s timing, in God’s divine appointment.

As we look at this passage of Scripture, we find that God can give us opportunities to take the gospel to unexpected places. I remember a person sitting next to me on a plane by the name of Frank, a Muslim man who became my friend—and still is today. God opened a door, a great opportunity to tell him about Jesus, as he later invited me to his home for a wonderful dinner and time together with his family.

There are so many opportunities that take place. Paul says, “I want you to know, brethren, that the things that have happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.” Doors open for us that would not have opened any other way. God places us in unexpected situations—not to stop us, but to use us. It might be the workplace. It might be a hospital room, as we said. It might be a difficult season in our life.

Remember, Paul could have been thinking: when I was in jail back in the city of Philippi, there was a jailer who needed Jesus, and a group of prisoners who needed Jesus. As he and Silas rejoiced, God turned that whole place upside down with an earthquake. Amazing things happen when you are trusting God.

I remind you of Proverbs 16:9: “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Proverbs 20:24: “A man’s steps are of the Lord; how then can a man understand his own way?” And then Psalm 37:23: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.” God wants you to share the gospel to people in the unexpected times and places in your life. That is what Paul is talking about here in verse 12.

God bless and may you have a wonderful, wonderful day!