A divine encounter
Routine. Like it or not, we all have them. To be honest I like my routines! If you know me well, you understand I like to have a cup of coffee around 9pm. It’s de-caff these days, but I do like to have it as close to that time as possible.
There is a reason behind this... Many years ago, when I was growing up at home, my parents would regularly watch the 9pm news on the BBC. Just before then they would put the kettle on and make a cup of coffee so they could sit and watch it with the drink.
As I grew older, I would join them at 9pm for coffee and the news. To this day I still like my drink then!
At the start of Luke’s Gospel, in the Bible, there is a story about a man called Zechariah, who was a priest serving in the Temple at Jerusalem. He was going about his routine when something happened...
“Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.’”
That day Zechariah was going about his work routine when he was interrupted by one of God’s angels. The poor priest was gob-smacked, as this kind of thing did not usually happen!
The angel went on to tell Zechariah that is wife, Elizabeth, was going to have a child, who became known as ‘John the Baptist’.
God broke in to the everyday with a dramatic encounter which changed Zechariah's life forever.
I have heard activity like this described as a ‘divine encounter’, as it’s something beyond the normal or natural that God is part of.
There have been times when this has happened to me. It might be something or someone on my mind then ‘all of sudden’ a situation occurs, or I meet that person... and it’s as if God is part of it!
After many years of being a Christian, I can still be amazed by God’s orchestration. I do love it when God breaks in like this. It reminds me that God is always at work, even when I am not aware of it.
So let me encourage you in your daily routines: God is at work. Be on the lookout as He might just want to break in with one of His ‘divine encounters’...
God bless
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader