Waiting for God to Move

I’m not good at waiting. Instead of being silent and listening patiently for God to show me the next step, I often fill my days with the constant rush of hurry from one activity to another. Sound familiar?

One day, God stopped me in my tracks. I left one appointment and was racing to my next when something caught my eye—a woman on a park bench. As people like me raced by her, she sat there—quietly crying. 

I wish I could say that I immediately went over to find out what was wrong, but I didn’t. I fought with God. I needed to be somewhere else. Other people were counting on me. But God had stopped me, and I couldn’t let it go. After a few minutes, I released control of my schedule and walked over to the woman in distress. 

John 4 records the familiar story of Jesus talking to the Samaritan woman at the well. In the middle of the long walk from Judea to Galilee, Jesus and his disciples stopped in Samaria. They all had to be tired, but while His disciples went into town to find something to eat, Jesus sat at the well and waited (v. 6). 

When the Samaritan woman approached the well, Jesus simply asked her for a drink. That question opened the door for a spiritual conversation that went far beyond a simple glass of water. 

“If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” (John 4:10 NLT) 

Jesus knew His encounter with the woman was not by chance—it was a divine encounter. He didn’t rush around, accomplishing other things, until the time had come. He simply waited for the opportunity. And by the end of the conversation, the woman left her jar at the well and ran through the village, telling everyone she saw that she had met Jesus. “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” (v. 29) 

When I stopped to chat with the woman on the bench and listened to her story, I realized that the meeting I was in a hurry to keep wasn’t that important. The conversation I had with her that day was. I almost missed it. 

God wants to use us in the same way—to share His love with others, but often, we are too busy to notice the opportunities that exist all around us. Take a moment today to ask God to reveal these divine appointments to you as you walk throughout your day. Then pay attention. Slow down and watch for them. 

God just might have a divine appointment waiting for you. 

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Scripture is quoted from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.