How to Recover From a Sudden Change in Plans

I had a plan for today.  It was a really good plan. A plan I was excited about.   However, in the last hour, that plan was thrown out the window completely.  I had no say in the changes, they just happened.  Now, I must confess I woke up in one of those funky, can't be explained, everything is going to bug me today kind of moods.  I found myself overly irritated with the screen door on my patio and annoyed by my left big toe (neither of those are worth further explanation), so you can imagine, as my carefully planned out day began to fall apart, I was not in the right state of mind to receive that news.   Fortunately for me, my thoughts are not the only ones dancing around in my head.  No, I'm not hearing voices, I'm hearing The Voice. And no, I don't mean Blake, Adam, Usher, or Xtina.  I'm talking about the Holy Spirit.  He lives in me, speaks to me, comforts me, convicts me, and reminds me who I am.  Thank God for Him, because I was on track for a full on adult fit that was going to include wearing pjs all day and buying large amounts of ice cream.  Instead of that bratty tantrum, the thought that He whispered to me was, "if your plan for the day has suddenly changed, look out for the divine appointment!"

Divine appointments are meetings or encounters with people that God intentionally set up with great purpose.  These are those moments when you happen to be sitting on the plane next to someone who doesn't know Christ but is curious about the book you're reading that happens to be by your pastor. When you're in the gym locker room putting on your t-shirt from last year's student ministry camp and the person getting dressed next to you asks about it and happens to have a teenage son in need of something to do this summer.  It might be as simple as the next client coming into your office is in the midst of a personal crisis, and your kindness will be their first glimpse of God's grace today.  You never know when or with whom your divine appointment  is going to be, but I firmly believe they always pop up on the days when my schedule goes out the window.  My baby falling asleep for her morning nap two hours early and my babysitter canceling this afternoon may seem like inconveniences, but I know that God has someone He wants me to encounter today, so He had to rearrange my day to get me in the right places at the right time.   There was nothing wrong with the places I was going to go today, they just weren't on His divine agenda.  He's not surprised by the changes in my day, He's laying out a new course to get me where He wants me to be, starting with this post.  Now it's up to me. I can sit and pout and miss my chance to be used by Him, or I can keep my eyes open for the divine appointment and have a purpose filled day.  I'm going for purpose!

Has God changed your plans recently?  Did you catch your divine appointment?  Share your experience in the comments below.  It will help encourage us all to be on the look out.