A few years ago I was stranded in a hotel. I remember asking God to set up a divine appointment for me that day, since I was stuck in town with nothing to do. It seemed like a good prayer for a staff gal to pray.
Later that day I decided to take the stairs rather than the elevator. After descending the six floors to the lobby I discovered that I was locked out. Or rather, locked IN the stairwell. I raced up several flights of stairs only to discover that the doors were locked tight. I was in the bowels of an airport hotel. Alone.
Eventually I found an unlocked door. At that point I didn’t care if I set off any alarms. I just wanted to get out. Pushing on yet another door, sunlight finally streamed in. Temporarily blinded by the light, I breathed the warm, humid, but fresh air. And I nearly walked into a woman sitting on the curb, weeping.
Afraid to disturb her solitude, I quickly turned and walked away, towards the hotel’s main entrance.
Several minutes later a thought occurred to me: What if God allowed me to be locked in the bowels of that hotel so that I’d come upon the weeping woman? Perhaps she needed a sympathetic, listening ear. Maybe she needed to be reminded of a God who rights wrongs. Or maybe she needed to hear words of love, mercy and forgiveness. If that was the case, then I totally missed the answer to my prayer… God provided an opportunity for a divine appointment.
Alert : quick to perceive and act.
Expect : anticipate the occurrence or coming of.
As you go about your day, perhaps you can do better than I did. Perhaps you can keep your eyes open, alert to opportunities which God puts in your way. That person might not be a student or faculty member. He or she might take up more than a few minutes in your day. Living in alert expectancy means keeping our eyes open, even in dark stairwells. Maybe, just maybe, God choreographed events so that you would stumble into the sunlight at just the right time to help someone else embrace the Light.
There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this , we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! (Romans 5.3-5 The Message)
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