Ephesians 3:20 (More than meets the eye)

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works within us."

"You missed signing a page of the paperwork, and the house needs to fund tomorrow.  You'll need to find the notary that came to your home and get her to notarize one more signature from you and get it to us immediately."

Wow, nothing about selling our home in Las Vegas has been easy.  We began the process in November of 2011, yet in February of 2013 the process still drudges along.  Now, we're down to the last few days before we lose the deal we have worked on for more than a year.  This is vitally important to us financially, so that we are not shackled by debt that was placed on the home in order to fund the lives of others... And I need to find a person who I know only by first name, with no clue of the company for whom she works, and I need to get her to make a special trip to my home for an additional signature.

Great.  This is how my life seems to go sometimes. Never an easy path, always the road is strewn with debris to be overcome.  Even something as "simple" as signing docs has been exasperating.

When I finally found Kristin, (she had left her number "just in case") she did indeed go out of her way to come directly to my home to gather the signature.  She was professional and courteous, and as she was gathering her things to leave, she said, "You know, this has only happened to me one other time, when a signature was missed.  And that time, it was because the person who I returned to needed prayers of healing."

Wow, a Christian.  Sometimes, you think you are the only one out there, and sometimes, they seem to be everywhere!

Then she went on to say that she sensed her appointment with me was about more than paperwork, that it was ordained by God. She asked if anyone had ever told me about Jesus, and I told her that we were also believers.   She prayed for my healing, laying hands upon my hip and shoulder.  She prayed for our kids, she prayed for Tony, for his job, for our household.  She prayed and she bound evil--and loosed blessings upon our home.

Sometimes paperwork is not just paperwork, and sometimes an accident is more than an accident.  We often through life, moaning and complaining about the things that seem to be obstacles to us.  When we lose a job, get cut off in traffic, or have emotional turmoil, we mutter, and we ask God "Why us?"

After all, as Christians, we are sometimes fed the message that God helps Christians, that He paves the way for us.  He will provide.  We can sit on our hands and He will see to it that our lives are perfect.  While the message may be pervasive, it isn't biblical.

Jesus himself told his followers that their lives would be difficult.  He said he came to bring a sword, and that if they wanted to come after Him, they would have to take up their cross and follow.  Taking up a cross is physically painful and challenging.  It is a mental load, it is a spiritual load.  There is no promise to remove the rocks in our pathway as we ascend our Golgotha 

Sometimes those rocks in our path are actually meant for our good.  We don't always take the time to appreciate them, or to recognize them as gifts.  The person who cuts you off in traffic could be saving you from a harrowing accident down the road.  The diagnosis could lead you to witness to another patient, and that may have eternal consequences.  There is so much spiritual activity about us that we simply don't see with our human eyes.

What appointments has God ordained for you today that are disguised as disappointments or interruptions?  Be looking for His Spirit at work...