chapter 1
God Appointments
Time And Chance Happen To All
D o you know people who always seem to be in the right place at the right time? They are always bumping into the right people in the right places at the right times. It may be in a shopping centre, in a lift or at work. And it may occur just when they need extra finances, a new job or a life partner. They happen to meet people who then bless them, or they step into situations where they get blessed just at the right time. Some people call these occurrences “divine interventions”.
Now, have you ever wondered why some people seem to walk in these divine interventions more than others? They attract what the world calls “luck”. But it is not “luck”, it is God’s timing. He knows their needs as well as your needs intimately. He knows when, where, how and by whom your needs are to be met.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us, “He has made everything beautiful in its time…” Do you want to be found in His time? Well, I am going to tell you how you can be in the right place at the right time. But first, let’s look at King Solomon’s life.
King Solomon was the richest man who ever lived. To date, no one has come close to being as wealthy as he was. Solomon was the son of King David and he loved the Lord. Although he turned his heart away from the Lord towards the end of his life, he came back to the Lord before he died.
Solomon had something to say about timing. He wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. In Ecclesiastes 9:11–12, he said:
11 I returned and saw under the sun that — the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favour to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all. 12 For man also does not know his time: Like fish taken in a cruel net, like birds caught in a snare, so the sons of men are snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them .
Notice what Solomon said by the Holy Spirit: “the race is not to the swift” . Now, that means that the winner of the race is not necessarily the fastest person. I can hear all the slow people shouting, “Thank God!” Solomon went on to say, “nor the battle to the strong” . In other words, the one who wins the battle is not necessarily the stronger one. “Thank God!” say the weak. Next, Solomon said that men of understanding are not the only ones who gain riches: “nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding” . Here is the most interesting statement: “nor favour to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all” .
Solomon is telling us that those who are better, wiser and stronger don’t win the war, don’t win the race, don’t get the riches and don’t win the favour. But those who are in the right place at the right time win the race, and enjoy favour and success!
Only God can put you in the right place at the right time and give you good success.
The only one who can put you in the right place at the right time is God. You can try through self-effort to better position yourself for success by studying more, working harder and cultivating more strategic relationships. You may end up being slightly faster, slightly stronger and more well-connected, but only God can put you in the right place at the right time and give you good success.
There are also people who find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. They get caught in a “net” and they don’t even know why. Ecclesiastes 9:12 says:
12 For man also does not know his time: Like fish taken in a cruel net, like birds caught in a snare, so the sons of men are snared in an evil time, when it falls suddenly upon them .
This describes the category of people who are not blessed. They are like “fish taken in a cruel net” . Everything seems to go wrong for them. Of all the flights that take off at an airport in a single day, they end up taking the flight that crashes. They get caught in evil circumstances and they