Day 11 — God Is Sovereign: No Meeting Is Accidental
Opening prayer
Sovereign Lord, as I read your Word today, help me to see my ordinary relationships through your eyes. Teach me to trust that you are at work in the people around me, and give me wisdom, love and readiness for the opportunities you provide. Amen.
Headline
Because God is sovereign, the people around us are not accidents or interruptions, but may be part of his purpose for drawing them to himself.
Acts 17:22-31
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
Comment
Today we begin the final week of our Worth Sharing reading plan.
In week one, we rediscovered some of the treasure we have found in Christ: truth, love, glory and new life. Last week we were honest about what makes sharing that treasure hard: fear of being misunderstood or rejected, and the idols of approval, comfort and security that can silence us.
This week we turn to the practical question: how do we take the next step?
How do we become more ready, natural and joyful in bearing witness to Christ — not pushy, not artificial, not trying to sell a product, but simply ready?
We begin with three truths that can give us confidence. The first is this: God is sovereign.
In today’s reading, Paul is in Athens, speaking in the Areopagus, the assembly of the city’s thinkers and leaders. He begins not with their need, but with God’s greatness:
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth.” (v.24)
God made everyone and everything. He gives all people “life and breath and everything else.” He is not a local deity, a private religious preference, or one option among many. He is the Creator and Lord of all.
And then Paul says something remarkable:
“From one man he made all the nations… and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.” (v.26)
In other words, God is sovereign over when people live, where they live, and whom they meet.
Now hold on to your seat as we think about what that means.
Your neighbour lives opposite you because God put them there. Your colleague sits near you because God put them there. Your child or grandchild is friends with that child because God arranged that relationship. The person who serves your coffee, the person at the dog park, the family member at the gathering you half dread — none of these people is outside God’s providence.
They may think they are where they are because of house prices, schools, transport links, career choices, hobbies, family ties, or the need for a decent flat white.
But Paul says there is a deeper reason:
“God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.” (v.27)
God places people in particular times, places and relationships so that they might seek him and find him.
That does not mean we force every conversation into a sermon. Please don’t. Nor does it mean that every chat over the fence must become intense or awkward. But it does mean we start seeing ordinary relationships differently.
The people around us are not interruptions to our life with God. They may be part of his purpose for our life.
The lunch at work, the chat after sport, the lift in the car, the coffee after church, the family gathering — these may be divine appointments.
These people need the gospel. We know the gospel. And God wants people to seek him and find him.
This should change how we notice people. It should change how we listen to them. It should make us more expectant, because God is already at work before we arrive.
Why does God want you to hear this today? Perhaps because you are tempted to think the people around you are random, inconvenient, or spiritually unreachable. But God is sovereign. No meeting is accidental. The people in your life are there under the providence of God, and he may intend to use you so that they might seek him and find him.
Reflect
- Who has God placed near you — in your family, street, workplace, school, church, social circle or regular routines?
- How does Acts 17:22–31 change the way you see your ordinary relationships and conversations?
- Where might you need to become more expectant that God is already at work?
Action
Write down the names of two people God has placed in your life who do not yet know Jesus.
Pray for them using Acts 17:27:
“Lord, you have placed ____and______ in my life. Please help them to seek you, reach out for you and find you. And please use me, if you will.”
Closing prayer
Almighty and Sovereign God, I praise you that you made the world and everything in it, and that you give every person life and breath and everything else. Thank you that you have placed people around me with purpose and love. Open my eyes to see the divine appointments you have written into my ordinary life, and use me as you will so that others may seek you and find you in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Discover more from St Andrew's Roseville
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.