Spiritual Spontaneity

“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’  So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it.’

Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ Philip asked.  ‘How can I,’ he said, ‘unless someone explains it to me?’ So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.  This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:

‘He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
 so he did not open his mouth.  In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. 
 Who can speak of his descendants? 
 For his life was taken from the earth.’

The eunuch asked Philip, ‘Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?’  Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?’ And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.” (Acts 8:26-40 NIV)

As we sang praises to the Lord by the edge of the river in the darkness of night, I couldn’t help but thank God for the turn of events in our day.  We had traveled to Charlotte to pick up a student from the airport and stopped for dinner to celebrate her birthday on the way back.  As we drove the remaining way home, the discussion turned to spiritual things.  She said she wanted to follow the Lord with all of her heart and felt she had been holding back for many years.  “Tonight”, she said, “I want to be baptized!”
Within an hour, friends had been called and we were huddled together on the riverbank.  Much like Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch, we had unexpectedly gathered at the water’s edge to participate in a work of the Lord.  

So often in our spiritual lives, things are pre-planned.  Most of our church services are planned days or weeks in advance.  Sermons are prepared in advance, sometimes even weeks before they are preached.  Hymns or worship songs are chosen ahead of time.  Even baptisms often are pre-planned for a certain day.  

So much of our time together as believers is pre-planned that we can lose any sense of spontaneity and miss out on the beauty of just following the lead of the Holy Spirit.  Of course, planning is often necessary and good, but sometimes our immense devotion to it crowds out opportunities for the Spirit to work.  Imagine what would have been missed if Philip had told the eunuch he didn’t have time to stop for a baptism, or if the eunuch had sought to schedule a date in the future for his baptism.

When the student said she wanted to be baptized, it was at the end of a long day.  I was tired and ready to be home.  It would have been easy to suggest waiting until the next day or until Sunday, but I knew the Spirit was at work and I wasn’t about to impede Him.  And, from previous experience, I knew He would make this spontaneous moment into something special.  And indeed He did.

There was such a sense of unity, thanksgiving, and praise as she was baptized and prayed over by those who gathered with her.  The songs we sang filled the cool air of the night with sweet melodies from thankful and exuberant hearts.  It was as if the Spirit had led us to edges of Heaven. In no way could we have planned something so rich and meaningful.  

Today, be open to those moments when the Spirit of God leads in unexpected and unplanned directions.  They may not be convenient, but they will be very special.

© Jim Musser 2014