Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit…(1 Cor 12:7-9).

Whenever something unusual happens in daily life, these are often signs that God is up to something. We must have a heightened sense of awareness of what God may want to do in these situations. My mentor once shared how he was upgraded on an airline for no reason. A woman sat down next to him who was very troubled. My mentor began to pray for the woman and God gave him supernatural insights that her problem related to her unforgiveness of her mother and that was why she was disturbed. The woman was shocked. My mentor began to minister to her on the airplane and ultimately led her to Christ.

I shared this story at our ministry board meeting among our leaders. I told them that God is raising the spiritual bar for Christians who want to impact the world for Christ today. He wants to break through into people’s lives supernaturally by giving them insights into the needs of people in order to bring them to Christ.

A few days later we took Doug, one of our close friends and board members to the airport. He barely made his flight. He sat in his assigned seat in economy class. As the doors shut, he suddenly heard his name called out. He was being informed that he was being upgraded to first class. He never flew this airline so he wondered how in the world he would get upgraded. However, he gladly accepted. He went to his seat which was occupied by a lady who wanted to exchange seats. Doug agreed. He moved a row back next to an executive who seemed to be very irritated. He was well dressed and Doug could see that he probably was a very successful and wealthy.

Doug pondered what God might do with this arrangement which seemed unusual but divinely orchestrated. He wanted to move in a supernatural dimension in his walk with God and speaking into other’s lives. “Lord, tell me something about this man so that he would know that it was You who knew him” he quietly prayed. Just then the words “finance” and then “financial services” popped into his mind. Now, he had to decide whether this was God answering his prayer or was it just his own thoughts?

Stepping into the supernatural he decided to risk it and go for it. Turning to the man “I understand you are in financial services”. The irritated executive looked at him and said, “Yes I am, how in the world would YOU know that?” Doug was amazed himself at God’s work but asked “Do you really want to know how I know that?” “Yes, I would.” Doug said “The Lord told me” “What ? ” the man replied “Well, when I sat down I began to pray for you and I asked God to tell me something about you. God told me that you were specifically in financial services.”

The man, startled and not sure what to make of this began a conversation with Doug. It turns out the man is the CEO of one of the largest financial services company in the US – a 32 billion dollar company with global influence. He shared the rest of the flight with the man about the integration of faith with work and business. The man did not accept Christ. But he experienced a touch of the Kingdom of God in a very personal way that may be a stepping stone for him coming into the Kingdom in the future. It was a supernatural seed – planting encounter.

PRAYER: Could you take just a moment and pray for this Executive? It could be a strategic moment seeing how God chose to speak to him on that plane. We would love to send him a note and tell him 10,000 people prayed for him. This could change his life.

In your life, look for the unusual circumstance that God may be wanting you to use to impact someone for the Kingdom of God.

Excerpted with permssion from the book TGIF Today God Is First, by Os Hillman, copyright 2000, Destiny Image Publishers, Reprinted by permission. For free daily email subscription to TGIF Today God Is First marketplace meditations, visit www.marketplaceleaders.org (Os Hillman)