It should be impossible to read the gospel accounts without realising that Jesus was always purposeful.  He made deliberate choices about the places He visited (John 4:4-7), the people He met and the timing of everything (John 4:42).  Sometimes He was in the middle of the crowd; then He would switch to being with His disciples, or being alone with His Father.  But His itinerary was not a series of random ideas: He knew who He was going to meet, and every encounter was designed to bring glory to His Father as He moved towards His pivotal appointment with death on the cross.

Jesus had finished the 'sermon on the plain' (Luke 6:17-49), exposing the 'manifesto of His Kingdom' to His trainee apostles and the Jews who wanted to follow Him.  Then He went into the busy market town of Capernaum intentionally to meet a Gentile soldier - a Roman centurion who was in charge of the local garrison of occupying forces.  The Jews would have kept away from him, but Jesus knew that his heart was open to believe, just like another centurion Peter encountered (Acts 10:22).  The serious illness of the centurion's personal servant was the opportunity for the soldier and the Saviour to meet.

Nothing about God's work through Christ happens by chance. The Lord still has appointments with people who are individually loved and specially valued by Him despite their culture or religion. It may be our unwillingness to meet Him which apparently delays the encounters.  Other times, He allows a despair about our own ability to solve the problem.    He may use our difficult or painful circumstances as opportunities to get our attention: and when we cry out to Him, He is always there (Psalm 86:5-7).

Have you ever thought that the Lord wants to show His love to your colleagues and friends?  When all is going well, they might not be listening for Him; but when life is bigger than them, watch how the Lord chooses His moment.  And be alert; He may want you to be there as well so that you can work with Him (1 Peter 3:15)!