No — from God’s standpoint the meeting was not an accident, because Scripture says the Lord opened Lydia’s heart and Paul had been directed to Macedonia.
Paul had recently come over after the Macedonian call and on the Sabbath went to a riverside place in Philippi where Jewish women gathered for prayer (Clip 3, Clip 4). When Lydia heard him, the decisive thing was not accidental circumstances but that the Lord opened her heart to attend to what Paul spoke (Acts 16:14). Les Feldick stresses this repeatedly: the Lord opened Lydia’s heart, not Paul’s preaching or her own religiosity.
Acts 16:14 — This verse directly records that the Lord opened Lydia’s heart, showing God’s sovereign initiative in the encounter.
Scripture presents the meeting in Acts 16:13-14 without using the word “accident.” It simply records that Paul and his companions went out of the city on the Sabbath to a riverside where prayer was customarily made, and that Lydia, a seller of purple from Thyatira who worshipped God, heard them. The text then makes the decisive statement: “whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.” The Bible does not say that Lydia’s own spiritual desire or Paul’s eloquence accomplished her conversion; it says the Lord opened her heart. This reveals that God was actively at work behind the outward circumstance of the meeting.
Les emphasizes that Lydia was not already saved even though she worshipped God. She had a concept of God but knew nothing of God’s salvation and was as lost as anyone. He notes that when Paul came on the scene, the Lord opened her spiritual understanding — not Paul, not Barnabas, not Paul’s preaching. Les also points to the broader biblical pattern of God-ordained appointments: Ruth’s “hap” to land in Boaz’s field and Jesus’ deliberate decision to go through Samaria to meet the woman at the well. These examples show that encounters which appear coincidental to human eyes are often directed by God. His repeated point about Lydia is summed up in his question: “Who made the first move? God does.”
The Scripture says Lydia “worshipped God,” and Les describes her as a distinguished businesswoman who was religious and had a certain amount of knowledge of God. But he is emphatic that she knew nothing of God’s salvation and was still lost. Her worship of God did not save her; the Lord had to open her heart when she heard Paul’s message.
Les explains that Paul had just recently come over after the Macedonian call and was in Philippi. Because there was evidently no synagogue in the city, on that particular Sabbath he went out to a riverside park where a few Jewish women were holding a devotional time. This sets up the circumstances in which Lydia heard Paul, but the divine initiative remained with the Lord who opened her heart.
Both the Scripture and Les’s teaching point to the same answer: the Lord opened Lydia’s heart. Les emphatically says Paul did not open it, Barnabas did not open it, and it was not fancy preaching. He also stresses that human words alone will not get anybody saved; the Holy Spirit must open the heart, as happened with Lydia.
Les points to other examples of God-ordained appointments that looked ordinary or accidental from a human perspective. He notes that Ruth did not randomly choose Boaz’s field; it was her “hap” to land in the very field where she needed to meet her future husband. He also says Jesus insisted on going through Samaria rather than circumventing it, because He knew He would meet the woman at the well. These examples reinforce the principle that God works behind the scenes in such encounters.
God’s Sovereign Appointments
Les uses Ruth’s field and the Samaritan woman to show that encounters that seem coincidental are actually directed by God.
The Lord Opened Lydia’s Heart
Lydia was religious and had knowledge of God, but she was lost until the Lord opened her spiritual understanding.
Lydia Heard and the Lord Opened
Luke’s account is that Lydia heard Paul and that the Lord opened her heart, not that she was saved by her own religious effort.
Paul after the Macedonian Call
Paul had just come over after the Macedonian call and went on the Sabbath to the riverside where Lydia worshipped God but knew nothing of His salvation.
The Riverside Gathering in Philippi
Les describes Lydia as a distinguished seller of purple who was part of a small group of Jewish women meeting by a riverside because Philippi had no synagogue.
Religious but Still Lost
Lydia believed in God and was religious, yet she was still lost; the Lord, not Paul or Barnabas, opened her heart.
The Spirit Must Open the Heart
Les uses Lydia as an example that preaching words alone will not save anyone; the Holy Spirit must open the heart.
God Makes the First Move
The Lord opened Lydia’s heart, not Paul’s preaching, and Les emphasizes that God makes the first move in salvation.
Acts 16:13: And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.
This verse shows the setting where Paul met Lydia and the other women by the riverside in Philippi.
Acts 16:14: And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
This is the key verse answering the question: the Lord opened Lydia’s heart, showing God’s sovereign role in the encounter.
No, according to Les Feldick’s teaching. She worshipped God and had a certain amount of religious knowledge, but she knew nothing of God’s salvation and was still lost. The Lord opened her heart when she heard Paul speak.
No. The Bible says the Lord opened Lydia’s heart, and Les repeatedly makes the point that neither Paul nor Barnabas did it. Human eloquence alone does not bring anyone to faith; the Holy Spirit must open the heart.
From a human perspective it could look like coincidence, but the record that the Lord opened Lydia’s heart, combined with Paul having been directed to Macedonia, shows that God was at work behind the scene.