By Augustus Henry (PhD)
Interruptions, a necessity
A preacher once said that the same road that leads to hell, leads to heaven. Oxymoronic? Then watch this: He said if you are on the road to hell, all you have to do on that same road is to turn around. But turning around requires an interruption. David in the bible said that we were shaped in iniquity and in sin did his mother conceive him.
The deduction here is that we are naturally headed to hell, and changing direction is critical to changing our destiny, and that is not a natural thing. In life we are all seeking comfort, but it is not in comfort we find change. We all seek peace, but peace hardly transforms. It is the things that disturb our natural way of life or being that grow and change us. For humans to develop, crawling must disrupt creeping; walking is bound to disrupt crawling and running disrupts walking. For maturity to take hold, something must upset something else. If you are to grow, you will get upset at some point in your journey. At some point, your safe or sheltered space, mentally or physically, will be breached or violated.
I recently attended a professional development meeting on Zoom. My office was not prepared for the reopening of school. So, I used the library which by all means should be a quiet place to attend my Zoom meeting. During that meeting, two men were causing some noise in the library. That disturbed my concentration and hindered my focus. That was one disruption. But the biggest disturbance did not only hamper my focus, but it also derailed my spirit. As I walked over to ask for cooperation with the noise, one of the men walked towards me in a fighting and aggressive stance making comments that sought to trigger a fight. Anyone who grew up with me will tell you that I never back away from a fight.
And in moments of confrontation, I typically lose my presence-of-mind, losing control in the process. I have been praying to God for me to possess grace in times of instability. And boy, did he deliver! During the incident I remained completely calm, I was able to redirect focus to a different individual, then returned to my meeting without skipping a moment. But it took that interruption for God to demonstrate the growth that he had installed in me.
Historical interruptions.
God has always interrupted people’s journey to mature them:
Paul on his way to Damascus – was disrupted by a prick named Jesus. – See Acts 26:14
The Samaritan on his way to Jericho was halted by the beaten man. That man’s hatred for Samaritans and Gentiles was disrupted by the goodness of the Samaritan.
Moses’ royalty was disrupted in Egypt to save the Nation of Israel
The Red Sea interrupted Israel on their way to Canaan, so they can witness to power of the almighty God.
Job was interrupted in the middle of his wealth and blessings from God:
Job 1:1-15, One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, and the Sabeans attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” God will disrupt his own blessings on you to fulfill his purpose.
Job 1:18-19 says, while he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said [to Job], “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them, and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!” Even your blessings will be interrupted because God is not done with you yet.
Jesus was interrupted during prayer in Gethsemane – and that interruption produced his death – and his death through that interruption saved the world.
Repentance is interruption from sin.
Salvation is interruption from hell.
Finding the Blessing
Here is the point: Be watchful in all things, endure afflictions…fulfill your ministry (2Tim. 4:5).
Professor Christensen always teaches on the ideas of disruptive technologies: CD-ROMs, DVDs, personal computers, telephones, touchscreen technology, rideshares, smart phones, and smart TVs. These technologies caused chaos and pain upon introduction into the marketplace. They are typically resisted upon introduction; but finally accepted for their benefits and transformation of society.
In the same way, God allows disruptive moments in our lives that we almost always question or resist because they are painful, confusing, and surprising. But at the end of it, when we see the goodness of God in them, we embrace them (David, Jeremiah). Swindoll: We all face a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations. Therefore, we will look critically at our impossible situation to find our optimum purpose.
Has anyone ever seen God in a lost Job? Has anyone ever seen God in cancer? Is God in the storm?
What will your response be, when God allows an interruption in your life that delivers maximum pain, or maximum loss?
Peter answers those questions in 1 Peter 5:10:
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
1 Peter 4:12-13 KJV:
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
In both passages above, Peter writes of the expectedness of disruptions on the Christian Journey; yet he is quick to highlight their critical place in our lives. However, in the dialogue between God and the devil in the following passage, Satan assumes that God’s people do not do well in unexpected adversity, even though Job passes with ‘flying colors:’
Job 1: 9-11, “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
Do you trust and see God only when you are protected by his hedge around you? And will you curse him in the most strenuous of circumstances?
If God has allowed a disruptive moment in your life, walk through it as though it is a natural component in your life and find your purpose in it!