How do you react to interruptions?

Who hasn't experienced a flight delay or cancellation? Or a mechanical problem? Or a traffic jam? Or having to wait in the checkout lane?

How about a snow storm when we cannot get to work? How about a flat tire when we have to be somewhere?

Interruptions can come from someone who grabs our attention or when a device around us rings, beeps, pings, vibrates, or notifies us in some other way that our focus is needed.

We all get annoyed when a productive moment is interrupted. We all get fed up when scheduled events don't go as planned.

Jesus' life was full of interruptions. In fact, it seems that interruptions were a way of life for Him.

When Jesus came down from the mountainside after teaching the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew chapter 8, we see Jesus being continually interrupted. After He had healed a man with leprosy, a centurion who had faith interrupted Jesus to heal his servant who was paralyzed. When Jesus went to Peter's house, He found that Peter's mother-in-law was sick, and He healed her. When evening came, Jesus got no peace because there was a continuous stream of people, whom He healed. He gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake, but before He could go, a teacher of law interrupted and wanted to follow Jesus wherever He went. While He and the disciples were taking the boat across the lake, a furious storm arose without warning. The disciples interrupted Jesus' sleep, and He calmed the storm.

In the next chapter, Jesus' sermon was interrupted by men letting down a paralytic through the roof! Then, when a ruler asked Jesus to come because his daughter had died, a woman with a flow of blood interrupted Him for healing by touching the hem of His garment.

In all of these interruptions, Jesus accepted them as opportunities to minister. Each interruption offered something new and an occasion to do God's work. We can even learn from our own interruptions.

How did the coronavirus interrupt your life? We have all had to change the way that we do things. Retail businesses and grocery stores, doctors' and dentists' offices, barbers and hair salons have all had to make changes to allow for physical distancing.

Our Sundays were interrupted, as we were told to stay home from church and worship online. These interruptions are making us adapt and spread the gospel — which is now being brought into the living rooms of many who would never have dared to enter a church.

Many of us don't like interruptions because we think that they get in the way of "real life". They remind us that we are not in control. But God is in control, and in His wisdom, something good will come out of these interruptions.

Let's open our eyes, as God is in every moment, in every experience, and even in every interruption that we face.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to have patience, love, and understanding when our life has interruptions, just as Jesus demonstrated throughout His ministry. Show us how interruptions can be turned into something positive. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

Larry Fisher <larryfisher17@gmail.com>
Wainfleet, Ontario, Canada
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