In our busy, over-scheduled lives, we often view interruptions as something to be avoided; after all, we're busy, we have a plan, we know what we're doing, or we think we do! In his book Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote,

“We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. God will be constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans by sending us people with claims and petitions. We may pass them by, preoccupied with our more important tasks. . . . It is a strange fact that Christians and even ministers frequently consider their work so important and urgent that they will allow nothing to disturb them. They think they are doing God a service in this, but actually, they are disdaining God's "crooked yet straight path."

Scripture is replete with people being “interrupted” by God that led to better things. Moses, comfortable in the courts of Egypt, was "interrupted” by God and led a nation into freedom. Mary, a young, engaged Jewish teenager was "interrupted" by God, and a Savior was born. On the road to Damascus, Saul a zealous Pharisee doing God's work, or so he thought, was “interrupted” by God and was transformed, became Paul the Apostle and brought the Gospel to the Gentile nations. If we feel we are too busy to be interrupted by God, we risk missing what God is doing in our lives and the world.

God often uses these divine interruptions to move us to better alignment with His will. A friend of mine recently wrote, “Apart from the Lord interrupting our lives, we will maintain the status quo. During several transitions, God interrupted my life for something better.” We should not assume that, as believers, our life is our own. We must be open to the Spirit’s leading and allow Him to arrange and rearrange our schedules as needed. Divine interruptions are often opportunities for kingdom building, sowing Gospel seeds, and providing pastoral and shepherding care to others in need.

Nearly 46 years ago, my life was interrupted by God. A scheduling mixup at high school sent me to the wrong class on the wrong day with the wrong teacher. The result was that I was confronted with the truth of the Gospel, my own sinfulness, and the power of the Gospel to transform my life. That teacher could have seen just another unruly rebellious teenager, but he too saw this as a divine interruption.

Interruptions will happen often; they always do. But do we see God in the interruption, or do we only see our schedules and agendas being compromised? Interruptions often include, as Bonhoeffer states, “people with claims and petitions.” Do we see these with the eyes that God sees them, or do we only see the imposition they create to our plans? In the context of his meeting with the woman at the well, Jesus “interrupted” the disciples with these words, “Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest” (Jn. 4:35). At times it is often difficult to see the interruption as part of God’s plan, especially when we think we are doing God’s work. As one writer noted, “We must not assume that our schedule is our own to manage, but allow it to be rearranged by God for His will.”

We live in times of much busyness and over-scheduling, even in vocational Christian ministry. Let us, however, remain open to allowing divine interruptions to further align our life and activity with God’s will for us.

Thankful for God’s interruptions!

Rev. Bill Allan,

AGC President

A Legacy of Blessing: Interrupted by God