The Good Interruption
By Lexi Ellis
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and
I will send you out to fish for people.” At once, they left their nets and
followed him.
Matthew 4:19-20 (NLT)
I was
always taught interrupting was bad. Being one of three sisters, we had to wait
our turn to speak. My parents wisely adopted a system for when we wanted to
interrupt a conversation they were having with another adult. We would put our
hand on theirs and once there was an appropriate break in conversation, they
said, “excuse me,” and talked to us. As we got older, they taught us how to
politely wait for a good moment to enter the conversation.
A few
years ago, God interrupted my normal routine. I had a plan, a system…and then
God revealed something. It’s funny, I responded to God the same way my parents
did when we interrupted them. It seemed rude, inconvenient and surprising. I
desperately wanted to smile at God and say, “You need to wait.”
And yet,
as I looked at Scripture, I began to realize that God interrupts our normal
routine with an invitation to actively follow Him. And this is about the only
good interruption I’ve ever seen. This invitation to enter an active
relationship with Christ - - this invitation to come and follow - - often
interrupts our normal routine and the plans we make for ourselves. God called
Moses in the midst of shepherding. God called Esther for “such a time as this”
in the midst of comfort and luxury in being queen. God called Samuel while he
was sleeping. Christ called His disciples in the midst of their vocation. The
angel called Mary in the midst of her engagement for a socially-daring and
divinely determined task.
Throughout
Scripture, we see God’s invitation to come and follow in the midst of our
normal routine. It’s quite the interruption. And yet, it’s good. Because when
we surrender, when we stop controlling and instead follow Him, we allow God to
use our situations and our circumstances to not only shape us, but point others
to Him. His Spirit begins a new work in our lives. When we allow God to
interrupt our normal routine, we grow in Christ and as
disciplemakers.
I’ve
been a Christian for years and yet I still struggled to recognize that God’s
recent interruption in my normal routine - - my way of doing things - - was
good. If we have a relationship with God, then we trust He has a plan, one that
includes interruptions of what we want. I’m thankful for the reminder that
these interruptions are good. In fact, they’re invitations to come, follow Him
and point others to my Savior.
GOING
DEEPER:
1.
Looking back, how have you typically responded to God’s good interruptions?
2.
How is God interrupting your normal routine now?
FURTHER
READING:
Lexi’s family consists of her, her husband, Andrew, her
daughter, Sloane, and her dog, Calvin. She teaches sixth grade Reading and
Writing and serves with Children’s Ministries.
