God's Interruptions

I can remember how, when my kids were little, they would come running up to me while I was in the midst of a conversation and without thinking interrupt me and the person to whom I was speaking with some news of something they were doing or a question that had come to their mind.  As nicely as I could (and maybe sometimes not so nicely), I would point out to them that they would have to wait until I was finished.  Yet from that point on, in the back of my mind I couldn’t help but think about what it was they were trying to say or ask.  My thought process had been interrupted and I had become distracted. 

We all know what it’s like to be interrupted.  We might be in the middle of an important conversation or trying to complete a task when, the phone rings or someone steps into your office with an emergency or your child starts to tug on your sleeve.  At that moment whatever you were saying or doing comes to a halt and your attention is diverted to whatever has come along and interrupted you.

At our Wednesday night Bible study we’ve been studying the book of Amos. The prophet Amos knew what it was like to be interrupted—in his case, interrupted by God.  Amos says of himself, “I was neither a prophet nor a prophet’s son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go prophesy to my people Israel.’”  (Amos 7:14-15 – NIV) In other words, Amos was just going about the daily routines of his life when he was interrupted by God and called by God to take a message to the nation of Israel. 

Amos’ experience was not necessarily distinct.  Many of the men and women who were used by God in the scriptures experienced such an interruption: Moses while taking care of his flocks, Gideon while threshing wheat, David while watching his father’s sheep, Mary while going about the routine of her day, Peter and John while washing their fishing nets, Paul while on his way to persecute Christians.  And, such has been the case throughout the centuries.  Men and women who, as they were going about the business of their daily lives, have been interrupted by God and sent to foreign fields, called to pastor churches, given the task of preaching the gospel, serving the poor, taking a stand for justice. 

Two questions arise in my mind when I think about God’s interruptions:  (1) Am I sensitive enough to the voice of God to know when it is he is interrupting me? (2) Am I willing to stop what I’m doing in order to answer God’s call when he interrupts me? I would suggest that you ask yourself the same questions. After all, I don’t think we want to miss out on what God may be calling us to do. Nor ought we brush him off.

Have a great day and get ready: God may interrupt your life today!

Pastor Tim Harris