If you're like me, just when you think you have your day figured out and your in the middle of something you think is important, an unexpected interruption takes place that throws you completely off your schedule.
To be honest with you, I think most of us wish we could wear a "Do Not Disturb Sign" on our chest while we are going about our very busy day, so no one can interrupt our plan.
I would like to tell you a true story: A few years back I was in the middle of painting my kitchen cupboards when I believe the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said "I want you to take Doreen for lunch, she is working at the nursing home". I looked at the clock and it was approximately 11:30 a.m. The only person I knew with that name was someone I had only met a couple of times. I tried to ignore this thought to see if it would just go away, after all I was in the middle of painting cupboards, how inconvenient. Well, I knew I needed to be obedient and follow through with this thought. So I left my paint brush sitting on top of the can of paint and away I went to see if this person was even working at this place that day. I arrived at the nursing home at 12:00 noon and went up to the receptionist and asked if Doreen was working that day. She replied, "Yes, she is straight down the hall on your left." I knocked at the door and peeked my head in and said "Hi Doreen, I realize this is a little unusual, but I felt I was to come and take you for lunch, are you free?" She said, "yes." While talking at lunch, Doreen decides to pour her heart out regarding her troubled marriage that she was about to end. I knew then, this was the reason I was to take her for lunch, a divine appointment. As we continued to talk, I was able to sow words of encouragement and give her fresh hope for her marriage. Before she left to go back to work she thanked me and said she was going to put a few of the suggestions I gave her into practice to see if it would make a difference. A few nights later, I received a call from Doreen excited to inform me that her and her husband had reconciled and made things right between them. I was thanking God at that moment that He kept impressing upon me that day to take her for lunch. There was nothing to lose and everything to gain. A marriage saved!
Most of the miracles Jesus did took place when He was heading somewhere else and somebody interrupted Him. A man of vision and purpose, He was focused and yet He recognized a divine interruption and He could tell the difference between a divine interruption and a demonic interruption.
There are times where we can't let people interrupt us, having people pulling on us all the time and draining us, however, if we want to be led by the Spirit of God, there will be times when He will interrupt our plans and take our day in a different direction.
In Romans 8:14 it says "For as many are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God".
JESUS STOPPED FOR PEOPLE
In Luke 17:11-14 Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem and as he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" When He saw them, he stopped and responded to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.
I read a story recently that had an impact on me of how we can become blind as Christians in order to protect ourselves from seeing the hurt and need around us. One semester, a seminary professor set up his preaching class in an unusual way. He scheduled his students to preach on the Parable of the Good Samaritan and on the day of class, he choreographed his experiment so that each student would go, one at a time, from one classroom to another where he or she would preach a sermon. The professor gave some students ten minutes to go from one room to the other; to others he allowed less time, forcing them to rush in order to meet the schedule. Each student, one at a time, had to walk down a certain corridor and pass by a beggar, who was deliberately planted there, obviously in need of some sort of aid.
The results were surprising, and offered a powerful lesson to them. The percentage of those good men and women who stopped to help was extremely low, especially for those who were under the pressure of a shorter time period. The tighter the schedule the fewer were those who stopped to help the indigent man. When the professor revealed his experiment, you can imagine the impact on that class of future spiritual leaders. Rushing to preach a sermon on the Good Samaritan they had walked past the beggar at the heart of the parable. We must have eyes to see as well as hands to help, or we may never help at all.
If you and I have a "DO NOT DISTURB SIGN" on us, let's decide to take it off and be willing to adjust ourselves to the needs around us when we know God is speaking to us. When we forget about our own problems and help somebody else, God will help solve our problems! That's just the truth of it!
