Disruptions

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28 NAS)

As an employee of a corporation, I work over 40 hours a week and travel about 15 hours to and from work, assuming smooth traffic. Weekends are therefore precious to me as they are the only days I can spend meaningful time with my family, and do what I love best—writing devotionals. Frequently, however, my weekends are interrupted by other necessary things to do, such as running errands, getting a faulty house appliance fixed, attending to a friend or relative in need or facing bereavement, among many other ad hoc tasks. These interruptions often disrupt my schedules and my planned activities, and I would sometimes feel disgruntled. Inside my heart, I would grumble, “Grrr! Why must such things always happen when I’m ready to carry out what I’ve planned to do?”

None of us like disruptions, especially when we have everything already planned out to start right away. We growl in unhappiness and dissatisfaction because we are unable to fulfill our planned activities, and we regard disruptions as intrusions hindering our private lives that take away our precious time. We feel disgruntle and grumble, and may even question God why He must let such disruptions take place in our lives.

As believers in the Lord, we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God (Romans 8:28). Disruptions can therefore be something God allows to happen in our lives to lead us to fulfill His purpose. Disruptions of course can also be used by the devil to keep us busy so that we have lesser or no time for God or for fulfilling what God wants us to do. When we face disruptions, therefore, we must always maintain in prayerful spirit to discern whether it is from God or from the devil. If it is from God, the disruption may lead to an opportunity to witness for Christ (Acts 8:25-39), to minister and meet the needs of someone (Acts 9:10-19), or to direct our focus from or to something (Acts 16:6-7). It may also simply be something we should do or a lesson to learn, such as to understand the impermanence of things on earth (Matthew 6:19-20). If it is from the devil, then it is quite clear the purpose is to redirect and draw us away from God.

So what shall we do? Are we to stop making plans, so that God can call us any time to fulfill His purpose? Of course not! "For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish'" (Luke 14:28-30 NAS).

Making plans for what we need or desire to do is perfectly fine and there is nothing wrong with that. However, when we make plans, we should not be too rigid to the point of getting upset when the plan is not entirely fulfilled. We should not feel disgruntle over lost time when a need demands our attention, or regard disruptions as hindrances preventing us from fulfilling our dreams or planned activities. Rather, we should treat disruptions as interruption or intermission for us to regain our focus on God in seeking His purpose for our lives. Instead of grumbling or growling, therefore, let us do our part to address the immediate needs first, putting aside our preferred planned activities and our own interest till later.

Dear Lord, forgive us for sometimes feeling disgruntled over the lost time caused by disruptions in our lives. Help us understand Lord that such disruptions can be a way to keep us focus on You to direct us to fulfill Your purpose. Dispel our dissatisfaction Lord that we may not grumble, and grant us the ability to discern disruptions for what they are that we may not be misled, but be led by Your Holy Spirit to do Your will.