As you read this, you might be in a difficult place: You could be unemployed. Maybe you moved to a new position within your organization and it’s not going well. You might have a new boss, who is pushing you to do things differently. Or, it’s possible your company was just acquired and you’re uncertain about your future. Your situation is more difficult than you imagined. No matter what challenge you are in the midst of, know that God is there with you.
When I was updating a friend of mine, Tom, about my journey, he wondered aloud if my present situation was actually a “divine interruption” for me. What an interesting question to ponder. An interruption from God? Most of us think of an interruption as something negative – not positive, like when I was young, and my mom interrupted the fun I was having to call me home for dinner.
A challenge we have as humans is, we don’t have the ability to see into the future to see what might happen if we continue on our current path. We just assume if things are good today and we continue following on the same path, things will be good tomorrow. But God knows and sees what is in our future.
Sometimes, God changes our path to prevent something bad from happening or He is preparing us for the future. A person who experiences a minor heart attack often learns the importance of eating better, exercising and lowering their stress. Without that little interruption, the heart attack could be massive, and they might not survive.
Sometimes God re-directs our life to do something more important.
Think about King David. He was quite content being the youngest son in a large family, tending the sheep. From his story is in 1 Samuel 16, So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” King David moved from tending sheep to being anointed as the next king. While the next years were quite a challenge for him, they prepared him to be a great king.
Or, think of Esther, who had recently been made queen and was in a very good place when her adoptive father, Mordecai, asked her to take a big risk – more than she wanted to take. When she questioned it, he responded to her by asking “…And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14). In other words, she was in that place, because God needed to use her for something more important.
God uses the things we see as a problem, to shape us and to use us for his will. So, rather than thinking God did this to you, accept that it might be a “divine interruption.” How exciting: Who knows what might be in store for you next?
