When God Disrupts our plans and Interrupts our Life
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
OPENING: - There is an old saying that goes “If you want to make God laugh then tell Him your plans”. Well let me just say God is not maliciously sitting on the throne in heaven laughing at every plan we make. The Bible says in Proverbs 16:9 “A man’s heart deviseth his way but the Lord directeth his steps”.
I am very meticulous when it comes to planning especially like our cruises and vacations. I will plan a cruise two years out or more, then I will read and research to make sure I pick the right excursions, find the quaint little restaurants that are off the tourist paths, making sure every little nuance is in place. I try to live by the motto that early is on time and on time is late which was drilled into me in the Army. I firmly believe that if something starts at 9 o’clock you don’t show up at 9 but you get there at least 15 minutes early or else, you are late.
Now don’t let me plan to do something at a certain time and have something disrupt my plans, an accident, flat tire, catching every red light in town, getting behind that driver that only wants to do 35 in a 55 mph zone I get agitated, irritated, upset, my blood pressure rises and my wife will say calm down your going to give yourself a stroke by stressing out over what you can’t control.
So often we believe that we are in control of every situation and when we realize that we don’t have control how we respond impacts us, our health, our relationships, our attitudes and other areas of our lives. So often people fail to progress in the will of God because of a preconceived idea that we have to be in control and will fail to step out of their comfort zones in fear of losing control. As creatures of habit, we strive to hold onto and be in control of our lives.
Webster’s Dictionary defines interruptions as things that stop or hinder by breaking into the flow, to delay, stall, impede or stop the progress of something.
How do you handle interruptions in your plans and life. Do you get agitated, upset, irritated, mad, frustrated and many other emotions. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it”
The question today is what do you do when God disrupts your plans and interrupts your life?
We dare not get frustrated, agitated, or irritated with God, after all He is God, He is sovereign and when we give Him pre-eminence in our lives there is going to come times when He disrupts our plans and interrupts our lives.
PRAYER: -
SCRIPTURE: - Proverbs 16:1,9,& 33 says “The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord. A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps. The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord”.
There are many kinds of interruptions that can happen in your life to put your life on hold. There are easy interruptions and difficult interruptions and sometimes these interruptions will even have you question God, look at Job.
The way you handle the interruptions and what you learn from them realizing that God has a plan for your life, and He works all things out for your good is of the utmost importance.
Easy interruptions are those things that simply delays, slows down your progress, a closed door, a roadblock, a train and although they are frustrating, they are minor in the totality of life experience. We need to learn how to take these easy interruptions and use them as opportunities to practice patience, gentleness, kindness, and meekness.
Difficult interruptions are life changing events that are filled with emotional chaos, grief, financial instability or collapse and plans are restructured or cancelled altogether, and life is often put on hold. In difficult interruptions we must make sure to feel and express the emotions that God has given us and not sit by in deadly silence and quiet desperation. We can get angry and sin not Ephesians 4:26. We can cry - even Jesus wept John11:35, Luke 19:41, and Hebrews 5:7-9. We can even question God Job 38. God is not intimidated by our question He welcomes them because our questions are literally indications to ourselves that we are not in control and that God ultimately has a plan for our lives. Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 1:5 says, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations”.
REMEMBER: - our text scriptures: Proverbs 16:1,9, & 33 says “The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord. A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps. The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord”. God will allow us to make plans but the ultimate plan for our lives is His sovereign will.
During times of disrupted plans and interruptions that God does we can learn more about God then before, develop our relationship with Him, build our prayer life, and totally learn how to lean and depend upon Him.
Someone may say how so Bishop! Before this interruption you only heard that God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all you can ask or think. You heard the testimonies of other people say it, but when this interruption stopped your life and you from the depths of your soul cried out, when deep began to call unto deep and you called on the name of the Lord, you no longer based you understanding on what you heard but began to say you don’t know like I know what the Lord has done for me.
Your relationship develops because you talk with God more than you did before and communication is the key to a great relationship without communication the relationship fails. Now I am leaning and depending on Him because there is no way possible, I am coming out of this on my own, my life has been interrupted. So, Lord I am depending on you to see me through.
When God disrupts your plans and interrupts your life.
We must understand that there is a purpose for the interruption, we may not understand it at first, but God is not maliciously interrupting your life just because He has nothing better to do. When Job’s life was interrupted it was to prove to Lucifer that Job would not deny God.
When your life is interrupted by God, we must understand that there are 5 purposes for the interruption. 5 is the number of Grace. The Ten Commandments contains two sets of 5 commandments. The first five commandments are related to our treatment and relationship with God with the remaining 5 concerned with our relationship with other people. There are 5 primary types of offerings God commanded Israel to bring to him. 1.) Burnt Offering 2.) Sin Offering 3.) Trespass Offering 4.) Grain Offering and 5.) Peace Offering. There are five books of God's Law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) commonly referred to as the Pentateuch ('Penta' means five). The 4 Gospels plus Acts equals five books that, as a set, can be designated as "the New Testament Pentateuch." They reveal Jesus' teachings concerning the Law and the Prophets. The apostle John wrote 5 books centered on the grace of God and eternal life (the gospel of John, 1John, 2John, 3John and Revelation).
The 5 purposes of interruptions by God reveal His Grace.
1. To get our Attention: - so often we focus on us. We get wrapped up and tied up in I, I want this, I did that, I am going here, I, I, I. I is the center letter of pride which is sin middle letter I and eventually you will die middle letter I. When you get wrapped up in pride you sin and the you die. So, God will disrupt your plans in order to get you attention. Attention is the act or state of applying the mind to something. It is the condition of readiness a focusing of consciousness in preparation for action. He is saying I need your undivided attention because this next phase of your life, this next level of your calling demands that you focus on Him and not on you.
2. To develop our Character: - Now this is not personality this is who we are because of our relationship with God. It is who we are because of who He is. The development of our character encompasses the fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5:22 “Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance”. Character epitomizes the very essence of our walk with Jesus Christ. He will disrupt our plans to develop our character - WATCH THIS reputation is what others say about you Character is what God says.
3. To try our Faith:- James 1:3-4 says “Knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire wanting nothing”. There is no other way in which to perfect patience other than the trying of your faith. He is developing perfectness Spiritual Maturity in you so you will be able to stand the wiles of the devil and having done all to stand – stand, be steadfast unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord.
4. To reveal His Power to us:- The omnipotent power of God does not just pacify our pain it will invade our lives and satisfy our soul changing our ability to walk through pain to be able to have peace that passeth all understanding. To be able to stand tall while living in a world that is sinking deeper and deeper into sin. To make us to truly understand that He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think. His power to govern all things both temporal and spiritual, to work miracles and do what no other power can do. To change our lives from glory to glory.
5. To shape us in His image and likeness:- this simply means that we reflect God’s character to the rest of creation. When the world looks at us, they should see Christ reflected in us and expressed through us. We are the only Jesus the world will see so they need to see Love, goodness, meekness, grace, and mercy. For that to happen God has to sometimes interrupt our lives and prune us, shape us, into His image and likeness.
When God disrupts our plans and interrupts our life, He ultimately changes our destiny.
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”.
Abram was comfortable in Ur surrounded by his family when God interrupts his life and tells him to leave his comfort zone, to leave his family and go to a place that He will show him. His destiny was changed, his name was changed to Abraham meaning the father of nations, he became the father of the chosen people of God and received the awesome title of friend of God.
Moses was comfortable living in exile as a shepherd tending to the sheep when God interrupts his life tells him to go back to Egypt and tell Pharoah to let His people go and lead them to freedom. Moses at first was fearful but after the interruption became a man of great faith, leading the Children of Israel from Egypt and he is listed in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews.
Mary was a young girl engaged to be married to the love of her life when God interrupted her life changed her destiny.
Now he wants to interrupt your life and change your destiny. All you have to do now is be like Jesus Christ and pray Father not my will but thy will be done. Shape me and make me, mold me as you would have me to be. Because I were in control of my life I think that I would have worked things out differently
there would be no hurt no pain, no disappointments of these things my life would be scott free
but that just goes to show, how little I know about leading about controlling my life for you see all these things have worked together just to make the best of me.
So Lord I say have your way in me.
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
