God Crashes our Story
November 30, 2025
Matthew 1:18-25
Have you ever had your plans blown up? You were planning on a great vacation, but then an illness or injury happened. And everything changed.
Maybe you weren’t planning on attending a family function, you know, too much drama, but you did, and it didn’t go quite the way you thought it would.
It’s another day in your world, nothing big happening ... and then the phone rings and un that very moment, your world comes crashing to a STOP!
When our plans are interrupted, we tend to get pretty irritable and downright angry!! Those are in the big events in our lives.
Imagine the small irritants - - - when you choose the wrong line in the store. Your credit card is rejected. There’s a detour and you’re already running late. The item they said they would hold for you, wasn’t. The job you thought was yours, isn’t!
Interruptions are not welcome. We could have that sign posted outside of our offices - - - on the doorsteps to our homes. Post them on our phones, on our social media accounts.
“DON’T BUG ME! LEAVE ME ALONE!”
And for many of us, that includes God.
I picture us saying this to God - - - -
“God, I know you have bigger and better things in store for me, but you know, I’m just really content right now.
Well, actually, if I were to be really honest . . . I’m not content, I’m restless, but I’m kinda sorta cozy right now.
In other words, God, I’m comfortable and I don’t want you to interrupt the moment.”
PICTURE OF ME IN A BLANKET
I mean, who wants to get up and out from under that blanket? The moment you take it off, you become uncomfortably cold.
Can I get an AMEN!?!? We may not say this audibly, but our actions and the way we go about our spiritual lives demonstrates this reality.
But what if God has more for you? What if God is calling out to you and telling you, or at least trying to tell you - - - -
“My child, I have more for you. I want more for you!! I have an abundant life of work and service and love and power and so much more available, but you have to open the door and say yes to my call?”
What would you do if God was saying that to you? Would you really run to Him and say YES YES YES Lord! I’m ready, let’s go!!
Or would you put up the stop sign . . . and tell God, thanks - - - - but no thanks.
You see, that’s where we’re at this Christmas season. Is God knocking, wanting to enter your life. Maybe even to crash your story? We think of these as interruptions, but that family function you’re avoiding might just bring healing.
That job you didn’t get was by design, because God very well has something better for you. But in the meantime, we tend to curse God and blame God for taking it away.
The person who is on your heart, who you need to reconcile with, is right there, waiting for you, but your cold heartedness, your own brokenness is getting in the way.
But God keeps telling you it’s time to let go, but you keep holding back. You could be FREE, but your enslaved by your own sinfulness.
Imagine the freedom you could experience! From the hands of God . . . the Holy Spirit abundantly filling your heart, and spirit and mind! Wouldn’t that be more than you could ever imagine?
Yes, friends, God is in the interruptions. God is sovereign. That means God rules the universe.
It means God is in control and has a plan. Nothing, absolutely nothing catches God by surprise. It’s not like God says, “WHOA, I didn’t see that one coming.” That would be antithetical of God’s nature. It’s not possible.
Listen to these scriptures - - - God tells Isaiah - - - -
10 My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. - Isaiah 46:10
God’s purposes can never be thwarted. What He sets out to do, will happen!!
In Job 4:22, Job says exactly that of God - - - -
22 I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
Hmmm. And in Colossians 1, Paul tells us this about Jesus - - - -
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
16 For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things were created through Him and for Him.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. - Colossians 1:15-17
These are just some of the many scriptures which show us God’s sovereignty and control over creation, which includes you and I.
It’s so easy for us to get freaked out over the little things. And when the big events happen, we really struggle to keep it together.
For 4 weeks of Advent, we’re going to be looking at the idea of God crashing our world.
When God steps into your plans, everything changes. Our lives must change. But we’re not always ready for that change. John tells us - - - -
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. - John 1:14
Jesus came into this world to call us to a new type of relationship. One that is so radical, yet so beautiful and powerful that our lives should never be the same again.
But we struggle with His call in our lives. We don’t want to give up control. We cling to it, so when Jesus comes crashing into our world - - - -
- - - - well, it’s a shock to our system, it’s unsettling and sometimes we can be pretty irritated.
Yet, His call for you and I is to surrender to Him and follow Him in obedience as God writes the story of our lives.
As we look at advent scriptures, we certainly can sympathize with Joseph. Imagine the plans he has. The joy of his upcoming marriage to Mary.
It was going to be a simple life. They were good people. He was a good carpenter. She was a kind and generous woman. Life was going to be great. Peaceful and simple. Hmm . . . .
Let’s look at the scripture from Matthew 1:18-25 - -
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.
When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying,
“Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21 She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,
25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called His name Jesus. - Matthew 1:18-25
Ever had those same feelings Joseph had? Betrayed! Thoughts like, ‘This wasn’t supposed to happen! How could she do that to me?’ And maybe a few other thoughts.
BOOM! God comes crashing the story. Mary’s pregnant, and Joseph knows the child isn’t his. His reputation, his dreams, his peace of mind? Gone! In an instant his world is turned upside down.
How many of us have had our seemingly perfect plans turned upside down? We didn’t expect it, but the unexpected happened. We were set on a new course! Not a course we planned on taking, but one that came crashing down on us.
You see, “Christmas isn’t just a story about angels and shepherds — it’s about a God who breaks into our plans, disrupts our comfort, and rewrites our story.”
When God Interrupts, It’s Personal
18 Before they came together, Mary was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph wasn’t just confused — he was hurt.
His future was falling apart and it was going to be public. Every person who saw Mary, would know she’s pregnant, and it’s not Joseph’s.
He had every reason to walk away. And to do it loudly. Making sure everyone knew Mary was an adulterer. Isn’t that what many of us would do?!
We’d play it out on facebook. We’d get allies and supporters. People who would comfort us and be against that vixen. We’d hold onto that anger and bitterness and it would hold us back for years, maybe a lifetime.
Yet, here’s the thing about God, and we know it, but I don’t think we really consider it.
The truth is - - - - God doesn’t ask permission before He enters your story.
Just imagine if God asked for your permission?
How would you respond when you’ve got that great job, your social life is booming, you’re driving a really nice car. The money is coming in. You think it can’t get any better than this.
Or maybe it’s the opposite. You’re broken, your life is a facade. You want to change. You know you need to, but if you change that would create tension in your life, so you just allow life to pass by.
Ever been there? God don’t come! Life is too good right now. OR maybe it’s - - - -
God don’t come! I’m hurting but . . . . you may make it worse!
I’ve been there. I’ve been on both ends! God don’t! Oh, wait . . . . you already did!
When God comes crashing in He will mess with your comfort, your timing, and your control.
Do you know how frustrating it is when your GPS reroutes you? You’re sure it’s messed up, but then it’s saving you from a traffic accident or construction or a dead end.
But what do we do, we keep on going because we don’t trust it. So we end up in the traffic. Or we get lost because we’re going the wrong way and don’t know it.
I’ve been there too many times. Google maps is great, but there’s times I simply don’t read it right. Or maybe I’m not trusting it. So, I make a wrong turn and go the wrong way. I had it all in front of me, but didn’t trust the answers.
Don’t we do that with God when He’s rerouting our lives? When He’s trying to move us in a different direction. It feels like He’s crashing in on us.
When our story is interrupted, we assume it’s God rejecting us, or punishing us, but don’t assume it’s rejection — it might be God’s redirection.
You see, when God Interrupts us, He’s inviting us to trust Him
In verse 20, Matthew tells us “Joseph… considered these things, but an angel appeared to him in a dream.” (v. 20)
An angel came and spoke to Joseph. I would venture to say Joseph never spoke to an angel prior to that moment. Talk about crashing into your life.
Your fiancé tells you she’s pregnant and it’s not yours. “No, honestly Joseph, it’s the work of the Holy Spirit of God. God is the one who got me pregnant. It’s His Son.”
I mean how do you believe that story? Joseph’s world is crashing down on him. And that’s the best Mary could come up with?
Joseph’s a good guy. He’s going to somehow, and I don’t know how he could do it in that world, he’s going to let her down gently. He’s going to divorce her in private. He’s going to save face, and save face for Mary.
But an angel of the Lord crashes into his sleep. How many dreams have you had where you think, I need to tell someone about that in the morning and morning comes and all you know is “I had a dream and have no clue what it was about.”
This is one dream that’s not going to be forgotten . . . ever. An angel of the Lord, coming to him, telling him — Mary’s telling the truth. Take her as your wife.
WHAT!? You’ve got to be kidding!! I don’t believe this. How can this be happening? Yet, God has come into their lives. Crashed their simple story and made it really, really complicated. Life will never be the same again.
How do I tell Mary! How do I tell my family? They’re going to think I’m crazy.
And yet, Joseph had a choice — believe the impossible or stick with the predictable.
How many times do we have that choice? I believe it’s more than we realize.
How often do we embrace the supernatural reality of God’s presence, grace, love and power in our lives?
How many times do we give thanks to God for the gift of life He’s given us?
How many times do we offer grace and forgiveness to others? We’re the glad and grateful recipients, aren’t we? Over and over and over again! So we dispense God’s grace as liberally as He does, right?
Yet, we admit, it’s not easy to surrender to God.
Joseph is at the precipice of his journey. What do I do now?
And isn’t that the point of our faith? What do I do? What do I believe?
You see, if we really believe in Jesus, our lives must be different. We’ve accepted God crashing into our lives, but we try to limit the amount of crashing.
You see, if we’ve embraced Jesus as Lord and Savior, then we must seek to be obedient to God. That means we surrender our entire being to God
Not an easy thing to do.
Yet, faith begins where explanations end. God’s interruptions reveal whether we trust His heart and plan or we trust more in our plan.
After all, I know what I’m going to do, even if it’s wrong, I know what I want, even if it’s wrong.
But God’s plans are different. They often lead us in a new direction. And we can’t control that.
It’s interesting the number of times God has called people and He doesn’t give us the plan or blueprint.
The angel didn’t give Joseph a full plan or blueprint — just a next step. That’s how God still works. “He doesn’t show us the map; He just says, ‘Follow Me.’”
Jesus called James and John and Peter and Andrew and Nathaniel and Matthew to follow Him. And they dropped what they were doing and followed Jesus.
God called Abraham to get up and move. And he moved, without GPS. God called Jeremiah and Isaiah and others to prophesy and they did. They didn’t have a roadmap. Just a word from God.
The disciples were called to go into the world and proclaim Christ. There wasn’t a map. God crashed in on the life of Paul and Paul said YES, Lord, I will follow you.
The stories in the Bible are endless. And so are the stories in our lives.
We talk about blind faith, but it’s never blind, it’s called obedient. We follow God, because we trust His call in our lives. Because we’ve submitted to Him.
Trust is walking in the dark because you know who holds the light. Jesus told us - - - -
12 I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. - John 8:12
We will never walk in darkness. That’s great news. So, when Jesus crashes our lives. He’s not calling us to walk through the darkness alone, because He is the light and the light will never be extinguished.
And He will never, never abandon us!!
“What is God asking you and I to trust Him with right now — maybe even though it makes no sense today?”
Lastly, it’s to know when God Interrupts, it’s our obedience that opens the door to glory in Christ
Verse 24 tells us “Joseph did what the angel of the Lord commanded him.”
God never told Joseph YOU MUST! Joseph believed and his obedience changed the world. He couldn’t have known that when he said yes to God’s plans.
How cool is that? Did you ever think about Joseph’s role in the salvation story? He’s pretty much an after thought for most of us.
One man’s “yes” became the doorway for God’s “Emmanuel.” Joseph’s story was radically changed, it was broken, dreams were shattered and a new journey was about to begin. And that new story was a sacred, God ordained story.
Every act of obedience, no matter how small, has eternal impact. Every time we say YES to God, it has eternal significance. We might not see it today or tomorrow.
In fact, we may never see it. But that’s just what happens when God crashes into our lives. Our lives change and the world changes because we do.
It’s like a domino effect. One step of obedience sets in motion a chain reaction of God’s grace.
You never know what hangs in the balance of your obedience. Joseph didn’t. But heaven did.
Is God calling you right now? Is there something in your life, where you believe God is calling you, but you’re fighting Him.
What next step of trust is He asking for?
If your story feels out of control, maybe it’s because God just took the pen and is starting to rewrite your story.
It’s remarkable that most of the time, we’re angry when God crashes into our story. We want the control, we want to say “Hey look at me I did it!”
But what if we were to simply pause and allow God to speak to us and call us to Himself in a way we’ve never experienced before. Maybe it’s a call to grace and love and mercy as we meet God in a new and fresh way.
God might not be asking us to do anything more than that. Experience my love, praise me, love me, worship me. Give me your whole self and life will be different. Better!
God is crashing all of our stories. Will we fight it? I certainly hope not, because the world needs to see Jesus in you and I! The question is . . . will they?!
