When God Disrupts Your Efficiency

“When God Disrupts Your Efficiency”

Text: Philippians 1:12 | Genesis 50:20 | Colossians 3:23

Introduction: The Illusion of Getting Things Done

Have you ever had one of those days where everything was planned down to the minute? You had a schedule, a to-do list, goals. And then… all of it unraveled. A phone call. A crisis. A traffic jam. A kid. A delay. Something unexpected. And there you are—stuck. Frustrated. Inefficient.

We live in a world obsessed with efficiency. More output. Faster results. Quicker turnarounds. But here’s the rub: God’s idea of efficiency is not the same as ours. He’s not pacing in heaven, checking His calendar, sweating over a deadline. He’s not trying to get more done—He’s trying to make us more like Christ. And sometimes, that means slowing us down on purpose.

I. Efficiency Is Not the Goal—Faithfulness Is

Colossians 3:23 tells us plainly:

“Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people.”

It doesn’t say, “Whatever you do, do it fast.”

It doesn’t say, “Whatever you do, get it all done today.”

It says, “Do it from the heart. Do it for the Lord.”

You and I are not judged by our productivity. We’re measured by our posture. The goal isn’t just to check off boxes—it’s to please the One we serve. We serve the Lord, Christ. And that means that how we do something matters just as much as what we do.

You can be efficient in your flesh and completely ineffective in the Spirit.

You can hit your goals and miss God’s purpose.

You can build something impressive and forfeit something eternal.

II. When God Interrupts Our Plans

Let’s be honest. Sometimes our best-laid plans are actually in the way of what God wants to do.

Proverbs 16:9 says:

“A person’s heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps.”

There are days, even seasons, when your “efficiency” might actually get in the way of God’s purpose.

What if meeting that deadline caused you to miss a divine appointment?

What if the thing you’re calling an interruption is actually an invitation from God?

What if your traffic jam is part of God’s GPS rerouting—because He sees something ahead that you don’t?

God is not just working through us. He’s working on us.

And one of His primary tools is divine delay. Frustrated human efficiency is one of God’s most effective means of sanctifying grace.

III. God Never Takes the Shortest Route

Look at how God led Israel out of Egypt. Exodus 13:17–18 tells us:

“When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road to the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearby… So God led the people around toward the Red Sea along the road of the wilderness.”

They could’ve taken the shortcut. But God took the scenic route—the long way through the wilderness. Why? Because He was more interested in forming a people than getting them to a place.

God is never in a hurry.

He doesn’t microwave maturity.

He slow-cooks character.

His purpose isn’t just to get you to the destination. It’s to sanctify the traveler on the journey.

IV. Joseph: A Masterclass in Divine Delay

Think of Joseph. He had a dream from God—clear, powerful, prophetic. And it came true… twenty years later.

Between the dream and the throne, Joseph faced betrayal, slavery, false accusation, and imprisonment. But every detour was divine. Every delay was necessary.

God even used Potiphar’s wife’s lust to position Joseph in prison—right next to Pharaoh’s butler and baker. And eventually, Joseph would stand before Pharaoh. Not a second too soon. Not a second too late.

And in Genesis 50:20, Joseph looks back and tells his brothers:

“You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”

What looked like a waste of time was a part of God’s redemptive timeline.

V. Paul’s Frustrated Itinerary

Paul had a plan. He wanted to go preach in Asia. But in Acts 16:6–7, it says:

“They had been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia… the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.”

Think about that! The apostle Paul is trying to evangelize a region and the Spirit says “No.”

Instead, Paul ends up in Ephesus. And he teaches daily in the school of Tyrannus. And Acts 19:10 says:

“All of Asia heard the word of the Lord.”

He wanted to go to Asia—God brought Asia to him.

Sometimes God says no to the efficient route so He can unfold something bigger. Something better. Something only He sees.

VI. Rome, Not Spain

Later in life, Paul had another dream. He wanted to go to Spain.

Romans 15:24 tells us that he hoped to stop in Rome on his way. But instead of stopping there, he was stopped there—in chains. A Roman prison cell.