Have you ever locked your keys in the car AFTER you just bought groceries and now are watching them spoil in the parking lot? Or been on your way to an important meeting when you hear a funny noise, see sparks, and then are watching your back tire bounce down the middle of the I-8? Or just about to step on the airplane when you hear those three terrible words, “all flights cancelled.” Interruptions are the worst.
However, when reading the Bible, it’s hard to miss the fact that God seems to have a very different view on interruptions. In fact, the Christmas story is launched with a teenage girl whose day is drastically interrupted. And you might think, sure, I wouldn’t mind so much if my interruptions included angelic beings with joyous news. But Mary probably understood that this interruption could result in family disgrace, not to mention the loss of her reputation, her friends and community, and her dreams of marriage. Her “yes” to God in that moment speaks a message that is still available to us, whether you are reading this in the shell shock of a major life interruption, or in the frustration of daily plans gone awry.
The message is this: God’s presence increasing within us far outweighs the interruption, even the loss of our time, resources, and expectations for the future. C.S. Lewis says, “The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one’s ‘own’ or ‘real’ life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one’s real life…”
Read today Luke 1:46-55, Mary’s song of praise, and then use your own words to thank God for the good news of His presence with you, today and always.
— Kristy Dees, College & Young Adults Pastor
