Interruptions can be Blessings in Disguise
As I type, I’m sitting in a “borrowed” home eight hours away from my house with The Weather Channel playing in the background. We’ve watched it faithfully, glued to its forecasts and information about hurricane Florence and the flooding that has ensued.
Life has been interrupted.
I didn’t really mind at first, but now we find ourselves stuck, unable to go home yet. So, we wait.
Hank doesn’t mind at all. It’s just another day to my cat. Oh to be a feline. :) 
I don’t know when I can return, and I’m a little worried about that (I just got a job!), but I do know this: we will go home and until then there are four things I need to do during this interruption.
What to Do with Interruptions
- Use this time to bless other people and receive blessings.
- Get some needed rest.
- Get some extra work done.
- Trust God
So . . . our evacuation from Wilmington sent us to a small town in Georgia where the borrowed home waited for us. We’ve been blessed beyond our imaginations with this place to stay, but God also made this interruption an opportunity to meet some wonderful people who follow this blog and watch my Bite of Bread live teachings.
I had lunch with two of them! (Loved meeting you Linda and Pam!)
Interruptions are Open Windows
Do you find it hard to accept blessings from others? It’s hard! For me, it’s so much more comfortable to give than receive.
But interruptions like hurricanes or other problems, sickness, financial struggle, changing jobs . . . are open windows for others to climb in and help us, or they are open windows for us to climb through to help someone else. I like how Joseph Tenney put it:
Interruption is God’s invitation. God is inviting us to see him all around us, in the lives of others, in our conversations, in our serving those in need. Interruption is not simply a matter of our heart developing patience; it’s about experiencing true life. It is one of God’s ways of waking us up to what’s around us to see there’s more to be done than our self-appointed tasks for the day, as important as they may seem. ~Desiring God, Joseph Tenney
Living on Purpose Trusting God
Interruptions test our patience and can be frustrating, but when we live our lives believing that every person we meet, every place we go, every good thing and hard thing that interrupts our lives is an invitation from God, we will live lives full of purpose. And when we go through these interruptions trusting God’s timing and goodness, peace can flood our hearts. Holy Spirit can lead us during the interruption.
Scripture can help strengthen our trust and evoke the peace we need, so this week’s Bite of Bread is full of verses about God’s goodness, faithfulness, and presence. (Only five verses this week.)
Bible Reading Plan (Get the Printable with extra prompts!)
Romans 8:28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.
Lamentations 3:23: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;[ his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Psalm 31: 24: Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord!
Grab the Printable
John 13:34: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
Colossians 3:15: And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
1 Peter 5:6: Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Check out the prompts on the printable to deepen your time with God this week.
God Cares
Peter wrote to the believers as they experienced persecution and life’s interruptions ;
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6).
When our life is interrupted by congested traffic, storms, sickness, even just frustrating things like your computer not working as fast as it should, trusting that God cares helps us handle those situations.
Be aware that he may be steering you to another direction to help someone or receive help. Listening for his direction and trusting he’s working for good can settle the anxious, impatient thoughts and emotions interruptions can evoke.
Speaking of Interruptions . . . Thursday Night Live
Thursday Night Live will be postponed until I get back home where the internet works! LOL! We’ll have a lot to catch up on when I get back and life is back to normal in North Carolina. Thank you for your prayers and kindness. Please continue to pray for all who are dealing with flooding and keep those who have lost loved ones in this storm close to your hearts.
Digging Deep,
Andy
[…] two weeks of Hurricane Florence interference, this week I hope to meet with you from my home Tuesday night at 7:20 ET. I hope you can join me! […]
Love this post Andy. This past hurricane was definitely an interruption to all of us Wilmingtonians but it turned our focus to others. It also gave those of us who didn’t have more than yard debris and boards to remove an attitude of gratitude. These posts were so timely. Thank you Andy!!
Thanks Karen! It is amazing how hardships can turn our eyes on the Lord and others. Yes, we are so thankful. Thanks for stopping by! What a blessing.
Thank you for this post Andy! I was honestly surprised to see it. Maybe you needed to write it as much as some of us needed to read it?! Still praying you can get back home soon and without any major damage to your home. We were not interrupted by Florence with anymore than drenching rain, thankfully! But we do have all kinds of interruptions going on around here again and I’ve been struggling to deal with them graciously (um, I’ve actually failed a good bit). I loved the quote by Joseph Tenney. “…it’s about experiencing true life. It is one of God’s ways of waking us up to what’s around us to see there’s more to be done than our self-appointed tasks for the day, as important as they may seem.” I’ve been praying for my eyes to be opened to see His hand in all that He allows in my days to interrupt my plans. His are always better and I don’t want to miss a thing! <3
Amen! Hey Debbie, yes, it was therapeutic to write this post. That’s one of the blessings of writing. So glad Florence did not affect you. I’ll be praying for all of your interruptions and praying this post will help a little in your perspective. Thanks so much for stopping by!!
Love you, dear Andy! You remain in my prayers. I so much admire your faithfulness to continue writing and ministering even when Hurricane Florence interrupted your routine. I’m so thankful you are safe. God is using you, precious sister in Christ. P.S. I love your gorgeous web site!
Thank you, Emily!The Lord is faithful! Thank you for stopping by today. I so appreciate your prayers.
Leave it to you, Andy, to make lemonade out of lemons ( even though I think lemons are just fine just that way they are— with a little salt!). So glad you got to meet Linda and Pam during this blessed interruption. Thank you for the wise and inspiring words about sudden changes and how God seizes the opportunity to help us branch out. I love you and am praying for you to return soon to an intact house!
LOL! Leave it to you to love lemons with salt instead of sugar! Love you Jan Doke! Thank you for your prayers. :)
So glad you and your family are safe, Andy. And I’m sure you will meet the challenges waiting for you when you return to Wilmington with the grace and strength God will provide. Thanks for sharing this special perspective. I’m thankful you have a place to stay and hope you accomplish the work you mentioned.
Thank you Cheryl! Thanks so much for stopping by. God is good. He always has blessings for us even in the hardships.