April 13, 2024

Some time ago I had one of my prayer partners tell me on a Sunday morning that he was praying that God would give me something that wasn’t listed in the bulletin. I thought it was a funny statement, but the more I thought about it, the more I appreciated it. I mean, we who lead the service work hard to plan, prepare, and pray about what we’re going to do each Sunday. But it’s a bit arrogant to think God can’t have something that we haven’t thought of.
Sometimes it’s not about the music. It’s about that stranger who wandered in and needed someone to listen to them, pray with them, and encourage them. Yes, it may cause me to get to the service a few minutes late, but that one soul is more important to God than my punctuality. Sometimes, in the middle of my message, I get nudged to go down a trail I hadn’t planned on. Later I discover that there were a few people who needed that little added bit a lot more than the points I had already prepared. I’ve had teachers who have shared that there have been days that they’ve had to lay their lesson aside because someone showed up in class who needed the class to listen, respond, and pray over them. These divine interruptions may be annoying to those of us who are locked into our own agendas. But to the spiritually discerning, you learn that those moments are the most important moments.
Jesus is preaching to a packed crowd. In the middle of his message, four guys show up with a friend whom they hope Jesus will heal. Though Jesus will go with the flow, my guess there were a lot of people who weren’t all that happy. Some people don’t want their lives interrupted. Even when it’s God.
Keep that in mind this week. You may go to the store to get groceries. God may have a conversation for you to have that’s not on your list. You may go to work, hoping to knock out a whole bunch of stuff that needs to get done. God may have a co-worker or a customer whom He wants you to minister to. Sometimes what you call an “annoyance,” might actually be a “holy moment.” So be open. Listen for the Spirit. Don’t be too quick to blow off something that’s not in your bulletin. It may be God wiggling His way into your day with a Divine Interruption. That’s God’s Word for you today.