Have you ever been interrupted by a phone call, an e-mail, or a knock on the door from someone wanting your immediate attention? They didn’t check your calendar first to see if you were available. They just barged into your life. A SOUND BITES subscriber once shared with me a quote that resonated with me: “The most important moments rarely come at a convenient time.”
The Bible is full of stories about people who were rudely interrupted by God. We read them and long to have the kind of adventure they experienced. Yet when God interrupts us, are we willing to respond on a moment's notice? Divine interruptions are often the pivot points of transformation in Scripture. Here are several compelling examples where God steps in and reroutes someone’s life, often in dramatic fashion.
God interrupts Abraham’s settled life with a call to leave everything familiar and journey to an unknown land (Genesis 12). This moment launches the covenantal story of faith. While tending sheep, Moses is interrupted by a bush that burns but isn’t consumed (Exodus 3). God calls him to confront Pharaoh and lead Israel out of Egypt -- a radical shift from shepherd to liberator. As a boy, Samuel hears God calling in the night (1 Samuel 3). It’s an interruption that marks the beginning of his prophetic ministry. Mary’s quiet life is interrupted by a divine messenger announcing she will bear the Son of God (Luke 1). Her “yes” changes history. The Samaritan Woman comes for water and leaves with living water (John 4). Jesus interrupts her routine and reveals her deepest need -- and her purpose. Jesus appears post-resurrection to Thomas in a locked room, interrupting doubt with presence and peace (John 20). Thomas moves from skepticism to worship. Jesus interrupts Peter’s workday with a miraculous catch and a call to become a “fisher of men” (Luke 5). Saul, a persecutor of Christians, is blinded by a heavenly light and hears Jesus speak (Acts 9). This interruption transforms him into Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles.
Divine interruptions often come when we least expect them -- during ordinary tasks, moments of rebellion, or seasons of despair. But they’re never random. They’re invitations to deeper purpose, greater trust, and holy transformation. For me, it was a phone call on a Friday night in March of 1985, from the former pastor of my church who was now living 500 miles away. As I look back on it, it was God calling me into ministry in the midst of an ordinary life -- a divine interruption.
-- Rev. David T. Wilkinson, SOUND BITES Ministry™
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