It was one year ago this weekend that God began to interrupt our lives, and the interruptions just keep coming. Some have been delightful (like the baby I am carrying) and some have been tragic (like the illnesses that have touched our families or the death of a friend).
At times my faith has remained strong and unwavering, and at times I have wept at the realization of how little I trust God. I have praised God through the darkness, and I have been angry at Him for allowing the darkness to last so long. I have prayed and refused defeat, and I have surrendered in total defeat to my fears. It has been a year of ups and downs, highs and lows, victories and defeats.
Just this week God reminded me of a book that was given to me several years ago titled "When God Interrupts." I have not been able to put it down since I pulled it off the bookshelf. It has pricked my heart with conviction. It has reminded me of Who God Is. It has restored my faith in subtle ways. So I want to share a few quotes from this book that have given me clarity to the interruptions in my own life.
"God has interrupted our ordinary expectations...to conceive something. We can't manage it. We can't even understand it. All we can do is receive it. Because if God has conceived this thing, then it is holy, and it will save our lives."
"When God brings glory into our life, it comes not as an achievement but as an interruption, not as a moment of recognition but as a terrifying answer to prayer."
"We do know that no interruption, be it tragic or delightful, is greater than our God. He can bring hope into inexplicable loss."
"The challenge to people of faith is to learn how to follow. Central to that task is giving up the expectation of knowing where we are going."
"Typically we learn to pray best in the belly of a fish. That's because inside a great fish, either you pray or you remain scared to death."
If you find yourself in the belly of a fish or living an interrupted life, I hope you will read this book by M. Craig Barnes and let God speak to you. We don't have to like it. We just have to be willing to submit to what God has in store.
3 comments:
This looks great! Thanks for the heads up on the book!
Have you read The Shack by William Young? I'd definitely reccommend it! I'll have to look for this one as well.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and quotes from the book. A lot to think about, that's for sure. I like how you said "we don't have to like it." When I'm in the midst of stress or sorrow, I just want to get out of it, but it is of course when I learn and grow the most. And like you said, sometimes it is "good stress" but it still takes walking with God minute by minute. Thanks again for sharing!
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