Its a beautiful day, everything is going according to plan. Not only did you beat the traffic getting to work by finding a new secret route, but you also got that shady parking space close to the main entrance.
You managed to get tickets to that sold out concert of your favourite band. Not only that, you know people who know people who have got you back stage passes. Life is great, youre on top of the world and in total control and then . BANG. You miss your flight because your car broke down on the way to the airport. You fail your exam because somehow you did not get the notes on that important chapter when you were off ill. Even worse, the medical report comes back with bad news. You get that dreaded late night phone call. Life disrupted!
I recently watched a thoughtful and uplifting series of DVD presentations by Louie Giglio entitled Life Interrupted. In the five-part series he talks about our lives being interrupted and looks at various areas such as work and love. He makes the point that when our lives are interrupted we feel we have lost control. We start to ask questions such as, Why me, God? and How long will this carry on for? Two things need to be brought into perspective here. Firstly, we were never in control God was and still is. Secondly, we need to ask more important questions such as, How can I best serve Gods purpose in this disruption? or, How can I continue to praise and worship God in this situation? Somehow when our lives really become seriously disrupted we need to learn to let go and let God.
Wedding plans
The story is told of a young couple engaged to be married. They are true believers of God, and from the start are determined to do things right and to please God in all areas of their lives. Both families agree to the union and are more than delighted. Plans are put in place and family and friends invited to the wedding. Everyone is happy and excited, especially the young man and woman. Then BANG! The young woman falls pregnant and to make matters even worse her fiancé is not the father. Things start to spiral out of control . Life disrupted! You know the couple well, they are Joseph and Mary, the earthly parents of Jesus Christ.
I have never really thought about how Marys pregnancy and subsequent birth of Jesus Christ totally disrupted her and Josephs lives. Think about it for a moment. Here is a young woman full of excitement and with great plans. She has probably already chosen the curtains for her new home, let alone her wedding dress and colours for the big day. Im quite sure she had big, beautiful plans for her future when all of that was turned on its head.
At that stage she did not have the hindsight we now have two thousand years later. Yet Marys response, when the angel Gabriel informs her of all of these things, is probably the most amazing of all special callings recorded in the Bible. She does not try to get out of the situation or stay in her comfort zone by using excuses such as Moses or others did. She does not look for special signs or try to bargain for a new, better deal. She simply says, Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. (Luke 1:38. English Standard Version). Some translations use wording along the lines of, Here I am. The servant of the Lord. May these things be as God has said.
What incredible belief and trust in the power and sovereignty of God. Make no mistake, Mary and Josephs lives were totally disrupted and not for a few days only, but for many years. In fact for the rest of their lives. They left their family and friends behind. They were more than likely ostracized by the local community. After their baby was born they had to flee to a foreign country, later realising that hundreds of babies were murdered because of them. Their lives were never the same again. Yet, Mary from the start asks no questions of the Lord, such as Why me? or How long? or What about my plans?. She makes no accusations. She simply knows that God is in control and she puts all of her trust in Him. And in it all she still praises God and allows herself to be a shining light to the world. Tough, but true.
We might be thinking, Yes sure, but that was Mary the mother of Jesus. But the same principles apply to us. God is in control and we must place all of our trust in God. Just as Mary did not know exactly how everything would work out. I wonder how she felt when they falsely accused her son and wickedly nailed him to a cross. Life disrupted once again.
You see, the thing is that sooner or later all of us have disruptions in our lives. Some are minor although frustrating at the time, like our car breaking down. Some are more gut-wrenching like failing an exam or losing a job. Others just simply shatter our lives into tiny little pieces that seem impossible to put back together again, like a spouse walking out or a feared disease or a death in the family. Our lives will be disrupted – it is impossible to avoid. It may probably happen a number of times and in different areas over the years.
The suffering of Jesus
Heres a thought. Even God, the creator of the universe allowed Jesus, his precious son to sacrifice his power and glory to become human and die to pay the price for our sins. Although he existed in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:6-8).
Though God was in total control, and the crucifixion and resurrection were all part of his plan, Jesus himself experienced the feeling of being separated from God when he said , My God, my God, why have your forsaken me? The point is, suffering is an integral part of this fallen world, and we live an illusion if we believe it may not happen to us. Or when it does, cry Why me Lord? as if we were the only person it ever happened to.
However, the good news is that although everything in life will be disrupted at some time or another, there is one thing that will never be disrupted. Yes, there is only one thing in this whole universe that can never be broken, lost or disrupted and that is Jesus love for each one of us. The reassuring and comforting truth of this fact is beautifully penned by Paul in chapter eight of the book of Romans. Under inspiration he brings the whole thought to a climax and writes, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35,38-39. KJV).
So, when your life becomes disrupted (and it will) hang on to this promise with all of your might and praise God loudly. Knowing that he who began a good work in you will also finish it (Philippians1:6).