Life's Interruptions. Dr. Ronald J.D. Thomas

simply a matter of making the right choices. Every day we have to choose to get out of bed and deal with the challenges, stresses, fears, disappointments, joys, sadness, and conflicts as well as the achievements and successes in this life. How you approach them is a matter of what you believe about yourself. The Bible states in two different passages:

      Prov 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. KJV

      Prov 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. KJV

      Notice here, twice the Bible mentions that we all have an idea of what our life should be like or what we feel is best for ourselves. Everyone has desires, dreams, ambitions, plans and goals or just wants and because of that, we have set our lives on a course to obtain them in the quickest way.

      We try to make choices to obtain things with the minimal amount of effort, pain, and cost. When a person desires a thing but does not want to pay the cost for it, we call them cheap and when a person has a dream or goal and doesn’t put forth any effort, we call them lazy. When a person has aspirations or ambitions and is unwilling to go through the pain, we identify that person by saying they have no commitment to their own success.

      However, what about when the things you have planned and the goals you have set for your life are suddenly interrupted? I am confident that as you read these pages you have set some future plans for your life! What if overnight all of your plans are interrupted? What if by the time you finish this book GOD gives you “A divine assignment”? Would you readily embrace it? Would you start praying against the enemy that is messing up your future plans, not realizing it’s really God? Alternatively, would you become like the countless millions of Christians and be paralyzed by the new assignment because you never saw yourself doing what God is now ordering you to do?

      You have to ask yourself a few questions. Am I focused on God’s needs or my own? What will life be like once I complete this new assignment? Is this really an interruption or was this GOD’S plan for my life all the time?

      Let’s deal with the word interruption for just a moment. This word has several different meanings. The most common thought that comes to mind when thinking about interruption is “to make a statement or ask a question while someone is speaking,” which refers to communication, but interruption means everything from: to stop or hinder by breaking in on, to suspend, and even to postpone.

      These are some other words associated with the word interruption; abeyance, armistice, arrest, bar, block, break, cessation, check, clog, deadlock, delay, discontinuance, disjunction, dissolution, disturbance, frustration, gap, halt, hiatus, hindrance, impediment, interception, interference, interim, interlude, interval, intervallum, intervention, intrusion, lapse, layoff, lull, molestation, obstacle, obstruction, pause, recess, respite, severance, standstill, stop, stoppage, suspension, truce.

      Of all of these words I would like to briefly discuss four of them, the first being disturbance. When someone or something interrupts us we become disturbed, which means the natural balance or order has been altered. It means the tranquility or composure has been thrown into disorder. It means we have been inconvenienced in a matter that is meaningful at the present moment. You cannot be interrupted if you are doing nothing.

      Next is the word frustration, which means to frustrate or to defeat in an endeavor, to induce feelings of discouragement, to make ineffective or bring to nothing. If we are not careful, the enemy will bring interruptions in our life to discourage us from doing the things God has purposed us to do.

      You must stay focused on the Will of God for your life and be free from selfish desires. Life’s simple interruptions will challenge all of your efforts concerning the true source of your motivation. We are either going to be guided by the interruption or frustrated with it. Interruptions will either bring clarity to your purpose or confusion to your current situations.

      The third word I would like to mention is intervention. As I said, we are either guided or frustrated. If we are guided by the interruption, it no longer becomes a negative thing and should be considered an intervention. To intervene means to interfere with the outcome of a thing or a course especially of a condition or process (as to prevent harm or improve the functioning).

      The scripture in Genesis states that Joseph told his brothers what they meant for harm God turned for the Good, not just his good but their good as well. This is the power of God’s ability to interrupt the plans of your enemy, as well as some of our own plans, to prevent us from hurting ourselves and to improve our ability to function effectively in this life and to become productive in the Kingdom.

      Lastly, is the word I found to be most interesting as it pertains to being interrupted – molestation. This struck me as I researched because I never thought of molesting to be synonymous with interruption. To molest means to annoy or disturb with hostile intent or injurious effects.

      This definition helps us to understand the enemy’s intentions when he victimizes someone through an act of molestation. I would like to help you to understand that molestation is not just a sexual act to defile someone morally. The root or intent of this behavior or immoral act is to annoy or disturb to the point that the victim’s life is interrupted from being effective or fruitful. The perpetrator of such an act may not even be aware that Satan’s main objective in using them is bigger than just sex. His plan is to interrupt the young lady’s life from being productive and fulfilling as well as to hinder the young man’s life from becoming successful and meaningful.

      If you have had the misfortune of being fondled, touched inappropriately, or sexually abused my prayer is that you don’t allow it to interrupt the original purpose, plan and assignment God has created you to perform. What the devil has determined to use to destroy your self-esteem, self worth and confidence in people, your God will use to bring meaning, significance, purpose, and believe it or not, direction to your life.

      As you read on I want you to start right now to believe your life is being interrupted by GOD for your GOOD! This interruption is not a negative intrusion to frustrate you, distract, hinder or paralyze you from becoming productive but God’s attempt to shape you and your life into something that will bring Him glory, but this will take disciplining your thoughts about what you’re going through as well as what you have gone through.

      In I Cor.9:27, Paul said he beat his body to make it his slave and that’s what I am asking of you. I challenge you to discipline yourself so that God can interrupt, or shall we say intervene, and cause you to become functional and anointed for Him.

      Someone is in need of your friendship, your encouragement, or may just need to see someone who has overcome what they are currently going through. God has a way of interrupting the lives of a few to bring comfort to many. God interrupted Moses’ life of caring for his father-in-law’s sheep because the children of Israel began to cry out to Him. You’re reading this book and receiving strength because someone is in need. They are crying; God is listening, and your life is being interrupted although you thought there was something else you were supposed to do.

      When the Righteous Cry

      Ex 3:9-10

      9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

      10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. KJV

      Time and circumstances have a way of causing us to cry out to God for deliverance. It is the cry of the concerned mother for her son involved with gangs or the cry of the young man for a positive male image. It’s the cry of a father for the chance to simply provide for his family or the cry of the young lady who simply needs direction that causes God to select men and women from all walks of life and places them into ministry.

      Ps 4:1

      Hear