Heart Tracks - The Interruption

"Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who had heard the message." Acts 10:44

Peter had been charged with a momentous task. The Father had shown him a vision of all kinds of animals, previously declared unclean for all Jews to eat, as now acceptable for their diet. It was a prelude to His telling Peter that he was to now take the message of life in Christ to the Gentiles, those outside of the Jewish nation, and heretofore considered "unclean" by the Jews. Directly after this vision, a messenger came to him from Cornelius, a Roman centurion, who was "a devout man who fears the God of Israel." Cornelius begged him to come to his home and minister to his household. Peter discerned that the vision and this visit were connected, and that he was to take Christ's message of life to these Gentiles, which he did. Upon his arrival, he began sharing with them the gospel good news of the life to be found in Christ. As he spoke, the Holy Spirit fell upon them all, Jew and Gentile alike. All who were present were amazed at the goodness and working of God.

This is a wonderful account, but how does it speak to us? For me, it brings about this question; can God "interrupt" us in the midst of our lives, even lives being lived out for Him, and take over our "vision," our dream, our hope and desire, and yes, our agenda? Can He come into the midst of our painstakingly planned "worship services," our song lists, our sermons? Can he come into the midst of our strategic planning sessions and vision casting? Can He move upon our prayer gatherings and prepared prayer lists? In short can He interrupt us not only corporately, but personally? Will we stand for His interruptions, and humbly allow Him to be all that He is, or, are we so stubbornly committed to all of these that we leave no room for Him in any of it? Think on that, and allow Him to search our hearts as we do.

I once read a man's account of how he was invited to preach at a large, growing fellowship. Before he took to the pulpit, he was presented with an order of service, and was told how much time would be given to each part, including his message. Everything was planned out to the second. The "worship" gathering would proceed like a well oiled machine, which was what it was. There was no room for anything else. There was also no room for a sovereign God. I know most fellowships are not so robotic as this, but how like them are we in so much of what we call "free worship?" How much like them are we in our own individual worship? Someone said that we cannot have freedom in our worship services when we ourselves are not free. The only path to true freedom is found in a full yielding of all of ourselves to Him. We fall captive to all that we don't surrender to Him. Captive to our own agendas, plans, and yes, even what we believe to be our visions from Him. Peter brought a world changing message to the household of Cornelius, yet he didn't insist on being the center of the message. His God was, and His God moved. Are we surrendered enough that He can do the same in the midst of our gatherings, and in the midst of our own lives?

I believe He seeks to interrupt our lives on every level, every day. He interrupts our schedules, our plans, and our relationships. He sends human interruptions with a divine purpose. Do we allow any of it, or are we so bought into our own plans and agendas that we miss, even reject them all? Can He interrupt us to the point that we dare to stop, hit the "pause button" and let Him open our eyes to our reality and His. Can He interrupt us, or, do we just press on with our dreams, desires, goals, and visions, and miss Him in all of it?

Blessings,
Pastor O