Dear Lord, you allowed yourself to be interrupted for the sake of healing, encouragement, love, teachable moments and overall presence to those in need. Grant me the grace of the PAUSE to stop in the midst of all my doing and accomplishing to make myself present to those divine appointments that allow you to be recognizable in my ability to listen, love, heal and edify those people who cross my path today. I give you permission to override my EGO and ignite my desire to surrender my agenda for the sake of one soul who needs a word of encouragement, an act of kindness, the gift of love on their journey of life. You put people above things, over your to-do lists and between your travel itinerary, grant me the grace to do the same for the sake of the salvation of souls, the one mission that unleashes eternity on earth.

 

Edge God In Podcast Week 22: Jesus Was Interruptible…Are You?

 

In Podcast 21: Nothing Thrives in the State of War: You learned specific scriptures and practices to help you step away from the power struggle that fuels ugly talk, stone throwing, and combat behavior and communication. In today’s podcast, you will explore the power of being interruptible as you reflect on the Gospel of Luke and the numerous times Jesus was interrupted to accomplish God’s work and ministry on earth.

 

Learn:

Martha, Martha, Martha…you are so caught up in all of your doing and achieving, rushing around…where are you going in such a hurry? You are missing the opportunity to reflect and act upon what is truly important: faith, expressing itself through love. Love pauses. Love notices those in need. Love seeks out an opportunity to edify and encourage. Love puts the needs of another before its own. Love allows itself to be interrupted for a greater good than the task at hand. Love returns 10-fold, abundant joy and peace to those who allow themselves to be interrupted for the sake of more love in the world.

 

In our society we are rushing around, so busy, we have forgotten our greatest source of joy and peace: loving those around us. We have gone so far as to create barriers around ourselves to prevent interruptions so that we can accomplish what we need to accomplish. There is nothing wrong with healthy boundaries to accomplish high priorities in life. This is a behavior that offers a positive impact on business as well as effective management of a home.

 

The practice of preventing interruptions is good until you start to put things (accomplishments and to-do lists) above the opportunity to encourage and/or edify another human being in need that God has put in your path. This takes discernment.

 

Reflect:

 

In the book of Luke, Jesus was interrupted in the midst of other tasks, including travel, approximately 23 times:

 

Luke 2:41: At the festival of Passover Jesus stayed to learn and ask questions in His Father’s House…his parents realized he was not with them and after 3 days found him. As a young boy, Jesus paused to embrace the opportunity to listen, ask questions and learn.

Luke 4:33-35 Jesus was teaching in the synagogue when a man possessed by the foul spirit of a demon interrupted him with loud cries, yelling at Jesus: “I know who you are!” Jesus rebuked the demon after a fit and the man was restored to his right mind. Jesus was not only teaching the way of God, He acted it out and was unattached to his preaching and teaching, willing to be interrupted for a greater good. A powerful question to ask when interrupted: “Is this mine, or someone else’s?” Sometimes an interruption is an opportunity to delegate to the point person of the need at hand OR remind the person of the resources they have to work through the issue and access solution.